Coach's Time With English Team Could Open Eyes To GC Soccer

Published: April 13, 2021

McMahon Learns From Premier League TeamReprinted with permission of The Greenville AdvocateBy Bill WalkerBrian McMahon has been searching for anybody to talk to.The head coach for both the men's and women's soccer teams at Greenville College just completed a successful campaign that included a combined 21 victories between both squads, including a program best nine by the women's team. But the strong season, although impressive, isn't what McMahon wants to talk about.McMahon recently returned from a week-long trip where he followed coaches, players and staff of the Middlesbrough English Premier League Soccer Club.He arrived back in the United States last week to an empty campus at Greenville College. Because students, professors and coaches have left the school for the holiday break, McMahon has very few people to tell his story.It was an awesome experience, McMahon said of the trip.For a man who grew up eating and breathing soccer, and now coaching a college program, the trip was an experience of a lifetime.It was, in essence, similar to me following Tony LaRussa and the Cardinals around for a week, he said. Obviously soccer's not as big here, but in England, it's life.For McMahon, it's always been life.The Mansfield, Ohio native began playing soccer at the age of four. While his friends were idolizing players on the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians, McMahon grew up wanting to be just like players on the Liverpool Football Club.My room has always been decorated in Premier League stuff, he said.His love of soccer grew as he played the game at Mansfield Christian High School and later excelled on the field at Indiana Wesleyan University.Now, after his sixth season at the helm of the Greenville men's team where he has resurrected a struggling program to become a perennial power in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC), McMahon took advantage of an opportunity he was presented during the past summer.For one week in each of the past three summers, McMahon has helped teach at a camp in Seattle conducted by legendary American college soccer coach Cliff McCrath.During those annual trips west, McMahon became friends with Paul Barron, a soccer coach with Middlesborough.This summer, Barron invited McMahon to join him in England for a week.I was chomping at the bit, McMahon said. The Greenville coach was joined by McCrath's son, Steve, also a coach at Barry University near Miami, Florida.I left on the trip, excited to have my eyes broadened to the game as a business and structurally, he said. That's exactly what I found.McMahon calls himself structured, detailed and futuristic, and who could argue.In six seasons at GC, McMahon has brought the men's program from struggling to where it is now. When I took over, I had five players, two of which had never seen any substantial time, he said.Since then, the Panthers have seen an increase from four wins to 14. The team has also appeared in two consecutive SLIAC postseason tournament championship matches.As structured as McMahon may be, he admits his attention to detail cannot compare to that of a professional soccer team.McMahon spent the week shagging balls, catching kicks and watching. As he watched, he was amazed at how specific Middlesborough's coaching methods are.Some people think (soccer) is just a bunch of guys running around out there. With eight-year-olds it is, but when it gets to the professional aspect there are one-on-one matchups that they try to isolate, he said.For Middlesborough, as is the case with all English Premier League teams, there is a coach for everything. Defense, offense, special plays, weight training and physical therapy all have their own coaches. Standing over all of them is the team manager. In Middlesborough's case, the manager is Garreth Southgate.Southgate, a former player on the English national team, told McMahon upon meeting him that nothing was off limits during his visit.I took advantage, McMahon said.He toured the club's entire facility, a complex he described as amazing. Eight practice fields surround the club, located away from the stadium.The grass is like a putting green, just magnificent, McMahon said.And players also get to enjoy the best the sport has to offer inside the building. Each player, there are over 20 on the Middlesborough roster, has his own kit room where he requests whatever equipment he might want for that particular day.An entire room is devoted to shoes, not to mention the weight room, sauna, physical therapy and cafeteria areas.While visiting the team, McMahon enjoyed Middlesborough's match with Wigan Athletic from the President's Box where he sat next to the billionaire owner of the team, as well as players that were suspended due to carding situations and other team officials. Despite all the luxuries, the Middlesborough club sits in the lower half of the Premier League.Currently, Middlesborough is in 14th place in the English Premier League standings, trailing the league leading team Manchester United by 27 points.As is the case here, money rules, McMahon said.Teams such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal annually vie for the championship while other teams fight for relegation. In relegation, the bottom three teams of the league are demoted to the English Championship League. The top three Championship League teams then advance to participate in the Premier League the next season.The fact that Middlesborough has remained in the Premier League for nearly 20 years speaks volumes about the coaching staff.McMahon hopes to include some of the practices he witnessed at Middlesborough to improve his program.Some of the drills, McMahon stated, are already used in his practices. But variations based on speed and increased pressure could be used to improve his team's ability in tight situations.Additionally, some of the weight room practices used by the Middlesborough club will be instilled in the Panther program.Right now, our players use weight training Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the off season, but that won't begin until January, he said.As a contrast, Middlesborough players work daily on core strength, before and after practices.I'll certainly incorporate some of that into our weight room workout, he said.But one area where McMahon and the GC program could really see an impact of the trip, and more importantly the association with a Premier League team, is in recruiting.As a coach, for the rest of my career, I will be able to share my experiences with recruits, he said.Whether it's used as a conversation piece, or getting respect from a recruit, which is a big deal, slight things can change the decision of a recruit, he said. This is one of those things recruits could find very interesting.For me to get to the point in my coaching career where I'm interacting with these types of players, it's just an unbelievable deal, he said. In some regards, it really hasn't sunk in.