The 29/1
Official Podcast of the West Ottawa High School Athletic Program. 29 Sports, One Team. The show that brings you into the lives of student athletes, coaches and other faces in the Panther Sports Community. Bringing you the stories you might otherwise never hear. Join Rodney Vellinga and Athletic Director Bill Kennedy as they dive in with you to get to know each other a little bit better.
The 29/1
Believe: On The Pitch with Tyler Robinson and Andrew Merlam Salazar
Join us for an engaging episode as we welcome 1st year Varsity Soccer Coach Tyler Robinson and senior captain Andrew Merlam Salazar. Tyler shares his intriguing journey on becoming the Panthers head coach, and Zar opens up about balancing his life on and off the field, including the birth of his new baby sister. Tune in for a lively discussion filled with optimism, resilience, and pop culture nods to "Ted Lasso”.
Get insights into the importance of community service, team-building activities, and the significant role family plays in the broader sports narrative. We also highlight the transformation of players like Cris Mora, who evolved from a struggling student to a team leader, embodying the holistic approach to success that Tyler and Andrew champion.
This episode was recorded on August 31, 2024.
Podcasts drop weekly at 6 AM every Monday morning just in time for that morning commute or workout. Please like, follow, subscribe, or leave a review. Even share with someone who might like to listen. Thanks for taking the time to get to know each other a little bit better. The people who make West Ottawa Athletics what it is. Go WO!
especially since it's my senior year. I want to see them grow and become better players and I want to see them. If we don't win states this year or conference, hopefully they'll win it next year. I want them to win something. West Ottawa hasn't won something for soccer in a very, very long time, so maybe this year will be the year, hopefully, but if not, I want next year to be pretty strong.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, this is Rodney Valinga with the West Ottawa High School Athletic Program and you're listening to the 29.1 podcast. 29 sports, one team, the show that brings you into the lives of student-athletes, coaches and other faces in the Panther sports community, bringing you the stories you might otherwise never hear. Join myself and Athletic Director Bill Kennedy as we dive in with you to get to know each other a little bit better. Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of the 29.1. I'm Rodney Velinga, your host, and I'm here with Panther Athletic Director Bill Kennedy. Meeting new people and getting to know more people in our community is one of the goals of this program and, bill, that's exactly what we're doing today.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, today we are joined by first year soccer coach Tyler Robinson. Tyler comes to West auto after 20 years at Hamilton. He and his wife Lauren have made North Holland their home and we could not be more excited to have their family join the Panther Athletic community.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we also talked with senior captain Andrew Merlem Salazar, aka Zar, an incredibly broad-shouldered force of positivity and skill who is making his impact felt on and off the field.
Speaker 3:Tyler Robinson, andrew Merlem Salazar. Coming up next on the 29 one, let's go.
Speaker 2:All right. Well, hey everybody, we are back here at the 29 one. We are moving on and we just keep on rocking, meeting some really wonderful people here at west ottawa. We hope you're enjoying listening, and we got a really I will call it a fresh podcast today. We got some new people in here and, bill, we got two people in here today. It's gonna be fun, uh who is it?
Speaker 4:I'm andrew merlum. I'm coach tyler robinson.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're really excited to sit down with Tyler Robinson, new head varsity soccer coach. Senior captain Andrew Merlam Salazar, aka czar. All right, I really appreciate you guys coming in. I know you got training later today. I won't call it practice, it's training.
Speaker 4:right, that's soccer lingo. Yeah, we're on the pitch.
Speaker 1:We're on the pitch.
Speaker 4:We're on the pitch.
Speaker 3:That's right. We got training, we got a session, a session, a little session coming up later today. So appreciate you guys making time. Absolutely Thanks for having us.
Speaker 2:What was the one show on Apple? Again, that's all the. What was that show? That was super hot. A couple years ago. Ted Lasso, ted Lasso, of course, so super fun.
Speaker 4:That was all the rage in our opening PD day, like our admin was Ted Lasso clips and Believe is the theme of the entire school year. We all have Believe pictures up in our classrooms.
Speaker 2:Every classroom From Ted Lasso.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's a great show.
Speaker 2:And the truth is is the coaching was pretty darn good, like just the headspace coaching, right.
Speaker 4:Yeah, just teaching themspace, coaching, correct, right? Yeah, just teaching them and coaching them every day just to be good dudes, which is what we try to do. And and the dominoes fall when you're just, you're playing for each other and you're, you're yeah, you're in right headspace and supporting each other and, of course, belief and uh, that's just a feel good, feel good show.
Speaker 1:You watch it, yeah yeah, I watched it sometimes. Sometimes, not just our school has the belief. Even when we went to Granville, they had it all over their locker room, yep.
Speaker 2:I'm sure everyone's having that same pregame speech before you head out. Andrew, you are a Senior Senior, you're a senior here at West Ottawa and you are a big brother again. Yeah, I talked to your mom. I believe it was two days ago. Today's yeah, so it was two days ago. You have a new baby in your family can talk about that just for a second.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I got a new sister um, she was born on monday. Her name I picked her name actually really her name is elena nadalia, um salazar, so that's her name. Wow, that's nice, that's really cool.
Speaker 2:That's really cool. Your mom is. Mom was able to talk to her. She's very, very gracious, yeah, after just having a baby. We were just talking about this. It was like so recent. I didn't know when I talked to her, but she was very nice and gracious. How is the sleeping going at home?
Speaker 1:It's all right. She does cry a lot. She's got like the night mixed up with the day, I guess, so she doesn't cry during the day, but she cries at night like crazy.
