COACHING MATTERS
July 27, 2017
Chris LeGates, TCS Co-Host
This past April myself and twenty of my University of Hartford teammates from 1991 were brought back to campus to take part in a reunion of our championship-winning team of that season. It was amazing to be transported back in time and to share stories and memories with guys that were such an integral part of my life. We easily picked up where we had left off and outside observers were amazed at the chemistry that 26 years later the team still possessed. It was certainly unique and special. None of this would have been possible without the University of Hartford soccer coach, Tom Poitras, his staff, and the Hartford athletic department. Coach Poitras built the idea of this reunion around playing a spring season game against the University of Maryland – who is coached by our former coach, Sasho Cirovski. Tom knew how important Sasho was to us and that we could not have this event without his presence even if it would be a logistical nightmare to put it all together.
Let’s rewind a bit and get a feel for why one man has been so influential to so many people. Following our Tackling College Sports interview with Sasho, the rush of stories that I shared with Mark flowed on and on. Cirovski took over our program in April of 1991 after our team went through four relatively disappointing seasons, especially considering the talent that there was in the group. As Sasho mentioned in the TCS interview, Hartford was his first head coaching job after a stellar playing career and as an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. At UW, Sasho had the opportunity to work under legendary coach Bob Gansler, who in 1990 took the United States to its first World Cup in 40 years. From the moment Sasho stepped on campus there was something different and lively about his presence and about what his direction was. It was evident that he had a plan and he was going to give everything to make this plan work. In the last month of the semester, he met over and over with the players on the team. He communicated in a way that made everyone feel a sense of belonging and importance that we as a group never felt before. It made going into the summertime one of excitement and motivation as the future never looked brighter.
Sasho Cirovski is in some ways a mad scientist; Building, shaping and creating with a passion that is without equal. Our first day of preseason there is an unusual aura of positivity, calm and nervous energy. Following the last session, we were told to meet in the classroom at the athletic center. “In the classroom?” we all looked at each other in bewilderment. We had never met in a classroom after a session, and usually, we all went our own ways to go back to our dorm rooms moaning about how sore we were. When we walked into the classroom there were workbooks on the table made specifically for our team. “Winning Words, Winning Ways” by Rob Kehoe. We have no idea what any of this is and what it means. Sasho starts the meeting by asking each player what their goal for the season is. There were a variety of answers as we went around the room. Following the final player, all eyes now turn back to Sasho to see his reply. An uneasy silence now fills the room and he gives no response to what seems like an hour. What did we do wrong? Did someone say something disrespectful? Finally, the silence is broken and we see our first glimpse of the mad scientist at work. Sasho angrily pushes a chair and passionately says to us “none of you said to win a national championship!!!!”. He was serious – dead serious. I could tell that at that moment my teammates and I thought he was crazy. National Championship? Are you for real? Have you seen us play? Now Sasho starts to build…piece by piece. He said to us “I am going to give you the blueprint to win the national championship, there will be goals, and we will sometimes come back in here and refocus and reshape our goals.” Goals? Focus? Blueprints? Ok, I’m in!! Looking around at the guys I think they are in too, but there is still a lot of work to do.
Our first match of the season is against defending national champion and #1 ranked UCLA on our campus in front of 2,000 fans. UCLA reads like a who’s who of college superstars and future national team stars like Brad Friedel, Cobi Jones, Joe-Max Moore, and Mike Lapper. Cirovski is telling us that we are prepared, that this is the beginning of the journey and that our path to the national championship begins today. We had no idea, no clue, and I think we were hoping that we could keep the score respectable and not get blown out in front of our home fans. We go down 1-0 but we begin to grow into the game and were frustrating them, we are bending and not breaking, and with less than ten minutes left in the game, we draw level. Great teams have that ability to turn it on and it was like UCLA kicked into another gear after that goal and found the winner with around four minutes left. The match ends with a valiant effort, handshakes, hugs etc… But there are no moral victories to Sasho, he is one of the most, if not the most competitive person I know. He wants to not only beat you, but he will also do everything he can do to beat you, even if it is in tic tac toe, cards, basketball whatever. We learned valuable lessons that day against UCLA. It was that we were good, that we could become very good, and that we should never accept losing -that is what Sasho demanded. You learn life lessons through sports, and nothing but your best, regardless of your role, is what is required if you want to succeed. More and more we started to believe in ourselves, in each other, and in our coaches. As a fifth-year senior, I was as close in age to the coaches as I was to the freshmen on the team, so I spent plenty of time becoming a student of the game. Spending time with coaches and feeling welcome in the office or on the field. Our coaches got to know us personally, about our families, what drove us and motivated us, and in return, we got to know them. I knew how important family was to Sasho. I had the great pleasure to work with Dave Latourette (Listen to his TCS podcast), and I got to know him, his passion, and his ability to coach on the field – and become friends off the field. This is something I try to implement every day in my coaching. I was finally getting to know my teammates, some that I played with for three years, but we did not know each other. Our group was now inclusive, not exclusive. Guys pulling for each other for the greater good of the team. We were becoming a family, and we were a representation of our coaches and the environment that they had created.
