Top Drawer Soccer Interview with Garrett Smith

I think coaching at a high level is a tremendously difficult task. First, you have to be committed to what is the best thing to do for each player. What is best for one player, however, must take into account the skills, fitness, soccer understanding, game performance, commitment, personality, etc., of each other player since each player goes through life in a bigger context than just themselves. Second, you have to be committed to what is best for the team as a whole. And, you have to figure out how to make these two commitments work together.

Neither of these commitments says you have to be committed to winning. Rather, you have to be committed to these two things and let the outcome (wins/losses/ties) take care of itself. So, you have to look at questions of substitution patterns, as well as all the other questions (Who starts?), within that framework. There are few, if any, "right" answers.

To make it even more difficult, part of the equation is the coach himself or herself and the coaching staff. What is right for one coach to do might not be right for another.

To me -- and I say this in all seriousness -- if a coach is really committed to his or her players and team, getting answers to these questions becomes an exercise in prayer: What should I do for this player? What should I do in this situation? Waiting for the answers to come and being committed to acting on the answers. Most people wouldn't call it prayer, but I think if you read Clive's philosophy carefully (not just the few quotes above), he was in a state of constant prayer about his players and his team. That is what made him the great man he was.

If you listen carefully to his interview he makes pauses and thinks thorough his answers to make sure he does not upstage any his players. Specifically he was very careful in answering about his incoming class.

It is refreshing to see a coach place the team concept over any one player.

Another factor which I don't think has been mentioned is styles of play. UNC, at least when I have seen them, plays a LOT of high defensive pressure. This requires more effort and running by attackers and mids in their attacking third when the other team has the ball there, and therefore requires more subbing to keep these players fresh. I wonder if UNC subs less with their defenders than with front players (I don't know). UP, on the other hand, plays more possession ball so that other teams are chasing us more than vice versa, perhaps meaning less running for our players and therefore less need to sub to keep players fresh.

This has been a very interesting discussion with some very relevant points being made.

I think this season could prove to be enlightening in at least two differant but overlapping ways:

1. In terms of playing philosophy: How does "possession" soccer stack up against "high pressure" soccer? The games in late September against Cal and Stanford should be a good acid test of this.

2. Is this the year that Garrett Smith steps out completely from the shadow of Clive Charles to become his own man/coach? He most certainly has good opportunities to prove his mettle, specifically:

How will he adjust to compensate for the huge loss of Kelsey Davis who was the heart and soul of his team last year, both in terms of playing ability and leadership. (Kelsey saved Portlands bacon more than a couple times last year.)

How will he adjust to compensate for the loss of Michelle Enyeart (and Charney Burk for that matter) especially considering the unknown status of Kendra Chandhoke?

What will he do to shore up his team's defensive back line which was wobbly at best last year?

Yes, I think this is Garrett's year.

To be honest, I think he will do very well. It will be a pleasure to watch.

I couldn't agree more, A Fan. High pressure, possession, long ball (ugh), pack-it-in (ugh, ugh) - You need the players and the coaching, whatever the style you play.

I don't think you replace players specifically with other players. You replace them by everyone who is returning being improved. The list of UP players who have moved on from Portland could staff a national team, in their primes, but the new players just keep coming in.

And, you're 100% correct about the defense. If everyone is healthy, it will be the strength of the team. We agree about everything - you must be pretty smart!!!

Are possession and high pressure mutually exclusive? The Pilots do both. When the Pilots lose the ball, they are on it again in a flash, giving the opponent very little time or space to react. The Pilot strikers and mids play both ways at a high level of intensity and skill.

They are pretty much exclusive, at least as I understand it. "High" refers to a part of the field - the offensive third. So, the "high pressure" we talk about, at least as I describe it, means intense defensive pressure in the high part of the field - the offensive third - in other words, defensive pressure all over our offensive end. Most teams, when the other team gets the ball, retreat to somewhere around the midfield line, and leave just the two attackers chasing in the offensive end. They are primarily looking to disrupt a little and get into passing lanes. UNC typically (when I have seen them) also puts their outside mids and maybe a central mid up into the offensive end when the other team gets the ball. They also play with only a three- man back line, leaving another player available for this high pressure. So, the high pressure is intense defensive pressure in the "high" part of the field. UP plays with intense defensive pressure around midfield, but not in the "high" part of the field.

You other coaching types - Does that sound right?

Actually, PH, re-reading your post, they probably do not have to be exclusive. A team can play "high" pressure and still play possession when they get the ball. I guess my point was that "high" pressure refers to pressure in the high part of the field, not to intense pressure.

In my vocab, high pressure is what we do when the other team has the ball: the player closest to the ball starts the defense by closing down that player in possession and the defense sets up from there. The alternative is more of a zone d where you drop back into your own half and let the other team do whatever they want with the ball until they cross half way or wherever you set the line.

Possession is an offensive strategy that favors keeping the ball and playing around the field - back and forward, left and right, with retaining the ball a priority and looking for the opening. Patience is a key to this approach; contrast is the quick striking "route one"game that often features the long ball forward for a big front player to knock down. Size is less important in the possession game.