Chris Johnson is the head coach for Team Dash and has been in the CE family for 8 years coaching multiple teams.  We are very fortunate to have Chris, as he is a coach who loves to teach and develop young players and share his passion for the game.  Learn more about Chris and his team, Classics Eagles Dash, below:

1. What is your favorite thing about coaching Team Dash?

I’ve always coached my kids, because it gives me another way of staying involved in the things they participate in.  Aside from spending time with my own daughter, coaching has also given me a way to get back to a sport I a spent a lot of time playing when I was younger.  I enjoy passing along many of the things that I was taught, but I use this as an opportunity to improve my knowledge of the game as well.

As for this particular team, many of these girls have been playing together for several years.  They are still playing just to have fun, but are learning a lot along the way.  They always come to practice and games with a smile on their face, and never take wins and loses too seriously.  That will change in the next couple of years, so I’m just enjoying this age while it lasts.

 

2. How many years have you been coaching and working with kids?

I have four kids, and have been coaching for over 10 years since my oldest was 4 years old.  I’ve been involved with OYAA since 2008, and this is my fifth year in the CE organization.  I’ve had at least two teams for 8 of those years, and three teams the last two.  I coached my older daughter's CE team (Phoenix) from U9 - U12, until many of the girls moved on to Barca, Club Ohio, etc.  Her team played in OCL, MOSSL, and COPL and enjoyed success in all three leagues.  After two years in CE, I decided I enjoyed coaching enough to go for my E license so we could move into more competitive divisions, and I am contemplating getting my D license in the near future.  

 

3. Tell us about the other coaches or parents helping you with the team?

Greg Cuda is the other coach working with the girls on Dash.  He and I have coached together since many of the girls played together in OYAA at the U5 age.  We both travel for work quite a bit, so it’s been great having two coaches that are on the same page regarding what the girls should be focused on. 

 

4. How would describe the team's personality?

Every girl on the team is smiling nearly the entire time we are together.  They seem to love to get together, goof around some, and just have fun.  Every girl clearly enjoys being there and wants to work hard to get better at the sport.  That’s all you can ask for as a coach.

 

5. What do you think makes this group of players special? What do you want them to accomplish this year?

One of the most special thing about this group of girls is how well they are competing each season given the fact that all are third graders, and more than half of the team is playing up a year.  I’m historically not a fan of kids playing out of their age group, but since many of these girls have been playing together for years, and also live near each other and go to school together, it seems to make some since to let them play together for a while longer.  Unfortunately, that means they end up playing teams that are sometimes predominantly fourth graders.  While they just physically get outmatched in those games, you can still see them working on the things we have been teaching and doing their best to hang with the other team.  Sometimes we take one on the chin, and sometimes we are neck and neck with them like we were against Sporting Columbus this past week.  It’s a lot of fun to watch them compete well against teams that, on paper, should win decisively.

Our goals for them this year are to continue to work towards a more possession oriented brand of soccer.  While we continue to work on individual skills at every practice, we want the girls to recognized how to spread the field and what is the right option for the team to keep possession of the ball.  The other team can’t score if they don’t have the ball.  It’s also a great approach to playing against teams that outmatch them physically.  We are definitely a work in progress on this front, with some games going much better than others.

 

6. How did you come up with the name "Dash" for the team?

We are named after the Houston Dash of the National Women’s Soccer League.  No one has any particular allegiance to this team.  When we formed the team going into the fall 2018 season, we had to pick a name before we’d gotten the girls together.  I wanted to pick a name that had some meaning in the sport for girls.  This one stuck out…although I’d admit most have probably forgotten this is where their name comes from.  ;)

 

7. How do you spend your time when you are not coaching?

As I mentioned, I have four kids and until this year all four played soccer, so my time was dominated in season by either coaching or attending games.  I coached three of the four the past two years, and still coach two this year.  My oldest son moved on from soccer this year, and oldest daughter moved to Barca, but I’m not finding much extra time yet.  In the off season we just tend to relax, go to movies, the pool, etc.  Basically finding time to spend together as a family since we spend the fall and spring headed in four different directions most of the time.  

 

8. Who is your favorite soccer player? Favorite team?

The teams I find myself watching most often are the US National Teams (both men and women) and the Columbus Crew.  As for players, I really enjoy watching Tobin Heath and Christian Pulisic play.  Their technical abilities are unmatched on their teams and it’s just fun to watch them create opportunities.  In my opinion, Tobin Heath is the most skilled player on either side just about every time she sets foot on the field.

 

9. What is the most important thing you want the players to learn this year?

Greg and I both stress hard work as the key to our successes as a team.  We want the girls to continue to understand what it takes to learn and improve at something.  That’s a life skill that will translate to everything they attempt in life. 

 

10. What else should we know about Classics Eagles Dash?

I think I covered just about everything above.  I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls to coach.  It’s been a lot of fun so far and I’m looking forward to watching them improve over the course of the year.