Speaker 2:Babies will tend to do that, won't they? You go, your name is Andrew and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to call you, because I know that is not common for people to call you Andrew, maybe a teacher or if you get in trouble with somebody. But you go by Zar, correct?
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, that's like my, like soccer name. I guess that's what they gave me that's just your soccer nickname. Yeah, so like um. So it kind of went around. It started like um. When I first joined varsity last year um, so everyone would get a nickname um and mine, since my last name is salazar, so they would just call me short for czar. So like everyone just started calling me that and then it just took that.
Speaker 2:That's pretty good. Yeah, I mean, if you ever want to go into the evil villain superhero category in your future life czar. Yeah, I mean deep voice czar, exactly, czar. We might. Let's just do that the rest of the way. So that's pretty fun.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and then, tyler, getting to know you a little bit and coming new to the West Ottawa community, new in, I guess, some ways, in that you know your wife has been here for a couple of years now. What's it like, that transition, kind of getting in the classroom here now and really being all in at West Ottawa?
Speaker 4:It's been amazing, you know, having lived in the vicinity and now living in the community, we've been immersed into it, you know indirectly. So to be a part of the West Ottawa culture officially has been amazing. And just to have my wife come home the last couple of years and just give story upon story upon story of a supportive staff and awesome students and success stories but challenges alike made me excited to you know. Finally be on board, yeah.
Speaker 2:And you've been at a couple of great communities already. You were been at Hamilton and then you've also been, you also coached at Hope.
Speaker 4:Correct. Yeah yeah, Hamilton, 20 years. Uh, as an English teacher, uh, varsity girls and boys coach a little bit of JV, coach a little bit of basketball there too. And uh, yeah, Hope college. It's my wife's alma mater. Um, Got to coach under a great coach, Coach Brandt, Coach Dave Brandt there for four years, from 2018 to 2022. So that experience was definitely formative. Learned a lot of stuff from what will be a Hall of Fame Division III coach. So, yeah, great, great supportive community Trained me for this for sure.
Speaker 2:Zar, when you are. Can I call you Zar? Yeah, go ahead. We're in the soccer environment. We're of a community trained me for this, for sure, yeah, czar when you are.
Speaker 1:Can I call you czar? We go, yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 2:We're in the soccer environment. We're going to go with czar. What is it like uh ben, for you early.
Speaker 1:What are a couple things as a student athlete that stand out about this guy to you so like I, like how he puts like classroom first, like he's making us um be more prepared like for the real world, because, like um, he has rules. Well, like they're not rules, I guess, like they're kind of are, but I like them, because expectations there we go, there we go expectations that he has for us yeah, like because, like, for example, like if you're late, well, he says, if you're, if you're on time, you're late still.
Speaker 3:So you always want to be on time, like um earlier than you're expected to czar, your season's kind of gotten off to a little bit of a slow start, but then come in the other night, make immediate impact in that second half against Granville, talk a little bit about what you've been going through early in the season and then, as you kind of get ramped up and ready to really make more of a roll, so I guess the first practice.
Speaker 1:I didn't want to injure my teammate so I tried slide tackling and my ankle just got caught. Really bad. I sprained my ankle and my Achilles a little minor, starting back up. Hopefully I'll get back into getting the minutes again and making a big difference for the team this year.
Speaker 3:Yeah, just got to get that fitness up, yeah fitness is key.
Speaker 2:Coach, this is a little different for us because we're trying to get to know you. Can, key, coach, this is a little bit of a little different for us because we're trying to get to know you. Can you just give us a little background? I know you played uh football, uh soccer at michigan state back in the early 2000s. You were a keeper. Can you just briefly tell us about that experience for you?
Speaker 4:yeah, for sure. So growing up in lansing, michigan, uh, those, those are my formative years. Uh, k through 12, lansing Waverly was my high school. Uh, the good thing about that is, um, I'm a proponent of multi-sports and I was a three sport guy. There we go. I actually played football my freshman year. Uh, did you know that.
Speaker 4:Sorry, yeah, yeah, um, and went back to, uh, organized soccer, um, and on the soccer field, I wasn't a goalkeeper until my sophomore year, so I had experience as a holding mid, just like yous are, yeah, and, and didn't really convert until that was the soccer term, by the way, holding mid yeah.
Speaker 2:So defensive got glassy eyed there, that's okay.
Speaker 4:Defensive center midfielder, I'd playing in the middle of the field, but more defensively, some more, yeah, back towards our net. So I had experience as a field player and then as a goalkeeper, so it's kind of a holistic experience that I think helps me as a coach. So, uh, it was late in the game. Um, my senior year that I got started started to get recruited by Michigan State as a. They just wanted a dependable, solid backup goalkeeper at the time. And just being across town, um, I was a lacrosse player at the time my girlfriend at the time was taking so follow me here my girlfriend at the time was taking a coaching soccer class with Michigan State's coach. She was a year ahead of me, she was at Michigan State and she mentioned to Coach Baum, who's Hall of Fame coach at MSU. Hey, I got a boyfriend who's a pretty good keeper. You should look at him. He's in his lacrosse season right now, but he was a pretty good keeper. You should look at him. He's in his lacrosse season right now, but you should go check him out.
