INSIGHTS FROM AWARD WINNING SOCCER COACHES

Interviews with US Youth Soccer’s 2016 National Coaches of the Year

Recognizing those who give their time and efforts to grow the game of soccer and perform an excellent job, US Youth Soccer gives the top boys and girls competitive and recreation Coach of the Year awards at the annual Awards Gala. Coach of the Year awards are selected by the US Youth Soccer Board of Directors on the basis of sportsmanship, player development, personal coaching development and community involvement — which is another word for citizenship. This year’s winner were:

• Rec Coach: Girls – Angela Huber, Rochester, WA
• Rec Coach: Boys – Patrick McCrory, Vilonia, AR
• Comp Coach: Girls – Monica Lovett-Groat, Stafford, VA
• Comp Coach: Boys – Xavier Rico, Milwaukee, WI

So what makes a Coach of the Year so special? Is it his or her leadership on and off the field? Is it the cumulative score and victories on the field? Is it developing homegrown players and helping them reach the next level? Is it inspiring others and sharing the passion for the game of soccer?

RELATED COVERAGE: INSIGHTS FROM AWARD WINNING SOCCER COACHES PART II

SoccerToday had a chance to interview these special coaches to get some insight from the award winners themselves.

Diane Scavuzzo: What is your coaching philosophy?

Angela Huber: My coaching philosophy is simple.

Soccer is a game and games should be fun. If I said losing is fun, I would be a liar.

So teaching my girls how to play great soccer, using all 11 players on the field and winning games makes soccer even more fun.  If my girls aren’t excited to come to soccer, then I am missing something in my coaching.  If we are losing more than we win, I am also missing something.

One of my key roles as “coach” is to find what every single player has to bring to the game and make each gift and talent fit together in the puzzle to play successful soccer and have fun.  The girls that have fun, respect each other, recognize each others gifts and talents, encourage one another and play because they are passionate about their sport will win games.

Patrick McCrory: As a coach you feel the pressure from the adults who have expectations and desires for outcomes of matches and training that might not always be realistic.

My philosophy is simple; do what’s in the best interest of the child, not the adults. 

A coach has to understand that the child’s needs and abilities and the adults needs don’t always meet. In those instances you have to always stick to the child’s needs. Match outcomes should never be a focus of a youth coach or they will begin to coach to meet that need rather than the development of the player. Youth sports can benefit a child physically and emotionally, and the longer we can keep them involved the more they can develop. Every child’s development moves at a different pace and you have to coach to each individual child’s ability and then manage that within the team dynamic. The harder we work on keeping the kids engaged and growing as players, the longer they might stick with soccer. 

Monica Lovett-Groat: I coach to pass on the love and honor of the game, each time you step onto the pitch either at practice, a game or just to play with your friends you must realize how lucky you are to do so. First and foremost we are playing a game and games are meant to be fun, when you stop having fun — you stop learning, you stop progressing and you eventually can lose your love of the game.

I vow to keep kids playing, growing and improving both on and off the field. Lessons on the pitch are lessons you can use in the everyday world, responsibility for your actions, bouncing back after mistakes and persisting to keep believing in yourself.

In all of my teams we emphasize on development, not wins and losses. Sometimes you learn more from a hard loss then an easy win and for young players that helps them dig and strive for more. You can always get better no matter your level of play, mastering the little things makes the big things achievable.

Xavier Rico: I believe in the fundamentals of futbol along with the art of ball mastery.

My philosophy is more than tactics, it is a campaign to prove that technique will win out against physicality and strength.

Training and curriculum encompasses versatile futbol training techniques using advanced foot skill exercises. I devote a lot of my time to improving the players ability to handle the ball specially when they are young.

Diane Scavuzzo: How long have you been coaching?

Angela Huber: I have been coaching since my son, Steven Huber was 2.  He is 21 now.  I coached his Itty Bitty YMCA team starting in 1996.  I coached Olympia High School Girls from 1997-2001.  I coached Jefferson Middle School Girls from 1999-2009.  Now I coach my Recreational Girl’s team “The Lions” along with my husband, Derrick Huber – He was the first person that, when I crossed that soccer ball in front of the net, he would place it in the back of the net with his head.  I call that LOVE.

Patrick McCrory: I’ve been coaching around 4 1/2 years.

Monica Lovett-Groat: I have been coaching now for 15 years at all different levels; High school, club and college.

Xavier Rico: I have been coaching for about 12 years, since I came to the U.S. in 2004. I started helping a friend of mine with his mini-kickers — 4 and 5 year olds — classes, which I enjoyed so much.

Diane Scavuzzo: What lessons have you learned along the way?

Angela Huber: The greatest lesson I have learned along the way is that when I coach the game, it is about the team, and the players … not me.  If I make it about me, then we all lose. Learning never ends, there is always room for more learning for them and for me.  As soon as I think I am past learning, I lose.

Patrick McCrory: I’ve learned that I still have so much to learn. 

One of the most important things I’ve learned is that a coach should communicate with parents.

You will be more successful as a coach if the parents are your allies, understand your goals, and are helping you work towards them. Above all, stay patient! They are kids after all and they deserve to have fun.

Monica Lovett-Groat: What does Dorie say in Finding Nemo? Just keep swimming, well it applies to everything. Coaching just like playing has helped me become the person that I am today and keeps me striving to become better each day. Always know showing up to coach a bunch of crazy U11’s can make anyone smile after a bad day. Thank you U11 Stafford Revolution Blue.

Xavier Rico: I have learned so many things  playing and coaching Futbol. I really believe than being involved with futbol made me the person that I am today.