As Sasho said, there were up and downs and times we had to come back and refocus our goals. We bought in, we bought in big time, and little by little we were becoming something special. There were huge wins and a loss or two that certainly made us all mad and disappointed. You were not going to let each other get down, and we made sure of it. We qualified for the conference tournament and had to go to Boston University, a place where the home team had only lost once in the last three years. In the semifinal, we dug deep and came back against the University of New Hampshire to set up a meeting with BU in the final. I can remember so much about that day, especially the bus ride to the field. It was quiet, eerily quiet on the bus. Headphones and Walkmans were on (you remember Walkmans right?) but the vibe was not nerves, it was the focus. I could see in the faces of the players that they were thinking about what their role was going to be, and how to best do their job. Sasho had created a very relaxed atmosphere for the two days after the semifinal. We knew what we had to do and he did not have to explain it to us. Before the game, as we walked the field, we were loose. I can still remember our SID, Jon Easterbrook, jumping in goal with his big winter jacket on and us peppering him with shots that were thumping off his chest – we were hysterical. Our opponents had a look of stress on their faces and even as they saw us doing this they could not bring themselves to laugh; the pressure was heavy on them. In the locker room, Sasho talked about our assignments, our roles, and how we were one step away from the NCAA tournament. We knew! It was our time to show how far we had come from that first night’s meeting. We played great! We complicated the game for our opponent and stamped our imprint on the game. On that day, we made a stadium that was a house of horrors for so many other teams, our home field. It was 2-0 and as the final seconds ticked off, there were hugs all around and our traveling fans poured onto the field. We were champions! Champions!!! Something I never thought would have been possible, especially considering how the past years had played out. The first two people I hugged were Sasho and Dave Latourette. In all the craziness, I do not remember all that was said, but I do remember thanking them both for what they did for me, and for us. We now had a chance to win a national championship! There was nothing we could not do!
“2Legit 2Quit”
The celebratory ride home was outstanding. I distinctly remember stopping at a rest stop on the Mass Pike so that Sasho could call his mother to let her know about the game. We talked about the future, both short term and long term on that bus ride, and then we celebrated long into the night. Our NCAA tournament run was great, we beat Columbia in New York, and had a date with #1 ranked University of Virginia – along with their superstar player, Claudio Reyna, and their legendary coach, Bruce Arena. We were not scared of anyone by that time, and our play showed it. Reyna scored and made it 1-0 but we kept pushing and were buoyed by some excellent goalkeeping by George Kostelis. Now I know some people may make fun of this, BUT…we had adopted “2Legit 2Quit” by MC Hammer as a sort of theme song. Mainly due to our ability to always find ways to win matches – especially late in the game. Brian Cribb scores a goal with 45 seconds left to this day gives me goosebumps. We have tied yet again with a #1 team. We go into overtime, then a second, a third chance for both teams, suspense everywhere, and in the fourth overtime, UVA scores the winning goal and the run was over. It is a surreal feeling when you reach the end of something like that. In a blink of an eye, my college career was over. In the locker room, I put a towel over my head and sobbed. Sobbed because I was never going to play at that kind of level again because I loved all my teammates and we were never going to be together like that again because I really thought we were going to be national champions. And most importantly, because we let each other down, along with Sasho and Dave. As I took the towel off my head, I realized I was not alone. At that moment, players hugged, they cried, and they started to laugh that they were crying. We succeeded together, and at this moment, we failed together. Sasho told us how proud of us he was and it was genuine. We knew he was but it was difficult for it sink-in regardless. On the flight home, I can remember thinking how grateful I was to be part of this. It was magical, it made all the trials and tribulations of the past four years worth it. The environment that Sasho created oneness, team, respect that included everyone was a huge factor in our success. I could have been selfish and wished that I had Sasho as my coach for all four years. There was something about experiencing all sides that made the journey so much more valuable to me. When a coach gets a job in late April, he can add only three freshmen, becomes a conference champion, and a Sweet 16 NCAA tournament team. And ultimately rank in the Top 15 to end the season, what does that say? It says coaching matters. Coaching really matters!
Sasho repeated similar feats at Hartford the next season and all of us alums were there for every step. He parlayed his success at Hartford into a job in the big time – the University of Maryland. We all kind of knew we would not have Sasho at Hartford forever. His love of challenges fuels his existence and he is relentless in his approach to reaching the goals he sets. When he went to Maryland, Sasho inherited a program that was in disarray. For those that knew him, knew it would only be a matter of time till he turned it around; and he did. He now is a two-time national champion and a pioneer who has been the driving force behind getting college soccer relevant on campuses and in the media. Moreover, he has also developed pro players, national team players, great student-athletes, and coaches at all levels, like me. It should be noted that Sasho has achieved all of this with unwavering focus and always placing the well-being of the student-athlete first. He is a philosopher whose beliefs and values resonate with the people who are willing to listen. Most noteworthy, Sasho is a visionary who wants to see NCAA Men’s soccer become more relevant and profitable. He also would love to see a split season in college soccer so that student-athletes can develop in the classroom, as well as on the field. Consequently, the sport he cares so deeply about can be appreciated the way it should be, and that the student-athletes get the high-quality experience he believes they deserve. Bet against him? I wouldn’t – I have seen what can be done when a group of young men can find direction. Moreover, I have seen six and seven thousand people in soccer-specific stadiums on college campuses all over the country. Lastly, I have watched weekends full of college soccer games on cable channels. In April, I witnessed twenty guys and their revered coach celebrate a championship from more than twenty-five years ago. More importantly, they celebrated how their lives turned out because of being part of this team in 1991. Think coaching does not matter? COACHING MATTERS!
Be Your Best,
Chris
