In sports, building a team that can succeed on sheer talent is difficult. What is often overlooked is another kind of talent — a kind found off the field. Coaching is the foundation of a team. The leadership, mental preparation, and commitment all start from the top, like with Rob Giesbrecht, the head coach of Cascade’s women’s soccer. This week, Giesbrecht sat down to talk about UFV women’s soccer and its direction, beginning with last year’s season.
“Last season was a positive season. We progressed throughout the year. I thought we got better as the season wore on and we’re hoping to carry that into this season.”
With all the growth that came with last season, the Cascades are certainly heading in the right direction.
“We were relatively young last year and relied on some first- and second-year players. The learning curve is a bit steep in Canada West women’s soccer, but I was pleased with the progress we made last year,” Giesbrecht explained.
When it comes to the coach’s biggest takeaway, Giesbrecht reflected specifically on the end of the season and what defeat can mean in terms of team growth and learning.
“I think the biggest takeaway is we pushed but we lost, and our season ended in the Canada West quarterfinal to Trinity Western, who went on to narrowly lose a national championship final… We’re a young team and we’ll return all the pieces, so that’s something we’re excited about.”
When asked if it was difficult to move on from last year’s season after such a close finish against a highly skilled team, the head coach offered a different perspective.
“One thing I’ve taken away from this last offseason is getting the girls to surrender the outcome and trust the process. We tell the girls that if you’re in a battle, you want to be beside the person that’s willing to die to win that battle. That’s an extreme example, but we want the girls to have the freedom to fail — to have the freedom to lay it on the line and come up short.” He went on to say, “We feel we will get the best out of our group if we have that mentality. That’s something I, as a coach, have learned. To not get so wrapped up in results but more focused on ‘How are we progressing as a group? How are we performing in moments?’ so we can then give ourselves the best chance to be successful.
“The learning opportunities that come along with being tested, with being pushed to your limits is fantastic.”
Though there are obstacles that come with bringing in new players each year, cycling new talent into the program is a huge benefit for any growing team.
“We brought nine girls in, and some of them will likely start games for us, which is exciting. We want to have a competitive environment in our program where girls know it doesn’t matter what year you’re in; you have the same opportunity to be an impact player, and that motivates the returning players to not get complacent and to stay hungry and know that there’s coaches bringing in some talented players, and they’ve got to continue to progress.
“It also excites the young players coming in. They know they have the opportunity to play — to be a contributing player right away. I think it’s the best way to run a program. To give the opportunity to all and to get as much competition among the players as possible.”
As for this year’s goals, there is a steep hill to climb in order to obtain the prestigious national title every team sets out to win, but Giesbrecht believes the goal is attainable and the Cascades squad is ready to face adversity as they reach for the nationals.
“We have to take steps along the way, and we have to make sure that we’re performing well, day in, day out, on the training pitch. And when games come on weekends, we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to take steps forward.”
The Cascades are now set to defend home turf when they take on Manitoba and Winnipeg in their home opening weekend, this Friday and Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