Speaker 4:And Coach Baum wasn't happy with his backup goalkeepers at the time. So he came actually to a lacrosse game of mine in the spring of my senior year and just watched me play and was interested in at least talking to me, set up a tryout with me on Michigan State's campus to work with a former Big Ten, all Big Ten goalkeeper for MSU and he just ran me through the ringer for like two straight hours of a tryout, just like killed me basically, and I impressed him enough, I guess, and so I was a recruited walk-on so I was guaranteed a spot on the team, but I had to earn. I ended up earning some scholarship money and working my way up the goalkeeping ladder red shirt of my first year and didn't really play much my next year, but just worked my way up the ladder and by the time I was a upperclassman. Um was a starter and had success helping lead the team. So it's what I tell the guys to like.
Speaker 4:I've been in your situation, whatever your role is on the team. I've been, uh I've I've sat an entire season as a red shirt freshman. I know what it's like to just go to practice and not even have a chance to play and the only thing you can do is stay supportive, keep working hard and things and keep asking for feedback and keep asking questions and things will go well eventually for you, um, I've been injured, um, I've been a partial start. I've lost my starting spot, uh, by my roommate who is also my best friend. He like, wow, yeah, he jumped over me and we had to go home and eat every, every night together and it's like the only thing you can do at that point.
Speaker 4:I mean, you can be frustrated, but not outwardly. It's what can you personally do to get better and help the team at the same time? And so those are some of the lessons. They've they've hopefully been hearing me, me um, teach, uh, and so, um, I loved my time at Michigan state. I grew up in their backyard, my parents went there, so it was a dream school for me and I had an all around great time, and I think it helped me become, um, the coach here, I really think it did.
Speaker 3:Zara, what's that like for you to have a coach that you can kind of, you can ask those questions, no matter really what you're going through? Right you've got a guy that's got some experience to bring to the table and give you some perspective yeah.
Speaker 1:So like I feel like that's like a big game changer because like how he played at msu like that's my kind of dream school, that's where I want to go play soccer. So I feel like that like helps us a little bit. Like um get connections. I feel like he has connections at msu, so like I feel like he could kind of help us out like if we want to go to msu and like stuff like that, I feel like that's really good because especially he has experience as a d1 player, so I feel like that'll help us out tremendously you know what's really interesting about hearing you talk about that and I I really actually am happy you went to such detail.
Speaker 2:It really helps us, like, understand the depth of someone. It's not always a clear path to the top right. You see the accolades like, oh I must have a really nice, easy high school career, but that's not what it went. And lacrosse is really one of those sports where and you know this because you played it you can see the character of a person when they play lacrosse. I mean, what positions did you play for that?
Speaker 4:Ironically I was an attacker, so I scored the goals and in soccer I defended the goal.
Speaker 2:So your forearm just got hammered. Yes exactly Part of being here at West Ottawa. Of course your wife is here, lauren. What does she do here? And that type of thing. She was also a soccer player, correct she?
Speaker 4:was, yeah, high school counselor here. She just started her third year and she's primarily in the north building here. Travels to the south building as well. Yeah, um, her college alma mater was hope college, so she played for hall of fame coach, coach sears, who just uh retired. So, um, that was roughly 20. Uh, 2002 to 2006 is uh when she played and she loved every you almost look backwards to remember how long exactly right.
Speaker 4:She loved it there too and, to be honest, her connections to Hope helped me become an assistant at Hope, because coach Dave Brandt was looking for a dependable goalkeeper assistant when he got hired that role.
Speaker 2:Is that dependable goalkeeper? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:And coach Sears, her former coach, knew me because I helped the women's program one year as a goalkeeper assistant. She recommended me to coach brant. Coach brant called me, knocked on the door and and that they're that. That started my time at hope college.
Speaker 2:So, anyway, my wife yeah, you asked about a wife, but yeah, there's a lot of passions when you play sports. Talking to your mom, your mom and dad still love to play soccer. Right, tell me about that Well.
Speaker 1:I don't know why they still do my mom. She's got her ACL surgery as well. We actually got it one year apart, exactly by the same doctor, dr Stewart. I had my shoulder done by Dr Stewart.
Speaker 4:There you go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Dr Stewart has done actually three surgeries on me Really.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But they really like playing. My dad was actually a semi-pro player in Mexico. I don't know if you guys really know a lot of Mexican teams, but he was in the. They call it Fuerzas Básicas de Necaza. That's where he played over there. Really he tried out and everything, but he said it was really hard. It was really really hard. So he decided to quit and he came back wow, wow, I did not know that was coming that's really cool.
Speaker 4:That's an awesome story.
Speaker 2:Really cool that that is part of your guys story. That's incredible. One part about looking at your team and learning about you is you guys do a lot of stuff together to build character. So we have, I noticed back in the day with all Hamilton, you did car washes, you did all that type of stuff, but you've also done some things at the Gateway Mission, andrew, can you speak to that a little bit?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I feel like that was a great, great helping experience, because not only are we giving back to the community, but we're also bonding as a team. We're helping each other, we're helping other people that need help. They even told us that they're really grateful because we did work that they wouldn't complete in two weeks. We did work that like a phenomenal work. Yeah, in one hour.
Speaker 4:Yeah, in one hour and helped save them two weeks worth of work. Yeah, that was great to hear.
Speaker 3:Yeah, one hour and help save them two weeks worth of work. Yeah, that was great to hear Coach maybe talk to, I guess, kind of the influence there and why you kind of reach for those opportunities or look for those opportunities to provide your guys.
Speaker 4:Zar knows this too, but they're constantly hearing me say win at everything, win at everything, and that's winning on the soccer field. We all want to win right on the scoreboard, but multiple other ways that are more important. So winning in the community, giving back, like Zahar just said. Winning with relationships these guys have constant opportunities with brothers on the team that I've matched them up with, a partner that they might not know all that well, but they just are constantly trying to connect in terms of relationships.
