The Set Position

Kohl and Zak are joined by Alexa Ream, Head Women's Soccer Coach at Clarion University, and Olivia Kruger, Head Women's Soccer Coach at Greensburg Central Catholic High School, to talk their experiences after going through their first year as a head coach. They both talk about how they approached coming in as a new head coach and what they did to help put their teams on a path of success. COVID has caused many issues for teams all across the United States, Alexa and Olivia talk about the challenges this caused and how they approached them to help their team be successful. Alexa breaks down what the transition has been like to a first time college head coach and the pathway she is taking to implement a new culture. Olivia talks about her position as a high school head coach and coming into a program with historical success. She describes what she will look to do to continue this path of success. Olivia as we find out in her first season was able to help the team reach the state final. Join us on this episode to see what it is like to be a first year head coach!

Mark Sappington, Goalkeeper Coach for Campbell University Women's Soccer, joins Kohl and Zak for the 3rd time to discuss the Modern Goalkeeper and how they train. The group starts off by talking about the daily life now in a COVID world and how they are running training. They talk about the differences now as to what it was before the pandemic hit. Kohl and Zak ask Mark how he approaches training now with the modern day goalkeeper. Mark discusses what he sees in today's goalkeepers and how their roles are continuing to change in the team concept. He talks about how it is important for a goalkeeper to be good with their feet and be able to command the back line on a consistent basis. The goalkeeper should be able to come off their line and deal with back passes and through balls. The group continues to talk about what a training session should look like to make sure goalkeepers are prepared for upcoming games. 

Kohl and Zak are joined by Kim Wyant (New York University Head Men's Coach) to discuss her path to coaching the men's game. As you will learn Kim had a lot of success in the game during her playing career and played on the first US Women's National team as a goalkeeper. She talks about here path from a young player to her national team days and how that set her up for success in the coaching world. Kim talks about how she got to NYU and earned the role as the Head Men's Coach. She continues the conversation about the transition from coaching the women's game to the men's game and how she approached the change. She talks about her biggest challenges during her transition and how she stayed true to her coaching roots. Kim states that it is important to stay yourself and to not change your coaching style because you are not coaching a new gender. She says that players "will see right through you" and they won't support you in the same way. This is a lesson that many young coaches can take to heart and use in their everyday coaching. Kohl and Zak guide the last part of the conversation to goalkeeping and how she approaches goalkeeping today. She talks about how she is looking for the almost finished goalkeeper that needs those last couple adjustments to their game to be a finished product. Kim discusses the attributes that she looks for in goalkeepers and how she knows that they will be a good fit for her program. She continues the goalkeeping topic to talk about the youth game and what young goalkeepers can be doing to grow their skills to prepare themselves for future success. 

Kohl and Zak start a discussion about Competitiveness and how we can implement it into our training environments. The guys discuss why having a competitive culture is so important and how it can help lead to the overall success of the team. Kohl and Zak talk about what they do in their programs to build that competitive nature and how we can push out athletes to be competitive. They talk about how they can see the team starting to have more success on the field and in the classroom. Kohl and Zak feel that the more that you can bring a competitive culture the more enjoyable the environment is to be around. It becomes fun for the players and coaching staff. The episode does get cut a little bit short with some exciting news from Zak. Be sure to tune into the episode to learn what happens. 

P.S. Congrats on this great accomplishment. You have put so much time and effort into this and you deserve this recognition. All those years of hard work and grinding have paid off big time. You have so many other great things to come in the coaching world and this is just the beginning. Proud of you! - Kohl

Kohl and Zak were approached by a listener to talk about The Coaching Path. They talk about the path they took to becoming coaches at the college level. Kohl and Zak break down their playing careers and how they set them up to being coaches now. The discussion starts with their early coaching careers and the coaching jobs they took to help them on a path of success. They express the importance of volunteering for different coaching positions to help get you name out there. Zak talks about how he worked for several different clubs and small coaching gigs before being a Graduate Assistant at Shippensburg University. Kohl talks about his similar path to becoming a Graduate Assistant at Averett University and his next steps to an Assistant Women's Coach at North Carolina Wesleyan College. Kohl and Zak had to put in their time to make it to their current positions and had to work some long days to make the career in coaching work. They state that it is not an easy path but one that is worth it if you are willing to put in the time and effort that it takes. It is not a career that is handed to many and comes with its many ups and downs along the way. Kohl and Zak state that there are going to be tough times but your time will come when you get that call. Enjoy your time coaching and making connections because you never know when it will be your time. If you have any questions about this episode don't hesitate to reach out to Kohl and Zak on Social media or to [email protected]. They would love to hear from you! 

