Brooks Monagan took over for the University of Memphis women’s soccer team in 2000 at the age of 26.
It was in 2000 when an unknown 26-year-old University of Memphis men’s soccer player was appointed the interim head coach of the women’s team after the sudden resignation of the previous coach.
Brooks Monaghan took over the struggling women’s soccer program. Immediately, he showed he could recruit talent and coach that talent, which convinced the university to quickly eliminate the interim tag after the first year.
In less than a decade, Monaghan took the Tigers to five consecutive Conference USA titles and NCAA tournament appearances from 2007 to 2011.
But since 2011, the program stalled with no titles, no NCAA appearances and this year finished the season with an 8-8-3 record.
“I don’t think our leadership has been as strong, and I don’t think we’ve really had a group that was enough on the same page to win,†he said.
That has lead Monaghan to change tactics. He still stresses the skills of soccer, but he is also now instilling the love of winning – and the hate for losing – into his players.
Monaghan said in recent years it has not been a matter of a drop in the talent level, but instead the overall mindset changed.
In the past, there was more than talent that allowed the team to find success. Monaghan, who earned the Conference USA coach of the year for the years 2007 and 2011 and has coached his team to a ninth place ranking in all of NCAA Division I school soccer teams in the year 2011, said he knows what it takes to win and is working to bring his team back to that.
“Obviously you need talent, but I think one of the biggest things was having a group with strong leadership that was willing to really buy into the program,†he said.
Moving forward he wants to create a group of women who understand what it means to work hard. In order to do so, he has instilled competition-based practices, with consequences involving running for the players with the least amount of points at the end of each week.
Sophomore Alyx Stafford said the new approach has been effective.
“It has definitely created a great environment to strive in,†she said. “He is demanding a certain work ethic from us and if you aren’t ready to come and work everyday, it is going to impact you more individually to make you realize how seriously it cheats the team.â€
Monaghan, who is going into his 16th year as the coach of the women’s soccer program this fall, said this has been the best spring season his team has had in a while.
For the upcoming season, Monaghan has confirmed with his players a much earlier arrival in the summer than previous years.
This will bring the team closer and allow the incoming freshman time to adjust to the student-athlete lifestyle. All players will be enrolled in summer classes as Monaghan emphasizes the importance of succeeding in school. Since becoming head coach, he has always had his team’s overall GPA remain above a 3.1.
Monaghan said his players will be held accountable to stay in shape as the NCAA only allows a specific amount of time for pre-season, and he is looking to his captains to hold their teammates accountable.
Monaghan also said he couldn’t guarantee these changes will be the answer to winning a conference championship, but he thinks that it will give his team a great opportunity to fight for one.