Speaker 4:Winning in the classroom I mean we have, as Zah, our kind of got into it, but, um, these guys can't be failing a class like not even one class during the season, or else they can't play the next game until they they get that grade up. So winning in the classroom student before athlete and just winning. Also, just informally, we have team dinners. You know I hosted them for a team dinner at our house. We have a couple other families they're gonna host. We had a a little sand soccer tournament this past Saturday where we had a meal afterwards provided by a couple of our families. So just just winning in the fun department too it's not always business. A little bit of pleasure to just multiple ways that we can win and I think it's helping us right now. It's early in the season and you know we're two, one and one. Right now We've got some bigger fish to fry coming up right, our rivals with Grand Haven and Rockford and Holland.
Speaker 1:That's a team goal, right?
Speaker 4:Yeah, we've got to beat Holland this year, that's for sure and not to look past our non-conference game next Tuesday. But Grand Haven is a huge game next Thursday at home. Yeah, all the winning at everything is intentional work that we do to have success in multiple facets.
Speaker 3:Something else that's been intentional on your part that I don't know how much you may have heard, but shortly after you sent the rosters of your teams to all of the teachers in the building, my inbox was flooded Teachers, counselors, principals, reaching out to me and saying I wish more of our coaches did this, to the point that we're actually going to create a document in the athletic department to send out. We're going to call it the Tyler Robinson spreadsheet.
Speaker 4:No, please don't. I think I've already made enough enemies. Coaches are rolling their eyes. You just created more work for me, tyler Robinson, I don't. I think I've already made enough enemies. Coaches are rolling their eyes. You just created more work for me. Tyler Robinson, I don't even know you.
Speaker 3:The good thing is, we're not going to make them do it, we're actually going to do it.
Speaker 4:Oh, that's sweet, thank you, we're going to pull their rosters from Final Forms.
Speaker 3:But we've had teachers reach out and the reason they is as and you know, as a classroom teacher now, as a classroom teacher, I know all of the kids and what sports they're in and I know, oh, they had a game last night, so maybe that's why his energy is low here in first hour. It's that, that sort of thing that you've kind of, I guess, helped them to understand where all their kids are coming from so appreciate that and love that you did that.
Speaker 3:Can I just add a little bit to that, just to brag about my guys a little bit.
Speaker 4:I got some responses too from teachers and not just teachers, but counselors and admin and a few of them were pointed positive messages about a couple of my guys that have been rock stars in the classroom, and one in particular, chris Mora. I don't think he'd mind me talking about him because, yeah, he's just a stud Like one teacher. Three paragraphs worth of this is why I love Chris Mora so much, and it was largely just improvement from his earlier formative years and he's just like totally turned the page and he's a captain of ours now too, with czar and he's and that's his teammates lauding him. I didn't pick the captains, and it's partly what he's done in the classroom and and and people just respect that and obviously teachers respect that. So we gave him a shout out the other day when, uh, when I got that email so interesting that you bring up chris.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so, as I'm leaving the game on Tuesday night, I stop and I see Eli Paquette. Eli runs campus safety and he goes. Holy cow. Chris Mora, what a kid. That is what West Ottawa was about. Didn't have the greatest start, but he was able to change and make some changes in his life and now he's getting accolades and people are like look at this kid Yep Sc life and now he's getting you know accolades and people are like look at this kid.
Speaker 4:Yep scored it scored a great goal for us early in the second half against granville, and then, and then, like the seal was broken, and then czar gets his goal and yeah, and he's. So he's doing well in the soccer field, but more importantly, he's just a rock star off of it.
Speaker 1:So sorry, you had a huge smile on your face and they were talking about him uh, yeah, so we go way back, like we grew up with each other actually, and like I remember when he couldn't play his sophomore year, um, because of his grades he didn't want to go to summer school, um, but last couple years he's been doing really, really good with his grades and keeping up, like with his attendance and everything. So he, he's gone a long way that's such an encouraging part of sports.
Speaker 2:We always talk with coaches and we're doing this for our kids, doing that for our kids. That's tangible, right In a human being's life. A coach sees it, an AD sees it, and the biggest smile came from a friend who sees it right. Yep.
Speaker 4:You know, right, and it's winning in the relationship department. So Car is super close with them. But some of my sophomores and juniors who don't have the relationship yet with Chris, now it's like there's another connection, like I want to be like Chris and it's, and now I've got a relationship because I've heard success stories and maybe they're struggling in a certain class or whatever, even behaviorally, and like it's the Chris Moore effect, right, and so it's just helping the whole just naming things after.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly, sorry, chris moore effect, I put you in the evil villain category.
Speaker 1:You could be a good guy.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about the culture here at west auto a little bit. What's so unique? One of the unique things about west auto is how the the demographics here. We have people from tons of different cultures, tons of different backgrounds as a coach coming in here and this is kind of a little add-on to that, but soccer also, it breathes differently from every country that it's played in. Right, can you just speak to both of those things a little bit? Maybe, coach, you go first and then Andrew can go next?
