Winless year could yet be 'jump-start'

"So it really became an understanding of: ’I can’t solve the problems for them, all I can do is help them to identify what the problem is, and become people who want to create solutions. That comes from the environment that I create for them.

“That was one of the biggest things we really dove into: what are the training sessions like? What are the areas we need to grow? Is it technical? Is it IQ? Is it tactical? Is it physical? 

"Outside of the field: what’s the culture like? What’s the program like? What are the players’ relationships? How are their relationships with me? Do they trust me? Do they believe in what we’re doing? 

“Even though, results-driven, it might have looked like a down year, it could genuinely be a complete jump-start for a huge turnaround next year, if we start working properly now with what we’ve already built."

SCW: What does creating a really positive student athlete experience look like? What do you have to consider?

RB: "There’s one step further than just recognising they’re students and athletes, [that’s] recognising they’re people with problems outside of what we see every day. 

"They have the stress of classes, training and time management. You’re taking 17 and 18-year-old kids, bringing them into a program and helping them become young adults that are going to be professionals, outside of the game.

“I would love one of my players to be good enough to go pro. If that’s one of their dreams, I’ll help them do that.

"But realistically they’re going to be a professional outside of it. So we focus on how we can help develop them into quality human beings, which translates to being quality players. 

“We focus on the little details. How are you doing with taking care of yourself? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating enough? Are you drinking enough water? Are you taking care of yourself on your mental days? When we don’t have any training, what are you doing for you?

"We focus on study-hall hours, making sure they’re focused on getting their grades, and then soccer. Not the other way around. 

“One of the areas we really dove into during preseason was how we interact with each other and how we can have accountability, in a way that’s not demeaning and degrading. We don’t have to put people down to set a high standard.

"At the same time, we can’t have a positivity-toxic environment, where you can do something wrong, but we keep telling you ’It’s okay, things will work out.’ It has to be a little bit of both.

"Don’t dwell on the downs. Recognise the downs make the ups that much better..."

“I constantly tell them, ’there’s never a wrong decision in football, other than kicking the ball into your own goal’. There are harder decisions and there are easier decisions.

"You can make one of the hardest decisions in the world and execute it perfectly. You could do one of the easiest things in the world and not execute it, but that doesn’t mean it was the wrong decision, just the wrong execution.”

SCW: For someone who is going into their first season as a head coach, what three pieces of advice would you give to them?

RB: "First is having an organisational plan for the season - having everything scheduled out, with travel, getting meals, doing your budget.

"If you can knock that stuff out during the summer, leading up to preseason, all you have to do during the season is coach and recruit. And those are the fun parts, right? 

“Secondly, and this comes from my previous head coach, remember to enjoy the ups and downs. 

"When things don’t go well, you’re going to dwell on the downs so much, instead of being able to recognise that the downs just make the ups that much better. 

"And vice versa - you can’t live on the highs if you don’t experience the lows, because then you don’t genuinely get to understand what that high really is. 

“The last one is remembering that they are just kids, and they want to do the best they can for the people that care about them. 

"If you create the right environment, they’re going to work hard. And if you care, they care."