Tyler Schatz, Women's Goalkeeper Coach at High Point University, joins Kohl and Zak to discuss the topic of the parry versus the catch. The group jumps right into the debate of the parry versus the catch and when to use each. Tyler talks about how he teaches when to use the technique of the parry and when a goalkeeper should be looking to catch. The groups agrees that there should be a catch first mentality in goalkeepers because this tends to limit the amount of shots that a goalkeeper is going to see. If a goalkeeper is going for a parry first mentality they are going to be putting the ball back into play more often. Tyler continues the conversation about when to go with one hand and when a goalkeeper should look to go with two. He breaks down a dive and talks about the height of the ball to determine the type of save. The group goes into talking about punching a ball and keeping an open hand to help the ball along. They discuss the importance of using an open hand in certain situations to get more surface area on the ball and when a goalkeeper should be looking to punch the ball out of danger. Tyler continues to break down the technique in these situations and how goalkeepers can continue to be successful. 

Oumar Ballo, former Center Back for Sporting Kansas City, joins Kohl and Zak to discuss the Fear of Failure and Reading the Game. Oumar discusses how he approached the professional game and how he had to learn to be okay with failure. He states it is okay to fail but it is how you learn from the mistake that is important. Kohl and Zak echo that statement and say that there is always going to be failure in the sport. You have to learn from those failures so that you can continue to improve. Oumar stresses that you can not be afraid to fail. If you can continue to think about failure and what may happen, the chances of success at any level decrease. Kohl and Zak say that as long as a coach continues to work with you and have communication you are doing the right things. Fear of Failure is a real think but can be overcome by turning the negative things that happen and turning them into positives. This is a great way to continue to improve and make sure that you are staying on the right track. 

The group turns the conversation to talk about Reading the Game. Oumar talks about how he read the game from a Center Backs perspective and the different cues. He speaks about how he approached the game and the moments that he knew were important for him to make decisions. From a coaching perspective Kohl and Zak talk about what they like to see players do in certain situations. The different cues are important for the overall success of the team and making sure from a defensive perspective goals are not conceded. There are so many different moments in the game and different factors that are going to change decision making. There is not one formula that is going to work for all situations, game experience is the best way to continue to hone these skills and improve your game. 

Bob Widdowson, former Sheffield United Goalkeeper and Notts County Ladies Goalkeeper Coach, joins Kohl and Zak to discuss the Evolution of Goalkeeping. The group discusses everything from how the ball has changed over the years to how goalkeepers did not wear gloves in the early years. They go into talking about how coaching the goalkeeping position has changed and what is coached now as apposed to 40 years ago. Bob brings his wealth of knowledge from many years around the game to discuss how he has seen the goalkeeping position change. He talks about his experiences playing in the professional ranks to then coaching the professionals. Bob talks about how he works with young players all the way up to the first team goalkeepers and how he approaches the sessions. The group talks about their times together at camps and how they train goalkeepers to help their growth. Bob discusses his Lifetime Achievement Award for Services to Goalkeeping at the FA Goalkeeping Conference in 2018. The conversation continues about how goalkeeping is continuing to change and what the next 10 years may look like in the world of goalkeeping. 

We would like to say thank you Bob for your mentorship, laughs, training sessions and wealth of knowledge you have provided us over the years. We missed you this past summer at camp and we looking forward to seeing you again soon. Stay safe! Cheers, Kohl and Zak!

Pamela Orner, mom of Kohl, and Gail Mahaman, mom of Zak, join the guys to talk about what it is like to me a mother of a soccer player and coach. Pamela and Gail talk about what it was like having a goalkeeper in their house and what their experiences were like watching them play. They talk about the stress and excitement that came with watching the game. Kohl and Zak discuss their experiences growing up with soccer and how they viewed the relationship they had with their moms. The moms talk about what the interaction was like in the car on rides home after games and the conversations that they had with Kohl and Zak. Pamela and Gail also give insight to other parents on how they would approach talking to their kids after sporting events and their role was when they were on the sideline of games. They express the importance of letting the kids play, referees ref, coaches coach and the parents to support their kids and team. The conversation switches to now what they see as Kohl and Zak are now coaching. Pamela and Gail talk about what that transition is like and how they see the game. They talk about how they now cheer for the team Kohl and Zak are coaching. They say the stress and excitement has not really gone away but is now for the full team that their sons are coaching. 

(Side Bar) Without our moms we would not be the men we are today. They have helped provide us with the opportunities to be successful in our now coaching lives. They have been there to support and push us to the next level. We can not thank them enough for everything that they have done and continue to do for us. Thank you again for joining us on our Podcast. We love you!