Speaker 4:Sure, can you just speak to both of those things a little bit. Maybe, coach, you go first and then Angie can go next. Sure, I mentioned earlier in the podcast that my wife and I we really live in the Holland community Ever since I moved from East Lansing. I've lived in Holland for 23 years because of the diversity, because of the worldview of Holland, and it's no offense to previous employers because they treated me well. It's a great community there. It's just not. It's not this community, um, uh, and just to be immersed in it now and now in a circle soccer culture, that selfishly is. This is a soccer community and of course football, you know, and other sports and you know much respect to them. But uh, I was salivating and like super excited to be a part of a soccer community and also a world community and we happen to have some talent too. So and I knew I could have an effect on the culture here too. I just was confident in that. So it's early, but I'm excited and, zara, you can speak on that stuff too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I mostly like the Wastato culture. I like it's phenomenal, like the kids here, like they're amazing, like I like being mixed and everything. And for the soccer team, like football team, like we're all different, like, and I like that because it makes us different, makes us stand out like we. I feel like we have really great sports here. So with different cultures involved, I feel like that makes us even better.
Speaker 2:Let's go to the part where soccer is different from different countries. Right, you play in that Open Men's Hispanic League in the summertime. Oh yeah, Give me the cultural difference of playing in that league. What's that like for you?
Speaker 1:Okay, well, it depends and what division you play. So, for example, like, if you play with the older people, um, they're more like likely to injure you um a little more physical yeah, a little more physical than normal um they can't run with you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because they can't run with you. So there's reach. Yeah, the old guys know how to play older.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they do, yeah, but it's way different, Like there's more yelling involved. There's more like not like in West Ottawa, it's like more calm over there, it's more yelling, Like what are you doing?
Speaker 2:It's more like toxic. I guess you would say I used to live in Grand rapids um 20, maybe 25 years ago and there was a park near where I lived where every sunday afternoon the hispanic league played. Yeah, and boy was it loud, it was talking. The energy was high, it was intense.
Speaker 4:Yeah, can I cut? In my first five years living in holland I got recruited I can't remember why, but to play indoor soccer at the soccer spot. Did I tell you this? Yeah and uh, it was an all hispanic league. I was a goalkeeper. Uh, indoor, um, you know the game. An indoor game is just like high flying, just balls everywhere. Probably one of the only, uh, non-native spanish speakers, so a lot of language that I wasn't understanding. I know a little bit of spanish and you know serviceable, but it was competitive, like whole families would show up and playing, banging on the boards like it's a hockey game you know um, and it was so fun.
Speaker 4:Yeah, uh, and it really good soccer players.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, really good soccer players they do play like it's like the world cup, though, like every game, like they're gonna win something big, like they it was fun yeah.
Speaker 2:Do you take any lessons from that when you play?
Speaker 1:yeah, like, um, like I feel like that that's gotten me better, because like I feel like the older people and like I just like how they play, like especially like I look up to my dad, like, since he knows a lot of people around how old is your dad right now. My dad is currently 43. Oh because?
Speaker 2:he can still hang in there.
Speaker 3:He's on that list. Why don't you get to 47?
Speaker 1:Bill's 47 by the way, I figured that he still looks young, though.
Speaker 3:Look at him, he still looks young.
Speaker 2:We gotta bring this guy back. Special guest next episode.
Speaker 4:So your dad can still hang.
Speaker 1:He is getting slower on the slower end and he's not hitting the ball as hard. But guys that have gone through here, they still don't try going Because he's a defender. So they really don't try going through him because they know they can't and they've told it to him many times.
Speaker 4:They're all like why do you have to be on my side? Why do you?
Speaker 1:have to guard me Because, like he's just, he's just got the. He doesn't got the speed, but he's got the IQ of how to defend he's physical like you are.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he's physical. Yeah, that's one thing I've always loved about your game watching you as you've kind of come up through the program over the years.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:The physicality you play with. I remember, as we were getting ready for interview process with coach Robinson, and you walked in and I was like man he is not built like the traditional soccer player. He looks like he can play linebacker.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what they tell me a lot. They're all like what sport do you play? And I'm like I play soccer. And they're all like, dang, you look pretty big for a soccer player. Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 3:Yeah, when you came into the building today I was like, okay, yeah, all right, we've got coach, maybe you can talk to it a little bit, as I've watched us through the early portion of the year one of the things that really stands out to me is the size that we have. You've got.
Speaker 1:Garvalink, who is a big body. He's a boss. He's a boss who is a big body.
Speaker 3:Jonathan Kern, jonathan Kern.
Speaker 4:Yeah, jonathan Kern, really long Sonder.
Speaker 3:How does that the size and physicality that you're able to bring, and then also mixing in some of that small quick speed that you have?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think we've got a great combination of a lot of things and since day one when I was hired, we were in the weight room as much as we could be with Frank and Frank's an awesome, awesome support for us up in the up in the weight room, so he has set our guys up for success. I was intentionally in the weight room with the guys as much as I could be this summer as well. We had pretty good attendance. In that regard, that definitely helped. We're trying to stay in the weight room a little bit during the season to maintain stuff. So that's been helpful. And I'm trying to sell it to some of our guys, like myself, having been in the college game at division three, at division one. That's what those guys do too. They're constantly in the weight room. It doesn't make you slower, it doesn't make you, you know, more sluggish, it's power and it's explosion and that's soccer, and so it's helping us.
Speaker 4:I think we more help with it but, um, uh, it's paid dividends for sure, yeah yeah, I was just talking.
Speaker 3:You know, frank and I ride to football games together, so we spent a lot of time last night driving back forth the grand ledge and he was kind of going through some of the teams that stand out to him as far as teams that have really embraced the weight room and he spoke very highly of kind of the soccer program and the change that really has been made there and the way that the guys are acting in the weight room. Right, you come in and you're locked in czar. What do you, I guess, talk about your experience in the weight room and and just being around, frank, and kind of the workouts and that sort of thing and maybe how that's helped you on the field?
