Coach Ari Adams is from Maple Ridge, B.C. and is beginning her third season at the helm of Cascades women’s soccer. Adams joined The Cascade in August to discuss her soccer background.
How did you get your start in soccer?
Neither of my parents played soccer. I have two sisters, and my older sister just was interested in the sport, so I followed with everything she did. I started playing soccer when I was five. I was playing on a boys team at the time, and then as more girls within my community joined, I joined a girls team the following year.
What coach was your biggest inspiration?
I didn’t have my first female coach until I went to university, and I would say as a player, that’s where I gained the most valuable experience. Shelley Howieson was my [SFU] soccer coach [and] the biggest thing was just a learning experience within that environment.
How many options did you have to play university soccer?
Times have changed a lot since I was in the recruiting process, there was five of us from my U-18 team that actually went to SFU together. Going to a highly regarded school with a good soccer background it made my decision easy.
What would Ari Adams the coach say about Ari Adams the player?
I was definitely a leader throughout my university season. I wasn’t necessarily the quickest or most athletic player, but I had high soccer IQ — I was technically sound, and I was able to be a passer of the ball.
How do you think your role as captain at SFU shaped how you interact with your players now?
I am able to take from my experiences, not only as a university player, I also transitioned into the assistant coach role for four years after I played as well. But I have to remind them I’ve been in their shoes and I’ve been there. Every player has a different pathway, and they have a lot of opportunity to grow on the field, but also off the field. So I see that in my players now, especially the younger players, they sometimes have difficulty seeing past their first year and just explaining [to] them to be patient and their time will come, and it’s a long process.
How difficult was the adjustment from playing youth to playing at a university level?
My rookie year [at] SFU, we did have a younger team, so I probably had more opportunity within that team to play and to start so I was able to get playing time right away, which was one of the reasons I chose SFU, because there was a lot of opportunity there to play as a rookie.
Was there a specific game or moment in your collegiate career that you look back on fondly?
In my final [conference] tournament of my senior year I got MVP of the tournament. I think it came full circle that maybe I wasn’t highlighted as that player my whole career, but finishing my senior year off in that conference tournament of the independent institutions for the NAIA, I was able to get that recognition.
Did you have any opportunities to go pro after university, or did you want to stick with coaching?
I was coaching youth throughout my university career as well, so I continued to play premier women in B.C. on a highly established team at Surrey United where we won multiple provincial championships — we won a national championship — and I was with a group of players that that were likeminded, and we just stuck together, so I didn’t pursue anything outside or travel.
After four years coaching with a titan sports program like SFU, what has it been like adjusting to UFV?
Bringing in players who want opportunity, who maybe have been overlooked by larger schools is where we have our success, and we’ve come a long way in two years.
How has the transition been from coaching teenagers at Surrey United into coaching college students?
The transition has been fairly smooth, especially working with U-18 athletes, I have actually gone full circle and coached some players who I coached at youth as well, all the way from eight years old up. Even one of my incoming recruits this year [Alivia Newman] I had coached from U-10 to U-18 at Club as well, I coached at Surrey United for her youth career.
What advice would you give student athletes looking to start their coaching careers?
Start early and look to get your licensing done while you’re at school. Reach out for help. See where they can get certified early and just climb the ladder.
Interview has been edited for length and clarity
