Men’s soccer coach, Jesse Cormier, recorded his 75th career win during his 10th season at UVM. Despite beginning the year with a record of 5-1-2, Cormier said he believes that his team has a lot to learn and improve upon, both on and off the field.
A graduate of UVM’s Class of ’95, it was natural that Cormier would one day coach a sport that he said has taught himimportant life values. While playing all four years with the men’s varsity soccer program, Cormier credits his coach with teaching life lessons that continue to impact his life everyday.
“To have a coach who believed and instilled things in me,” Cormier said. “I’ve felt it important for me to follow through and create a similar scenario for our players.”
Since taking over the job as the Catamounts head coach, Cormier has had success both on the soccer pitch, and in preparing his athletes for the next chapter of their lives, an aspect of the career that he said he now defines as one of the “most important” in the coaching process.
Cormier acknowledges that any team is going to have some level of success and some failure. However, the life skills that can be taken from participating in sports are crucial for the development of athletes into young men.
“I don’t measure the success of our program on 75 wins, I measure it on the young men that we turn out every year,” Cormier said. “They are learning much more than just X’s and O’s and how to win games, they’re actually learning how to be successful and win in life.”
Cormier admits that time has allowed him to delineate between coaching for the sole purpose of success, and coaching to provide a sense of value for teamwork and community.
More than the wins, Cormier said thathe values the athletes that come through the program, and appreciates being able to influence their lives both during and after their time at UVM.
Cormier commented on the positive environment around campus, and the sense of community, which helped to developed lifelong friendships. These friendships can help to hold a team throughout the long seasons, which Cormier believes is vital in order to reach success as a team.
Despite starting out the season with a strong record, Cormier said he is more focused on the finish.
“We started well, but what we need to do is continue to get better,” he said. “We want to hit peak form in mid to late October, when we go into playoffs in November.”
Cormier believes that the team is capable of developing a consistent mentality, however due to young and inexperienced players, Cormier understands that this will come with time.
After losing a lot of influential attacking and midfield players last year when key players graduated, Cormierexplained how the maturity level of this years squad is not where it has been in past years. However there is a lot of potential this year, and there is a chemistry which is building within the attacking positions.
It is important for the team to maintain a high-tempo training environment in practice, which can be translated into matches. Cormier noted that when expectations are high and demands are high, the athletes are being held accountable. “This gives the players a consistent idea about what there are suppose to put out, and give to the team each day.”
The Catamounts host the Hartwick Hawks at Virtue Field on Saturday, Sept 28 at 1:00 p.m. UVM will face their first America East conference opposition when the Binghamton University Bearcats travel to Virtue Field to take on the Catamounts on Saturday, Oct 5.
