As a player at Slippery Rock in the early 70's, I had a chance to play for Jim Egli.  He gave me the chance to learn and fall in love with the game.  As a player I made friendships that last even to today and even though 25 years or more may pass, we get together and pick up like it was yesterday...even though our lives have travelled totally different paths...there is still that common love of the games and shared experiences.  As a coach I have had the opportunity to meet and work with some of the most influential figures in the growth of the American game.  They directly and indirectly shared their passion for the game.  It has taken me all over this country and overseas...experiences that I would never have had and people I would have never met. The chance for any of this to happen to players I have coached is what I hope for...to build friendships and relationships that know no boundary of time...to get to be part of something special in the game...the wins, the losses, the excitement and the disappointments.  And that one day they will pass it on to their own kids, to a young team they may coach or whatever sport or activity they are involved with.

------ Jim Herlinger, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

Head Coach Jim Herlinger begins his fifth season with the Pitt-Johnstown Lady Cat soccer program.  Off to a rough start in 2008 (4-13-0), the team showed solid improvement in 2009 with an 8-10-0 record, missing the WVIAC Tournament by a single point.  The team has been awarded the Silver Level Ethics Award by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America the past three seasons and earned the WVIAC Sportsmanship Award at the end of the 2009 and 2010 season. (via www.upj.pitt.edu/)

Coach Herlinger’s experience makes him the perfect candidate for our “I’m a coach because…” campaign. He started his coaching career at Pitt-Johnstown in 1974 and came back to the program as a head coach in 2008. He has had a wide range of positions, from helping to build a high school team from scratch to an NCAA Division II school. In his answers to our interview, this veteran coach expressed his coaching obsession, especially those “little things” that have motivated him to coach.

NSCAA: What motivates you to keep coaching?
Jim Herlinger (JH): The little things…the game they win, when they shouldn’t have…the look on an alum’s face when they can look back and smile with no regrets…the silliness at practice sometimes…the laughter on the bus…the hard work that players that want to play so bad, put in…when no one is watching (apologies to Anson Dorrance).  The friends that I have after all these years and the new friends I make each year. 

NSCAA: What are your thoughts on coaching education and it’s role in developing coaches?
JH: There was a time that having played the game was enough to pick up a whistle and get started…I think today it is important that coaches understand the developmental stages of children and know how to incorporate fun into the equation, especially at a young age…it seems that we have so many now playing the game, but we also seem to lose a lot as they reach their teens.  I think we need to incorporate parent education simultaneously, as parents push too early and too hard…maybe it’s the concept of how to teach coaches to teach parents that would be the next step.

NSCAA: What has NSCAA meant to you?
JH: I have been a member off and on since the mid 70’s…so I don’t know the exact number of years, but I have definitely benefitted much more being in than out.  I got to meet some really great people that influenced me along the way and have been great friends ever since.  I think one of my best experiences was working with Dr. Greg Myers when he was working on the Code of Ethics…it was an honor to have Greg ask and listen to my thoughts.  Attending the Convention when I can is a great reminder of how far we have come in this country and the growth of the game. 

NSCAA: What is your most memorable moment as a coach?
JH: Honestly, too many to list…it is why I still stay involved…it is the little things that mean the most, not the hardware and the titles, but when you might make a difference.  The simple thank you from a player.  The one that sticks out was my first year out of college working with Clyde Horner at UPJ as assistant men’s coach.  We had a player named John Gricas, who played very little, but never missed practice and was always encouraging everyone else.  After the last game of his senior year, (he got to play about the last 15 minutes of that game), John came up to us…shook both our hands and said…”Guys, I know I’m no damn good as a player…but this was the best experience of my life…Thanks!!”  Then he proceeded to walk off the field patting all the other players on the back…I have never forgotten that, and what it meant to be a part of a team.  What did it really cost us to keep him with us those years?

NSCAA: What sort of qualities do you think a coach should have? How do these qualities influence players and team?
JH: The ability to grow and change…I was once asked by a professor in college, that after 20 years teaching and coaching, did you teach and coach 20 years or did you teach and coach 1 year twenty times?  I have made mistakes, but hopefully I have learned along the way to grow as what I would expect a player to grow.
I think a coach needs to be a teacher, willing to develop a player that might come to them not quite the player they need to be…I am concerned that “winning” has become the only things that is cared about at all levels.  I certainly want my teams to be successful and win trophies and championships…not for me, but for the experience of what they can do together to reach a level that they might not have thought possible.  I like the definition of winning as “The ability to push yourself today, beyond where you were yesterday.”  If you can get an entire team to believe that, then the wins will take care of themselves (hopefully). 

NSCAA: How do you describe the relationship between you and the players during coaching?
JH: I try to make sure that they understand where they stand and what the ground rules are from the day they start.  I also feel that you should be able to apologize when you make an error in judgment or misspeak.  I do not lie or ‘blow smoke’ to the players and expect the same from them.
I like to think we work as a team, they are on the field and we have to work together to solve tactical problems.

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