Coach Steve Swanson - A great TEACHER. On and off the field.

Winning with Class

Through 33 seasons as a head coach, including the last 23 years at the helm of Virginia's program, Swanson has established himself as one of the elite coaches in collegiate soccer, and certainly one of the most respected. Swanson has led his teams to six conference championships, 28 NCAA Tournament appearances and 32 consecutive winning seasons during his 33-year career. He also has accumulated over 470 career wins as a head coach making him one of a small group of NCAA Division I women's soccer coaches to hit the 400-win milestone.

Takeaways:

1. Coach mentioned one of the things he thinks about when recruiting. A lot of time he looks for "special skills" or skills that make the player stand out. I think it's something we all have to think about - what special skills do WE have? And, are there some special skills we could develop to help us increase the impact we have on those around us?
2. Related to that - two things coach mentioned that he notices in players that excel at a high level
   1. The ability to handle adversity and failure in the right way. More importantly, Coach Swanson noted that this talent can be cultivated - we can build it over time. This is great news - we can build ourselves from within with each loss or setback. So, after your next loss, handle it with class and move on as a better, stronger version of yourself.
   2. And, then, once you've handled the adversity...and sometimes even if you've won...you have to have the stamina to go to come back the next time - and invest same or usually MORE. For this to happen, Coach said that we need to fall in love with the process...that process of PROGRESS. If we can do this, then there are no limits on where we can go...

Links: For more about Coach Swanson, please visit:

https://virginiasports.com/coach/steve-swanson/