 New Coaches Encourage Passion, Find Possibility and Promise in Their Teams
The Tibetans school their dalai lama for nearly two decades before he takes over the country’s spiritual leadership. King Charles has been waiting for more than 50 years to assume the throne from his long-lived mother, Queen Elizabeth II. So University of San Francisco coach Erik Visser’s 20-odd years waiting to inherit his title, as king of the fiefdom that is USF men’s soccer, is just par for the course.
Visser, a former USF player and assistant coach, has been preparing most of his 43 years to follow his mentor, revered soccer impresario and empire-builder Steve Negoesco, as coach of the men’s team. His appointment came last December when Visser was named to the position upon Negoesco’s retirement.
“I understood I was being groomed to be his successor,” Visser said. “The University felt I would be the right person to inherit this rich program.”
Visser, who is Dutch, was recruited from Amsterdam in 1978 by Negoesco, already a well-known name in international soccer circles. Visser was a starting defensive player when the team won the national championship that year and again in 1980. After graduation, Visser was Negoesco’s assistant coach for several years until he started the University’s Division I women’s team in 1985.
It is apparent Negoesco’s legacy reaches far beyond the school soccer stadium he had built and which bears his name. Visser refers to his former coach’s philosophy, soccer program, even his personal decorum, as the standard he has set for himself.
“Number one, he always treated everybody with a tremendous amount of respect,” Visser said. “We feel we are not only coaches but teachers.”
Visser said he feels optimistic about his team—its record was 7-4-1 when USFnews went to press—despite its tough competition in the West Coast Conference, one of the country’s premier soccer conferences. His team is young—he has five freshmen starters—and two players are sons of his former teammates. The roots go even further: Assistant Coach Glenn Van Straatum is a former Don and was Visser’s college roommate for four years. Visser’s defensive assistant, Kristin Lehrer, is the only female assistant in the country to coach a men’s team.
“I want to build a team that’s a little quicker, a little faster than previous years,” Visser said. But, he added, he’s not focused on winning. “If we build pride and commitment in the program, the rest will follow.”
Kalinoski is Team Counsel
Meanwhile, Visser leaves a legacy of his own. The women’s soccer program he founded is also under new leadership with the appointment of head coach Pam Kalinoski. A former All-American player at the University of North Carolina, Kalinoski brings an equally impassioned approach to the game. Possibly too impassioned.
“I have to be cautious how I direct the team’s desires,” Kalinoski said. “I came from a program where I never lost a game, so I set high standards.”
So while she coaches to win and tries to instill a competitive edge in her players, she works within the female dynamic—meaning she does just as much coaching off the field as on.
“It’s not just about the sport. They have a lot of personal things they go through in the course of four years,” said Kalinoski, who likens the job to mothering. “A lot of it is a constant struggle to find a balance.”
A graduate student in counseling at USF, Kalinoski said she is a mental and emotional refuge for her players. The more technical points of the game she leaves to her newly hired assistant coach, and former teammate, Allison Gibson. Retired coach and the “godfather” of USF soccer, Negoesco, trains the goalkeepers. Together they are working to build a strong foundation for a relatively young team in a highly competitive conference.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Kalinoski admits, although the team’s record was a credible 5-5-1 at press time.
Kalinoski said she would like to improve her players’ stamina and strength while building on the work of her predecessor, Jean Paul Verhees, who tried to teach the team a methodical, well-organized style of play. Such aesthetics would be nice, Kalinoski says, but it may take a couple of years to develop. What the women have, in spades, is heart.
“They’ll go the extra mile for you because they know you’ll do it for them,” Kalinoski said.
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