Q&A: Getting to know John Hakari, Villarreal Nebraska Coach
We sat down with Villarreal Nebraska Academy Coach John Hakari to find out more about him.
Tell us about yourself and what you do at Villarreal Nebraska Academy?
I’m originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, that’s where I was born and where I grew up. I’m currently an attorney here in Lincoln, Nebraska. I’m married, my wife’s name is Kayla, we live here in Lincoln and we have two dogs. At VNA, I coach four teams, I’m the Head Coach of two of our high school teams, our High School Elite Girls and our High School Elite Blue Boys, and then I’m the assistant coach of our 05 Elite Girls and our 6G Turbo team. So I coach four teams in total and I also help out with Groguets and Minis whenever I have time and whenever I’m available.
Outside of VNA, you said you are an attorney, does that leave much time for other stuff?
Yeah, my 8–5 job is an immigration attorney, I work in a private office here in Lincoln, so that’s my other job.
Do you have any free time with all of that going on?
Haha you know, not really! I usually work 8–5 and then coach 5:15–9 every day, but I do have free time on the weekends and stuff. I play in an adult soccer league, with Jorge and some of the other coaches and with my wife too, and then I try to read when I can, I really like reading.
Tell us about your background in soccer.
Well I’ve been playing soccer for as long as I can remember. My dad was my first coach when I was like four years old and that was in Wisconsin and then I played on various select teams throughout Wisconsin, then I played in high school. Then I ended played college soccer at St. Norbet College in De Pere, Wisconsin where I played right full-back and was named first team academic all-conference in 2010. After college I went to law school. I came to law school here in Nebraska and I ended up meeting Jorge Sambataro (Villarreal Nebraska Academy director) about a year and a half ago and that’s how I got involved with VNA. I had actually been coaching for De Pere Select Soccer Club before coming to Nebraska. I had been coaching for them since about 2008 so when I played college soccer in De Pere, Wisconsin, I coached there too. I did that for about for four to five years before coming to law school.
You’ve had quite a lot of experience coaching then?
Yeah. I coached soccer for my own high school. I was the Junior Varsity Head Coach at Luxemburg-Casco High School (boys and girls) in Luxemburg, Wisconsin, from 2011 to 2012. I also volunteered for Magellan as a coach in 2015 for one season, and I volunteered with the YMCA here in Lincoln as a soccer coach from 2017–2018. I started with Jorge at Magellan (again) in spring 2018 and have been with him ever since. Additionally, I worked at an indoor soccer facility, Sports Emporium in De Pere, from 2006 to 2012 as an indoor soccer referee.
Do you have any soccer inspirations in terms of either players or coaches?
Yeah when I was a kid, I really worshipped Thierry Henry. I think when you’re young everyone worships strikers because they’re the superstars, but as I got older I really came to love Luka Modrić. Especially nowadays, I mean I just love the way that man plays. And what he did in the recent World Cup. I just wish I could make a highlight video of Luka Modrić connecting passes because that’s the most beautiful soccer I’ve ever seen.
And are there any coaches you look up to?
As a kid, I didn’t know or really care about professional coaches, but of course now I really worship Pep Guardiola.
Personally, what’s your vision of coaching?
This is the spiel that I always give anyone that asks me this… I view it as yin and yang in a sort of way. My two competing goals in coaching are that number one that the kids have fun and number two that they play soccer at a high level. So, I feel one is useless without the other. You might have a team that’s playing the absolute best soccer in the entire world and winning every game, but if the kids hate it, they’re not having fun, then it’s useless. What’s the point, why play the beautiful game if you’re not going to enjoy it? And on the other hand, if your kids are having a blast but you’re playing terrible soccer well then, you’re not really achieving much anyway because they’re not learning and they’re not playing soccer at a high level . So I always try to form a perfect balance between making sure they have fun and making sure they’re playing at a high level. I think one without the other is useless.
How has it been for you coaching at VNA?
It’s been absolutely amazing. I love Jorge and his philosophy and what he does. Both in terms of substance of soccer and his attitude with the kids. One thing that he does is he demands that level of respect for the kids and coaching from all of the staff coaches. So, I feel like when I’ve coached for other clubs there hasn’t been much guidance, where as Jorge is involved with every coach and every team. I would guess that he knows every kid by name, and that sort of involvement from the director of coaching is awesome. Furthermore, the very first year that Quique Parra and David Navarro came from Villarreal they were awesome, very professional, that sort of guidance and professional assistance from a top club in Spain was amazing and it was a great opportunity for us and for the kids. And then of course, when Lucy Goffe and Carlos Ortiz came this year, they were consummate professionals and super knowledgeable, the kids loved them and it was just a great opportunity for Nebraska, for us and for the kids.
How do you feel about VNA’s long-term goals?