Speaker 1:yeah, for sure. So I like frank frank gives that energy. Like helped you on the field. Yeah, for sure. So I like frank frank gives that energy, like he he's always like come on, like this is gonna help you. Like it does help you. Like it it has helped me like crazy. Like it helps you with not getting injured. Um playing better, being more physical than other teams. It helps you just overall as a player. Um makes you look better it keeps you in fit.
Speaker 2:When you have those workouts at the beach, you're like, yeah, we'll work out at the beach.
Speaker 4:I'm glad that was like fourth on your list for reasons to work out because? Yeah, because there are more important things, like you mentioned.
Speaker 2:Well, let's talk about Azar a little bit. You know, whenever somebody comes on the podcast, I always give him credit just for coming on. Yeah, because it's not the easiest thing to do, coach. Let's talk about this guy. Let's talk about some of his unique talents and gifts. When I talked to Alex Slider about you, he had so many positive things to say. One of them was a utility player, which we'll get into because I want to come up with a different term for that. It's almost a backhanded compliment in a way, but there's, I mean, it's one of the richest things you can have as a coach. You know that.
Speaker 4:Talk about this guy to me, to us yeah, so I'm gonna use I'm gonna use a different term multi-tooled, multi-skilled, okay. So yeah, versatile as well, I mean a guy that can master different positions and be dependent on in those positions.
Speaker 2:So hard to pull off.
Speaker 4:Yeah, not just to fill in, but somebody okay, so-and-so's sick today. Plug Czar in there, so-and-so's dealing with an injury. I think Czar could be a center back. That speaks to him. I mean, he clearly has soccer experience and he's a great leader vocally and I realized that probably in the interview process when you were in on my interview.
Speaker 2:But are you drilling coach with questions in the interview?
Speaker 1:Yeah, kind of One of the questions?
Speaker 4:Yeah, or at least one. So he brings a lot of tools that's why I say multi-tooled person and he's just a good dude off the field, which is more important as well, so it helps him on the field as well.
Speaker 2:What particular things do you feel you bring to the team yourself?
Speaker 1:Well, I feel like I bring. I can be more positive than negative sometimes, but I try to be more positive. Good problem I feel like I bring positivity to the team and I definitely bring more. How would you say I push the team to become better, especially in the weight room, since I lift probably the heaviest in the weight room. I want kids to be more stronger, more physical. When they see me doing workouts, I try to help them out and like I try pushing them to their limit. So I try, I try pushing the kids harder, especially since it's my senior year. I want to see them grow and become better players and I want to see them. If we don't win states this year or um conference, hopefully they'll win it next year. I want them to win something. Wistado hasn't won something for soccer in a very, very long time, so maybe this year will be the year, hopefully, but if not, I want next year to be pretty strong.
Speaker 2:Being the player that does these multi-positions, you have to be very cerebral. Yeah, do you find that? Do you see the game that way mentally?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so.
Speaker 2:Not everybody has that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, like going back to my dad, he's always taught me how to play. I've been playing since I was three years old. So I I started really really young um, and since he has that defensive minded um, so like he's always taught me about defense. I I did play center back when I was younger, though that's what I used to play center back, center defensive, mid and um and striker sometimes.
Speaker 1:So, um, you kind of just see the field a little bit different, you see the openings and since having, I guess, a Mexican dad, he was way more stricter, like especially when I wouldn't play good or like stuff like that. So that's how I learned. I learned kind of like the hard way, like my dad really wasn't like, oh, you got this. Next time he was all like why didn't you do this, why didn't you do this, why didn't you do that? So like hard love, yeah, hard love. So he kind of taught me um to look at the openings, how to look at the field, open the field, um, don't pass here, because then the attacker is going to come, or stuff like that.
Speaker 2:So he's kind of taught me like the ropes it is probably one of the toughest things to teach as a coach is that cerebral part. A lot of the young kids today just get caught up in all the physicality right and those are all good variables I'm going to get stronger, I'm going to be faster but that cerebral part, as a coach, I mean, that's what you're doing, basically yep, um. How hard is that to teach yeah, and it's and how is it? How nice is it not to have to?
Speaker 4:yeah, correct. Uh, you know it goes back to the. It's the soccer community. Here I've already got guys that have played a ton of soccer in various contexts, like some of our guys are in high level clubs that are pretty well structured. Other guys are a high level club and the Sunday night leagues and a lot of them get together on their own and just play pickup like open field stuff, so they know soccer.
Speaker 4:So to not have to teach that and to teach more of like the macro things, like structure, team structure and team shape and cultural things, and spend more time on that intentionally and not all the soccer IQ stuff, has helped us already kind of maybe hopefully skip a few steps in the process of building something great, great here I want to say too that czar I don't know if we mentioned this he's, he's a team captain of ours, so, um, not only multi-tooled and multi-skilled, but he has his, the respect from his teammates because he earned their votes. And I when, when they vote for captains, they have to uh write and this is all anonymous too and I only see it, but they write reasons why they pick each of the players that they pick, and common comments for Zar was that he's vocal, he's positive, gets along with everybody, he's high soccer IQ and just like good holistic, all-around dude stuff, which makes him a good captain. So I wanted to make sure that got in there too.
Speaker 2:So good, wholesome all-around dude stuff.
Speaker 4:Love it it's a lot to live up to now. Zark, every day, man, he's already doing it and that's why we're talking about it right.
Speaker 2:As a coach, too, there's all these different styles to play. This is a bit of a mosaic. What is your style as a coach? What are some specific things that you teach Because every coach has this where you do a couple things, probably where you say I know people aren't doing this and this is what I like to teach. Can you speak to?
