Tommie Talk: Q&A with Men's Soccer coach Aaron Macke

August 20, 2007

Editor's Note: St. Thomas men’s soccer head coach Aaron Macke, a former standout Tommie player, has made an immediate impact in his five seasons as head coach. He's compiled a 55-25-10 record (.667), and his teams have beaten conference power Macalester three times in a row. As fall practices began, Macke answered questions about his program, Division III athletics, and traits of successful college players:

Q--What are some of the strengths of St. Thomas -- both the university and its soccer program -- that you highlight to recruits and their families?
  
A--UST is the largest private school in the state, providing a University atmosphere and diversity of knowledge. It’s also small enough to be student focused and provide high-attention customer service. The location of the school allows for students to apply their classroom learning by engaging in the surrounding communities of the Twin Cities, take advantage of internships with Fortune 500 companies, and pursue an active social life.

The soccer program has both a varsity and junior varsity team. It holds winning records against nine MIAC opponents. The staff of four coaches has been together for 10 years and takes great pride in working with each person to develop them as players, students and citizens.

Q--What’s special about the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and NCAA Division III athletics?

A--Division III attracts student-athletes and not athlete-students. The MIAC embraces this philosophy, and all the coaches understand the responsibility we have to the holistic education of our players. The conference is also one of the most competitive in the nation from top to bottom.

Q--What are some of the traits and talents that make for a successful Division III student-athlete?

A--Because of the intense focus on academics and the demands of athletics, Division III students have to be well balanced and focused on the end goals of college.

Q--What accomplishments are you most proud of in your 10-year era as a St. Thomas assistant coach and head coach?

A--I’m proud of the job we’ve done representing the men’s soccer program within the St. Thomas community, giving it exposure and respect. I’m also proud of the turnaround the program has taken after very difficult years in the late 90’s.

Q—How do you use your assistant coaches and team leaders as you try to give personal attention to all your athletes?

A--With three assistant coaches who have been around the college game and specifically have been with UST for many years, they understand the importance of personal attention and are committed to giving it. Each one of us has a role to play in regard to training/coaching, but we all have a personal responsibility to educate, serve and develop our athletes.

Q--What are some of the memories and life skills you hope your athletes take away after their college careers end?

A--First and foremost I want them to take away life skills and memories. I don’t think we can assume that because they are student-athletes these things will just happen. In fact, I know that we sometimes take it for granted that it does. Accountability is very difficult to instill or teach, but is probably one of the most essential things that we help our athletes understand. Knowing that they are accountable to themselves, their teammates, their school and their sport helps them make better decisions, prepare better, and lead with greater purpose.

Q--As a coach, do you gain more satisfaction in coaching an All-Region or All-American or simply in developing an athlete to his potential?

­A--It’s too early in my career to know what exactly gives me the greatest satisfaction in coaching. Connecting with the players, regardless of their talent level or achievements, is most rewarding. That connection takes many forms and is different for each player.

Q--Teamwork and chemistry seem to be important elements in soccer. How do you try to develop those concepts in your players.

A--With the ratio of players to ball and size of field to goal, soccer is one of the most difficult games to achieve points in. Consequently, working together is crucial, and helping the players understand this is essential. We spend a lot of time talking about team offense and team defense and the concepts that are involved in both.

­Chemistry cannot be taught, it can only be developed and re-developed over and over again. As soon as you fall in chemistry in one part of your game you fall back out again somewhere else. Persistence and focus are the keys.

Q--What's the biggest adjustment most soccer players face from high school to college?

A--Improved athleticism -- the players are stronger, faster, quicker in college. High-school players have to make a rapid adjustment. Another big challenge for HS players is that many of the good ones have never been told they're not good enough or need to work on their game if they even want to make the team. It's both a physical and mental adjustment.

Q--What's the early outlook for your 2007 season?

A--Having just completed our first day of tryouts, it's way to early to give an outlook. We have a group of seniors and juniors with varsity experience. It’s still to be determined, however, if we have a core group of leaders that can step up and make the difference.