Life in general is about taking risks and that might lead you to success or failure but that is what makes us who we are.

I’ve learned how to be patient and understand that results might not come right away, and stay focused. I’ve learned to be positive in the good times and the bad times and that we have to keep working as hard as we can and stay disciplined so when the time comes we are ready and prepared to take it to the next level. There is no impossible as long as you believe in yourself.

Diane Scavuzzo: What do you remember most about one of your coaches when you were young and playing soccer?

Angela Huber: My first experience with soccer was when I was 6 years old.  My parents didn’t know what to do with this total ADD kid.  In the 1970’s the doctor prescribed “soccer” not “ritalin”.  I was on that soccer team, “The Rattlesnakes” until I was 18 years old.  My coach, Mr. Lapchis, made soccer fun every single day. He yelled “Slither it in Snakes” and it never got old. He and our assistant coach, Mr. Peterson, were just 2 dad’s that learned as they went.  They gave me a passion for soccer and I am forever grateful!  So are my parents.

Monica Lovett-Groat: The best coach I ever had was Don Tobin — when I played club back in Dunedin, FL and I was just first starting out. He had played in the EPL  and NPSL and I was in complete awe when he would scrimmage with us. I wanted to be him — except as a goalkeeper.  He loved to play and smiled the whole time as he was schooling us.

He taught us to respect and honor the game you are playing, to leave it all on the field and your team is your family.

He also believed enough in me to give me one of my first club coaching gigs and I never looked back.

Xavier Rico: Coach Tano Sanchez was the most influence of all of my coaches. Coach Tano was not the most knowledgeable coach, tactical or technical wise, but he was the most inspirational coach I have ever played for.

He was never paid for coaching, he would do it for the love of the game and to help kids get out of the streets. He was like a second father for some. He would take us to dinner after games, interact with us and become part of our every day lives. He never asked us for money to play but instead, would ask us to help him fund raise by either selling tacos or tamales in a truck, those were fun times. We worked as a team and I learned how futbol was more than just a ball and a field, it was a family. Coach Tano was all heart and passion and would often say “win or loose, we will compete.”

Diane Scavuzzo: What inspires you?

Angela Huber:  I am inspired by laughter, smiles and I love success!  Success comes in many forms.  Success is when we get 9 goals that are scored by 8 players.  Success is when we lost to a team by 8 and the next game we only lose by 2.  Success is when the player that was always sad started laughing.  Success is when we get a new player and they instantaneously feel welcome and part of the Lion family. Success is when that girl that is afraid of the ball, gets in there and wins a tackle.  I am inspired by each person involved in my program feeling loved, accepted and accomplished.

Patrick McCrory: There are two big things that inspire me; one has been a recent revelation to me. The biggest inspiration, of course, is the kids.  We get kids from various backgrounds and situations and the sport can mean different things to all of them. For some youth players, soccer is a distraction from the other aspects of their lives that may be difficult or stressful. For others the soccer field is a place where they make friends and are more comfortable socially. 

With this award, I discovered just how much support we have from the parents of our players within our club.

To know that parents are buying into what we are trying to accomplish, really gives me the confidence to keep working hard and to keep doing things the right way.

Monica Lovett-Groat: Number one is my family; I work hard to show my daughters that hard work and truly loving what you do pays off. Secondly every single kid that I coach, no matter what level I want to help them achieve their goals and even goals they didn’t know they could have. I found my heart in this game and now I get to pass it along. And thirdly, the most beautiful game on this earth. I consider myself lucky to wake up every day and be able to be part of it.

Xavier Rico: My parents inspire me, they are my role models. My father is my biggest hero and inspiration. He was a kind of a person who worked, however the hard the work may be. He ever gave up, he inspired me a lot and I owe a great deal to him. My mother taught me with hard work and dedication, we can achieve anything and to never forget your roots and where you came.

Diane Scavuzzo: What advice can you share with young coaches?

Angela Huber: As soon as you figure out that the game is not about you, but about your players and their families, you will go way further in spreading the love of the game of soccer.  Ask your team if they love coming to soccer.  Listen to the answers.  Change accordingly.  If they aren’t winning some games, figure out why.  Watch the games to find the weaknesses and every week improve in those areas.  If you don’t know how, ask questions.  Go watch other practices of the teams that are beating you.  What are they doing that you aren’t.  Learn from others.

Patrick McCrory: The best advice I can give to young coaches is to never stop learning and trying to improve your understanding of coaching. You will be a better coach by learning more about coaching kids and what they are really able to do emotionally as well as physically. Soccer does an amazing job of putting information out there for us coaches. US Youth Soccer, USSF, NSCAA and each state provide manuals, classes, diplomas, certifications, videos, and websites for us all to use to learn and grow as coaches.  If we take the time to improve ourselves as coaches, we will become better at developing players and growing the game.

Monica Lovett-Groat: Never give up no matter what gets in your way! You will hit road blocks of every sort, trust me. You have to keep plugging along and remembering why you are doing it. \

Xavier Rico: Make sure training sessions are fun and challenging for everyone, including you. Trust me, kids do not want to listen to us talking the whole time especially at a young age, – the key to any kid’s heart, is through the game.

Get to know your players, every player has a different personality, everyone gets motivated by different factors, the more/better you know your players, the better they will perform for you. Be honest to your players, a bad pass is a bad pass, and not “unlucky” or “a good try” and vice-versa. The more honest you are with them, the more you are setting them up for success.

Be patient and always remember that you are coaching for the players to be successful for the long term and not just to win the weekend game.

READ Part II

Related article: 2016 US Youth Soccer Awards Gala