Speaker 4:that I can. Yeah, we have six team goals that are all measurable and specific and attainable. You know SMART goals that we call them. Three of them are actually goals that I've infused and I think the guys have bought into. But I want my teams to be skilled.
Speaker 4:So like keep the ball, I mean mean don't hold the ball, but keep it, like possession. So we track possession every game. Like we want to have the ball more than the other team and there's a way that we keep track of that. And we, uh we reflect after each game did we have time of possession? How'd we do? So, keep the ball. Uh, so that's one of the three. Another one of the three is uh, win the. So win the 50-50 battle. So any loose balls, we'll see how much it gets. At least it gets more than the other team.
Speaker 4:So, aggressive, and we can keep track of that. They're called offensive transitions on huddles, so we have stats for that. And then also just disciplined, and we need to be way better in that category. So, winning the foul and penalty battle every game. We're still learning some. We're taking our lumps on that. Um gave up a bad goal the other day at the end of the game because of a penalty, and so we need to be more disciplined, not not passive on the field, but find the balance between aggressive and reckless. And we're just not there yet and we're getting there. So there's that, uh, and we play a 4-4-2 tight diamond, and this is soccer lingo, you guys I'm gonna go back to ted lasso, episode seven, season two, lbr.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly uh.
Speaker 4:It's maybe a shape they're not used to. They're getting used to it too, but we have. We have a phrase called seven up, where we always have seven players forward every attacking uh situation. So one of our defenders is always getting forward and joining into the play always. That's like a. You have to do this every play and that's maybe different than what we're used to, but we have some good outside defenders that are getting up in the attack that are helping us. You know Jono and Chico and Josh Morales, and and and. So it's working. We just need to be more, more consistent with it.
Speaker 3:Yeah that's definitely something I've noticed. Just, you know I've got to watch a couple of games now and just we seem way more aggressive getting into the offensive zone than we have in years past, and it's, I mean, maybe not always resulting in in goals, but we're getting tons of chances on cage and the more chances you get, the more goals you're going to score right, and that's going to start finding the net as the season moves forward. Speaking of goals.
Speaker 2:You do a great job of posting on your social media on Instagram it's woesoccer1, correct.
Speaker 4:Yeah, woesoccer1.
Speaker 2:And one is just the number itself. That first goal of the season you guys had against Jenison, I believe. Oh yeah, this was cool as a big, as a soccer fan. This doesn't happen to happen. There was four straight one touches yeah, to score that goal yeah tell me about that, so go watch it. If you're watching this head over there, watch this, for one touch, go ahead so I was on the sideline because I couldn't play since I was injured.
Speaker 1:this, um, I think yesterday, no two days ago, was my first game back, so first goal opener. But anyways, jenison, it was second half, I believe, correct.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we were down 1-0.
Speaker 1:Yeah we were down 1-0. It went in from Nate Ward to Jaden to Colton and then he just volleyed it in. It was an absolutely banger. It was.
Speaker 4:First goal of the season.
Speaker 1:I mean, that was a great way to start.
Speaker 4:I mean, unfortunately we gave up a goal about five minutes later to lose that game, even though we should have won that game with chances. But it was a good way to start and clearly we have some offensive firepower. I mean, colton's a defensive player by trade and for him to bang that in that was pretty sick.
Speaker 2:Was he the out? Well, he wasn't the out. Defense wouldn't have been that far out.
Speaker 4:At the time yes, because we were trying to press for a goal. We were down 1-0, so we changed our shape and we were in a forwarded attacking shape and so, by design, he was forward.
Speaker 2:And so luckily he was, and, yeah, it was skilled, skilled goal. What's encouraging about that as a fan of sports is it feels nowadays in a lot of different sports well, the ball has come to me, now it's my turn to do my thing, right, yeah, it's a lot of sports, so it's my turn to do my thing. That was not that like. That was the instantaneous off my foot to the next guy was yeah, it's so well and it's it's very playful. First of all, which is a wonderful part of soccer, if you will, is that playful part, but the unselfishness on that and the beauty of the goal is just tremendous.
Speaker 1:You described it great. Yeah, it was an absolutely good goal.
Speaker 2:Not as good as your header against Granville.
Speaker 1:No, it was even better. I'll give him that that was a really good goal.
Speaker 4:First game. Really good goal for first first game really good goal. Uh, props to colton shoemaker. So yeah, it was fun. It was just fun to watch, but, like you're alluding to, soccer is a total team game. So if that ball wasn't, I think mitchell gonzalez is the one that played it to to nate, nate to chico yeah, chico to colton and so that's, that's four guys touching it.
Speaker 4:I mean, colton gets the YouTube highlights, but it's it comes down to like four or five, six guys yeah, just that vision, and I just remember looking at it and watching that play.
Speaker 2:Everybody had their head up. I just watched it because I'm like everyone's head is up, like no one's down looking at their feet. Everyone's up, it's just. This was fun. It's fun to look at.
Speaker 3:We'll kind of start to get things wrapped up here. But, coach, I want to talk real quick on kind of we're into the season now, a couple of games under our belt. We've got, obviously, a big game Thursday, not looking past Tuesday night, nope. But kind of, what are your expectations now that you've kind of gotten into it, gotten through a couple of games, seeing what you guys are capable of? Yep?
