The life and career of a college head coach

SS: What advice would you give to another coach taking on their first head coaching role?

JE: When becoming a head coach for the first time, take your experiences from previous jobs and mold them all together. 

It is hard to go into a new job and try to coach your team the exact same way as your previous job. All teams are different and need some tweaks here and there.

Form your team with every intention to be great but allow them to fit into the culture that is provided from the organization that hired you.

Managing a coaching staff

SS: What does your role look like during the spring season? Do you give more responsibilities to other members of the coaching staff?

JE: I really take a back seat to my other staff members in the spring. I give them autonomy to coach the team and be the ‘acting’ head coaches.

They run the sessions, ask me to be the assistant coach when needed, do the team talks, meet with players and go over film. It is the best way for them to learn and grow.

It has been a great experience over the years to grow them in different roles.

SS: What do you look for when hiring an assistant coach?

JE: I look for coaches that want to be head coaches. They are enthusiastic, they want to be on the field, they want to grow players. 

They need to be able to run training sessions, make coaching points, serve the community, recruit players, work with other staff on campus and want to grow players in the weight room.

SS: How do you manage the different personalities of the staff and players?

JE: Before coming to CSU, I coached the Carolina Courage in the WUSA, which was then the equivalent to the NWSL. It was the first women’s pro soccer league in our country after the 1999 Women’s World Cup.

I had a great experience coaching at the highest level of women’s soccer and getting the opportunity to work with the best players in the world.

Managing different personalities was probably the hardest aspect of coaching at the highest level, though. The players were getting paid a considerable amount and it was their job to perform at a high level.

They all wanted to get playing time and show their worth, so we had to manage their roles and responsibilities on a daily basis. 

I had never had to manage such a large staff before. We had assistant coaches, director of logistics staff, gameday staff, general manager, an assistant general manager, a strength coach, an athletic trainer and a few others. It was a lot to handle.

"I questioned if soccer was right for me or if I should look for a 9-5 job behind a desk..."

Coaching lessons and challenges

SS: What was the most impactful lesson you learned from that experience at the Courage?

JE: I would say that the most impactful experience coaching at that level was the professionalism shown by the players. All of them wanted to get better and were willing to accept information the coaches gave them on how to grow and develop into the best players in the world.

SS: What has been the most significant challenge you have faced?

JE: Probably the most difficult challenge was losing my job with the Carolina Courage when the league folded in August 2003. 

My wife was pregnant with our first child, Gracie, and I was told I did not have a job. I had just moved my wife to Raleigh, North Carolina, and was only there for seven months.

It was a stressful time in our lives. I honestly questioned if soccer was the right profession for me or if I should look for a 9-5 job and work behind a desk.

So many friends gave me support and told me to be patient and stay in the game. One of my closest friends, Bobby Johnston, was the most encouraging. He was there for me every day and made sure I did not just quit the profession.

I honestly owe him so much since he kept my head on straight and kept me in the game.