World-class individuals first, athletes secondWinning, it seems, is the most important aspect of competition among college athletics today. Collegiate coaches at all levels preach, "Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing" to their athletes, and athletes and coaches alike live for the next big "W," anxious to move up in polls, in record books and to appear in the media as untouchable.
For Bluffton University men’s and women’s head soccer coach, Steve Smucker, the end result of a match is not nearly as important as what leads up to it: the team-building training sessions, the individual plays that occur on the field and the lessons learned afterward. In fact, by emphasizing excellence of character, Smucker has implemented a coaching style that produces world-class individuals first, athletes second.
A soccer athlete from Berlin, Ohio, Smucker graduated from Central Christian High School and went on to earn all-conference honors as a player both at Hesston College in Hesston, Kan., and Goshen College in Goshen, Ind.
While completing his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education at Goshen, Smucker started a soccer program at Goshen High School, becoming the men’s varsity coach. That job led to coaching and teaching positions at Locust Grove Mennonite and Christopher Dock Mennonite high schools, both in Pennsylvania, and eventually, Bluffton University.
As an award-winning high school coach, Smucker realized he was spending too much time pacifying parents and others who demanded wins and explanations for losses. He struggled with two questions: was the athletics experience meant to be all about winning, or was it about learning how to seek excellence and doing one’s best regardless of the outcome?
"If winning is the primary focus all the time, the pressure to win overtakes the ability to execute individual skills in a given moment," says Smucker. "The result is an inconsistent team. Competition is important to generate success, but winning should be a benefit of competition, not the driving force behind it."
In Smucker’s eyes, each match is an opportunity for athletes to improve individual and team skills, steadily building momentum and proficiency. This is where many coaches draw the line, says Smucker, because our society frowns upon losing. "You can win a match and still not have success. You can also lose a match and have success. Success isn’t defined by wins and losses as much as it is by achieving personal excellence."
Striving for excellence requires teams to change how they view opponents, says Smucker. The opposing team is no longer "the enemy" but a group of individuals who challenge and push the home team to surpass previous expectations.
"On the field, competition is fierce, and even though both teams are striving to win, there is a bigger picture here," says Smucker. "Both teams need each other to bring out the best in each other. Athletes need to be challenged by other athletes who are seeking the same goal."
When it comes to setting goals, Smucker’s seniors are in charge of formulating a plan for success. "Everyone understands that individual goals fall beneath team goals. Goals cannot be selfish", says Smucker, "and that is addressed from the start."
"On the nights before games, we meet as a team and talk about what we need to do to go out and play well," says Tyler Chapman, a sophomore from Wooster, Ohio. "We look back at previous games to see what we can do better the following day."
Goal-setting is just one of the ways Smucker teaches his players to pursue excellence and build confidence. He also uses psychological skills training techniques such as imagery, anxiety control and self talk, focusing on one particular topic each season.
Smucker primes his athletes for leadership and giving back. His players participate in community clinics and officiate at high-school tournaments, creating an opportunity to work with young athletes. He provides leadership training for those interested in becoming captains or in entering leadership positions off the field. "I want my athletes to be leaders on and off the field," says Smucker. "By incorporating a leadership skills model into their lives, they gain ability to find solutions to problems by thinking, critiquing and speaking without fear."
When he took over as coach in the fall of 2003, Smucker quickly redesigned the recruitment process. The Bluffton University Soccer Mission Statement was written, providing both recruits and players with guidelines that outline academic, physical-mental and spiritual-social development.
"We review our mission statement with each and every recruit," says Smucker. "We discuss not only on-field habits, but off-field habits as well. At the collegiate level, young people are in a serious transition. There are new standards and we seek to support incoming students and hold them accountable in positive ways."
Although Smucker is interested in producing winning teams, his focus is on producing winning individuals. His effort to challenge his athletes to be great leaders is not lost on them. "I define success as being able to do what I’ve learned," says Lauren Fairchild, a sophomore from Toledo, Ohio. "When I leave Bluffton, I want to take away the skills I’ve learned to be both a leader and a better person."
Working with two very young teams for the past three seasons, Smucker knows he’s been laying the foundation for great things to come. He acknowledges that his coaching method will never be in the forefront of mainstream athletics because of our culture’s dominating desire to win.
"I believe in playing the best soccer possible and creating the best teams possible by incorporating all of the unique gifts and abilities of my athletes," says Smucker. "I believe in taking the ‘high road’ and deciding with my athletes prior to training and matches that the road to winning will be paved with respect and peace."
And whether his athletes win or lose, Smucker knows that no matter what detours life sends their way, when they ultimately exit Bluffton University, his athletes will have the excellence of character necessary to blaze their own trail through life.