Speaker 4:I'm hoping and maybe Zara can speak more on this as a player perspective, but I'm hoping that more and more guys if not all of them have bought in that we can be something special, not just on the field but off the field and winning in all those departments. So having success and tangible results, being 2-1-1, undefeated in the OK Red thus far is it's. It's good. It's not good enough. Yet we're gonna play much better competition coming up, so grand haven looming on thursday. You know that's one of our team goals to beat our rivals. They're one of them after we hopefully take care of business on tuesday. Um, like I said, bigger fist to fry, it's gonna be. We gotta be way more disciplined because we're just too loosey, goosey and just throwing our body around dumbly and if we keep doing that we're going to hurt ourselves. So if we can solve that issue, I think that'll be maybe the most important step for us. But time will tell.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, for sure, time will tell, but definitely like we need to be more disciplined. I feel like in all aspects we could be a little bit better at everything for sure, like how he said, we just need to be more disciplined, I guess, on the field, outside the field, just being on time everywhere in general, Including nutrition and sleep.
Speaker 4:Including nutrition yeah, coach Alex gave the guys a huge, really helpful like here's how to treat your body better. This is your homework. Here's what to eat. Here's what to eat, here's what to drink, here's what to sleep, I mean. And hopefully these guys buy into it. But they're also high school boys, so we'll see if they actually follow through. Right.
Speaker 3:Zarm, you'll follow through, right, yeah, for sure, for sure. You mentioned alex and I'd be remiss if we didn't at least hit on kind of the structure of your coaching staff, really, from the freshmen all the way up, getting someone like larry de leon to come in and coach our freshmen, who has been a part of the soccer community at west ottawa for decades.
Speaker 3:Right, having that youthful energy of nate garcia with our jb I don't know that I've ever seen anyone more positive on a sideline in any sport. Like his energy is off the wall, correct? Uh, every time I see him he is fired up. Yeah, and then, having the having the experience of Alex joining you on the varsity staff not only his experience as coach but his experience with all of our players and kind of what. That's how that's kind of helped you as you've transitioned in the new gig.
Speaker 4:I got hired in late February. I sat down for coffee for an hour and a half with Alex, uh, about a week later, um, and picked his brain and took notes and uh, he and just, and, and he had been up like the whole previous night with his newborn and so he I mean that just speaks to Alex and his, his, his experience at West Ottawa and knowing the boys like intimately and about them as people helped me hit the ground running immediately. So he has been invaluable and to have him on the sideline and part of training, he's just kind of a floating assistant now. So you know he helped JV yesterday at practice and he's on the sidelines of multiple teams.
Speaker 2:He's just been tremendous that's a really cool position, by the way.
Speaker 4:A floating assistant at all three levels that's a nice, nice little thread right, he was yeah, yeah, and he's been great yep all right that's all courtesy of the union and negotiations with schedule b
Speaker 2:contracts, get those positions created so well, this is going to be fun. If you're listening to this podcast and you don't go to soccer, come out. It's fall right the. The leaves are going to change. We all know how great soccer gets in late September, early October. That's really fun, Best facility around.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you like playing there, oh gosh.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Like kid in a kids in a candy store. Every day we go there. Yeah, it's just amazing. Yeah, can I say one more thing about the 29 one? Yeah, yeah, this is amazing and it speaks to my experience in the last number of months Um, the, the, the amount of support I've gotten from fellow coaches, um, assistants, uh, former coaches, current coaches has made my transition so much easier. Uh, and that speaks to the community. I know we talked about the diversity of the community, but just to have the diversity of sports and coaches, like rooting for each other and like we are truly one team, has been on top of all the other amazing things that I've experienced here as a, thus far, a teacher and a coach. The athletic community is bar none. It's, it's been amazing. So I want to make sure I've got that plug in there, because, go, whoa, I love to hear that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's nice. I think it's. We talked about this a little bit on the site. It's like you guys are so involved with your teams. We all think coaches all talk to each other. You don't always get the chance to do that, so this is an opportunity where we can listen to each other pick. So this is an opportunity where we can listen to each other pick some things up. You know all that kind of stuff, so that's really great. So thanks for doing this, guys. Yeah, this is awesome. Thank you. Well, I am looking forward to the season, but, more importantly, I'm looking 15 years down the road when I get that action figure from Zar. Yep.
Speaker 4:Zar the.
Speaker 1:Evil Zar, and I want to add one little phrase.
Speaker 2:I do know one phrase phrase. This one of my good friends played some high level soccer back in the day and he played on a ethnic team, but it was a bunch of iris dudes. So I went to one of his games and all game was keep the ball on the floor, lads.
Speaker 2:Yeah, keep the ball on the floor lads yep, and that's what they yelled the entire game. So, yeah, it has been super fun sitting with you guys. You guys are both great energy. It's nice to meet you, uh, and I look forward to just knowing you throughout the rest of this year. Coach, it's been great meeting you. Czar, you too, dude, you are. You got it going on, man. You got a nice future. The energy you got, man. I tell you what.
Speaker 3:You guys will hear his voice over the intercom. A couple of games here this year Rodney's sitting in.
Speaker 4:Oh for soccer, sure For soccer.
Speaker 3:Do the announcing and run the scoreboard and stuff.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. I might throw Evil Villain just in early.
Speaker 4:It's going to be an alter ego because there's no Hulk, andrew by day. Yeah, all right.
Speaker 2:I probably took that one a little too far. That's okay, Thanks everybody for joining and being, and we'll see you guys out on the pitch, lads.
Speaker 4:Thank you very much, guys. Thanks, man, we'll see you.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 3:If you have enjoyed listening to the 29 one podcast, be sure to like and subscribe. You can find us on Spotify, apple, no-transcript.
