New women’s coach welcomes challenge / New men’s coach brings fresh start
New women’s coach welcomes challenge
By: WILL BRAMLETT
Staff Writer
The STLCC Archers women’s soccer team returns to Meramec this fall under the supervision of first time collegiate head coach Erin Hesselbach. Hesselbach joined the Archers after leading Incarnate Word to the Class 2 State Tournament in the spring.
Hesselbach began playing soccer back in kindergarten.
“My dad coached my sister’s team and my cousin’s team,” Hesselbach said. “I would go to practice and jump into drills. Soccer came easy for me.”
She continued playing through high school at Incarnate Word Academy and then went on to play at the collegiate level at Indiana University.
“After my senior year, I decided to become a volunteer coach with IU. From that point on, I knew I wanted to coach. My college coach taught me a great deal the year I volunteered,” Hesselbach said.
Hesselbach identified her college coach Mick Lyon and her father as her greatest influences.
Her father still attends her games.
“They both are very knowledgeable and were also both great players,” Hesselbach said. “It’s great to have someone in my corner that allows me to bounce ideas off of.”
One of Hesselbach’s favorite things as a player was playing under the lights on a Friday night.
“There is something special about putting on your uniform, lacing up your boots and stepping onto the field under the lights,” she said.
As coaching is concerned, Hesselbach enjoys watching a team have success and meshing together and playing great soccer.
“As a coach, you know you had a small part in their success,” Hesselbach said.
Hesselbach said she has wanted to return to the collegiate level for some time. She described STLCC as “the right fit.”
The Archer’s next home game is Thursday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. against the St. Charles Community College Cougars. They play the Hawks from Heartland Community College Saturday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m.
Hesselbach said she does not follow a specific team, but enjoys watching international matches, hockey, and baseball and is a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Blues.
“I enjoy watching all the teams on a nice fall Sunday,” Hesselbach said.
The Archers have had consecutive trips to the National Junior College Athletic Association Championship Tournament and lost many players to graduation. Hesselbach remains optimistic.
“We’ll all be on the same page. Every game and every practice, we’ll grow stronger together,” she said.
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New men’s coach brings fresh start
By: RYAN OBRADOVIC
Opinions Editor
The STLCC Archers men’s soccer team is under the direction of new head coach Tim Mosby.
Mosby is the third men’s coach since the program went district-wide, starting in July 2011.
Mosby said he has been playing soccer all his life, including for the University of Missouri St. Louis and STLCC-Meramec along the way. Even though he said he cannot play as well as he used to, he still loves being involved in the game, which is why he started coaching.
“The older you get you cannot play as well so I like to pass on my knowledge to students of the game,” Mosby said. “I coached at Marquette which was a very successful program and ranked number one last year.”
Mosby has a knowledge of the game from both playing and learning from his own coaches, he said.
With previous coaching philosophies rubbing off on him and ideas all his own, Mosby said he is looking to bring his coaching style to Meramec in an effort to lead his team to a winning record.
“I get thrilled teaching them skills,” Mosby said. “Defense, intensity and ball work on offense are things I really like and will implement into this program.”
The men’s soccer program performed below their own expectations last season, though.
Winning a total of two games for the 2013-14 season, Mosby said as the new head coach of the team he is looking forward to changing things and making this a contending team. Mosby acknowledged that the change will not simply happen. He said it is a process that will take some time.
“We’re very young with not many returners,” said Mosby. “We are going to take [this] one game at a time but we have very skilled players that come from winning programs and have the hunger to win which I cannot really teach.”
The skill is what sets this year’s team apart from teams of the past, said Mosby.
With the team predominantly made up of freshmen, Mosby said he hopes the players will come back, so the Archers can have a solid framework for next season.
Mosby said building this team step by step is going to take time, but he is very optimistic as to what this team will become in three years.
“Hopefully we will win some playoff games by the end of this year. If we get everyone back healthy we will have 11 returning starting freshmen as sophomores which will help us peak and therefore help recruiting,” Mosby said.
“The journey will not be easy”, Mosby said.
“We just have to hang onto wins and score under pressure; we are going to have to fight and refuse to lose,” he said.
