First off, what are you up to now?
I’m retired but in name only! I’m involved in youth and high school soccer in Western, PA. I coached for 30 years at Pitt and retired 10 years ago. But when people know you are still around they call you! Now I can pick and choose what I want to do and enjoy working with the kids.
I know you do some writing on soccer as well?
I have written books yes – and do some environmental writing on conservation as well.
I started way back. When I played for the Atoms I looked for some books to read on soccer and couldn’t find any. I thought that I could write one! Of course it was more difficult than I thought. I contacted a number of publishers and talked about how soccer was a growing sport. Most said no, but one – Winchester Press – said yes. I published one with them and then a number of others with Human Kinetics Publishers.
How did your love of soccer begin?
I grew up in a small mining town in Western PA – Beadling. It’s had a rich soccer history – it won the National Soccer Cup in 1954. My dad played for them – I grew up in that soccer culture.
I went to West Virginia as a Freshman then transferred to Pitt and played soccer there for three years. I wanted to be a wildlife biologist – that was the plan. I was going to go to grad school when the Philadelphia Atoms of the North American Soccer League gave me an offer to play for them. When you’re a 22 year-old and get paid to do something you’d do for free – you take it!
Most of the players in the league were European division 1 guys. After a couple of years I went to the American Soccer League – that was one division lower – to play for the Pittsburgh Miners. I took grad school courses while I played and then a couple of years later the Pittsburgh Spirit of the Major Indoor Soccer League signed me. When I was done playing the Pitt job had opened up and I was an assistant coach at first. That all changed my wildlife biology plans!
How did you make that transition from player to coach?
I love the game and if I had a choice I would rather have played than coached. But at some point your body tells you you can’t play any more.
I got an offer to coach at Pitt – it wasn’t a hard decision. That said, I had never coached before and didn’t know what issues I would be facing. At times I would wonder what I was doing there! As a player you are responsible for your play. As a coach you’re more reliant on the 25-to-30 guys to do what they should be doing. It’s a different mentality.
Where there coaches you played for that helped shape your approach to coaching?
Right out of college I played for the Philadelphia Atoms and Adam Miller was the head coach. He had won a championship the year before. I took a lot from him. He was demanding – that’s what a coach has to be – but they have to do it the right way. I didn’t respond well to negative comments as a player. If you told me what I had to do to be the player I needed to be – I responded better that way. I took that into my coaching. I feel like you need to treat players with respect and challenge them the right way. Now, if they aren’t trying, there are times when you can talk down to them a bit.
How did you turn that Pitt team into such a successful program?
We weren’t fully funded at Pitt over all of my years there. In the Big East then, we had some of the top soccer teams. Connecticut was a top team. It was all about recruiting good players. I’m not sure what made us so successful – we just kept working on it. We recruited good players with good ability but who also wanted to be good. It always comes back to the player – I kept that in mind as a coach.
What was it like playing for a couple of start-up teams like the Miners and Spirit?
I just loved to play and getting paid to play. The Miners were like the Riverhounds today. I was their leading scorer my first year there. When I was with the Atoms I’d play but I wasn’t a consistent starter. I didn’t think that would change – they kept bringing in European players all the time. I was 22 – I wanted to play.
I had a good parting with the Atoms – Coach Miller was good with me. I went to the Spirit after two years with the Miners – I preferred outdoor soccer but I enjoyed both experiences.
Lastly, what do you think of the state of soccer in Pittsburgh now?
The Riverhounds are solid – they’ve been here for years and have had their best couple of seasons as far as attendance is concerned. There are discussions – rumors – of them moving up to the MLS. But there are still some things they’d need to work through – the stadium has to hold a certain number of fans – things like that. But they’ve been successful so far. Pitt, RMU and Duquesne are solid college programs as well. If I had to vote, I’s say I’m optimistic about soccer in Pittsburgh.