Posted: Oct 11, 2019

Coach's Corner: Jacob Pesarcik

PAXTON, MA - Men's soccer season is in full effect, and the squad is having a solid season. In this Coach's Corner spotlight, goamcats.com sat down with head coach Jacob Pesarcik for his thoughts on the first month of the season. Pesarcik also gave his thoughts on what lies the rest of the way for the AMCATS as they make a playoff push.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SEASON SO FAR?

PESARCIK: Together as a team, both on and off the field we have made progress in the right direction, but there are still much-needed areas of overall improvement. With twenty-one new freshman players and seven upperclassmen, we all need to be patient with ourselves and our teammates as we work to grow this men's soccer program to achieve an overall higher standard compared to years past.

Both players and staff have learned and will continue to learn through the experiences of this season so far, these experiences will make us better. We have three weeks left in our season, and six matches left with all those being within the conference, we need to have a strong run. Both players and staff need to continue to work extremely hard on a daily basis and take advantage of all opportunities in getting proper results moving forward. So far as a team this soccer season, we have shown some great brilliance at times both on and off the field, now the key is consistency with that brilliance.

WHAT ARE SOME STRENGTHS YOU HAVE SEEN WITHIN YOUR TEAM SO FAR THIS SEASON?

PESARCIK: I am extremely proud of the upperclassmen players in how welcoming and inviting they have been with our relatively large freshmen player class. I am confident to say that warm welcome has helped these freshmen players settle-in nicely within our soccer program, and the overall Anna Maria College community. A strength we have been working on and will continue to work on is building our team culture through a character first approach. Our culture includes all aspects of life with respect, accountable, effort, discipline, and attitude as the five main pillars of our experience. However, with that said, we also need to be mindful to keep on developing our team culture in a positive manner on a daily basis.

WHAT ARE SOME AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT FOR THE REST OF THE WAY?

PESARCIK: Both overall technically and tactically as a team we need to be better, but also this develops through time as student-athletes grow and as we grow our soccer program to a higher standard. Teammates and staff are held accountable in performing their roles and responsibilities to their best of ability on a consistent daily basis. Student-athletes need to stay coach-able, buy into the process and stay committed to the cause through proper effort. Staff needs to keep developing both players and team to work for and achieve a higher ceiling. We have a great opportunity to truly make a difference and make an impact within these last three weeks of the season, it is on us to take full advantage of the opportunities coming our way.

WHERE WOULD YOU SAY THE TEAM'S MINDSET IS CURRENTLY AS YOU ENTER MID-OCTOBER?

PESARCIK: As mentioned earlier, for most of our current players this is completely a new experience for them, playing and competing at the college level. Some may say they are currently a bit leggy, but that is the grind of college soccer. Firstly, you have to properly prepare yourselves for the soccer season in the off-season in order to have a successful in-season. Now, when we get to this period in-season when possibly making a playoff spot is on the line you got to dig deep and find strength both within yourselves and find support within your teammates.

Our mindset is good, as a group, we are enjoying daily the overall experience and privilege of being a student-athlete even with all the highs and lows that come along with this season. These last three weeks will be a true test of our student-athletes character in seeing if we have what it takes to achieve the results we are aiming for to aid us in the right direction and to continue our overall positive development as a soccer program.