Jeanne Nielson
Wheaton College (IL) Women’s Soccer Assistant Coach
United Soccer Coaches Faith-Based Coaches Community Member
“Success, for me as a coach, is teaching, inspiring, and shaping a group to far exceed an onlooker’s expectations on the basis of talent alone – through teamwork, desire, joy, and pure grit and hustle.”
Who or what inspired you to pursue coaching?
I have always recognized that sports provide a training ground for all of life. The context of pressure, intensity, competition – and the need for teamwork and effort – all serve to create a microcosm of the situations and challenges we face in work, callings, relationships, and family settings. It was my college soccer coach at Trinity International University, Patrick Gilliam, who really instilled in me a love for the coaching process, and also helped me to intentionally “connect the dots” between competitive soccer and character formation for all of life. Now, as I re-enter college coaching, I’m thrilled to be able to coach young women toward excellence on the field, as well as growth in integrity, commitment, and work ethic – all for the glory of God.
How has being a United Soccer Coaches member benefited you?
As I’ve recently moved back into the collegiate coaching arena, I believe this will be a place for continuing education, collegiality, and mutual encouragement as we pursue this important calling together. I value the connection to this community and the common goals we’re pursuing.
What do you feel has been the most challenging part of coaching?
The hardest thing about coaching is being a wife…and a mom to four kids ages 12 down to 5…and then a college soccer coach! I want to be fully present with my husband and my kids, even as I absolutely love coaching soccer and get so much fulfillment from that. There are tensions here, to be sure, but it is my conviction that my family can be my most important priority AND I can completely give myself to coaching. This is an area that I am constantly evaluating and one in which the daily rhythms of life may look different in and out of season, but it is a balance that is very important to me and an area in which I am always trying to grow.
Secondly, I really hate losing! There are few things more difficult than knowing you’ve prepared (yourself and your players), done everything you can to win, and have an important game slip away. But, even in this, disappointments can fuel growth in integrity, character, and resilience – all traits that continue to grow me as a coach and that also help young people in the years beyond college athletics.
How do you measure success with your team?
Success for any given team should be measured by a group reaching – and even exceeding – their maximum potential given their talent. The best teams actually surpass their individual abilities; the whole is stronger than the sum of the parts. Success, for me as a coach, is teaching, inspiring, and shaping a group to far exceed an onlooker’s expectations on the basis of talent alone – through teamwork, desire, joy, and pure grit and hustle.