Well, let me divide this into two answers. The first, Villarreal Nebraska’s academy, I mean my hope is that we continue on the same path that we’re on because we treat our kids with love and respect and I know that should seem normal, but a lot of clubs in this area don’t do that. So, my hope is that we can continue doing that and continue bringing high level soccer to the club, and that’s what I see for the future of this club. I think as long as we stick on that path, the club’s going to be successful because from Jorge’s guidance, and Villarreal’s guidance from Spain, we’re going to be successful just sticking to those things. The second part of my answer is that I hope in so doing, we can improve soccer in Nebraska and maybe even ultimately in the United States. You know, soccer in Nebraska isn’t maybe at the level that it is in other areas. So I’m hoping that we bring a different perspective and a different style that can bring up everyone around us, as well increase the quality of soccer and the quality of enjoyment that the kids get out of soccer.
What are your objectives for your teams this season?
Well I have different objectives for different teams because all my teams are at different levels. I’m going to repeat myself, like I said my objective is that the kids have fun but also that they play soccer at a high level. So as long as I’m achieveing those two things with all my teams, then I’m happy. I’ll start with the youngest, with my 6G girls. My goals for them are really to start thinking about playing a certain way, facing the person with the ball, showing them their hips so they can receive the ball properly, finding 2v1s, learning and being confiedent enough to pull moves 1v1, some of these girls at this age have never even thought about the fact that they can beat someone 1v1 before. I just want to build up each of these individual girls’ confidence, so they have confidence and strength on the ball. With my ’05 Elite Girls, I’m just the assistant coach on that team, but same goals for them in terms of playing soccer at a high level and having fun. I want to work on creativity and attacking. Sometimes you know, we have trouble finding the striker. Those girls are all talented, good players, so my goals for them are that they start thinking with their heads and not just their feet, and can we be a little bit more creative. With my High School Boys, I want to win the league. They’re playing great soccer, they’re a talented, disciplined group of boys, they’re all having fun and playing the way we want to play. If we keep winning in our league, we’re going to probably take first place. Then for my High School Girls, we have not had a successful season in terms of wins, but we have definitely had a successful season in terms of development and playing our play style, having confidence on the ball, so we just want to keep growing in those aspects. We didn’t score a goal in the first four games of the season, but now we’ve scored three or four goals in several games, so our growth is coming.
How important is it for VNA to be part of the Villarreal family?
Oh, I mean it’s everything. It’s so important, as I mentioned earlier, obviously when David and Quique came in the first year, they were extremely professional, they were nice and kind, knowledgeable, the kids loved them, and they gave the time to get to know the kids and all of us. Of course, Lucy and Carlos were the same way, professionals, extremely polite, the kids loved them, we loved them. So that has been an integral part. But also, sometimes when I’m working with the younger kids, the Groguets and the Minis, you hear the kids say things like “I want to go to Spain” and “I want to keep working hard so I can go to Spain” and that’s great! They know that some of the kids at the highest levels of our club had the opportunity to go to Spain and train there. They put that as their own goal. That’s not us, we don’t put that into their mouths, they say that. I think that right there speaks volumes to the value of the relationship between Villarreal and VNA.
What does this kind of opportunity mean to the kids, for them to go over to Spain?
Let me give you a two-part answer. I know the boys that came back from Spain last year, Alex and Anthony, and from a soccer perspective those kids were both very good players, but they came back from that experience and they were different. Their rate of play was higher, their touches were better, they had a different mentality about the game. It’s insane what a difference it made. They came back hungry, they said they had a blast, that they wanted to keep working hard and playing, so that meant a lot to them. Then once again, for the kids that haven’t been to Spain, especially the youngest kids, they talk about it all the time, you hear them say, “I want to go to Spain” and it’s awesome to hear.
RANDOM RAPID-FIRE QUESTIONS:
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Are you familiar with X-Men? There’s an X-Men character called Nightcrawler and he has a couple of powers but his main power is that he can disappear and reappear, like teleporting. So that would be my superpower because could you imagine dribbling the ball down the line, whipping in a cross and then teleporting into the 18-yard box and heading in your own cross.
What’s your favourite food?
I love Mexican food but specifically, there’s a type of Mexican food called Tacos de Barbacoa. I absolutely love them.
Who is your favourite musician/band?
Oh that’s rough. Man, there are so many, but if I had to pick one… thing is people are going to read this interview and they’re going to judge me so hard, but I really like Ellie Goulding. I could listen to Ellie Goulding all day.
If you could be an animal what would you be?
I would be a sponge on the bottom of the ocean floor, I would just sit there and filter feed all day.
If you could pick one country in the world to go to, where would you go?
I’ve been to Mexico loads of time and I have so many Mexican friends. I feel like the easy answer is just go to back to Mexico and hang out with my friends, but I guess other than that, Spain! I’d love to go to Spain and I’ve never been to Europe.
Finally, tell us something that people may not know about you, or would surprise people at VNA.
Well, I don’t know if this would surprise anyone, but I’m a huge nerd. I mean I love Star Wars, Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, Wheel of Time, video games. I’m a huge nerd, I usually make references to stuff like that during practises. So that and I snowboard. I really love snowboarding. When I was younger I was a much more avid snowboarder, I used to be really good, obviously I’m old and overweight now, but yeah I love snowboarding!
