Q&A: Getting to know Sam Savage, Villarreal North Texas Director of Coaching

We sat down with Villarreal North Texas Director of Coaching, Sam Savage to find out more about her.

Tell us about you and your background.

I grew up in North Texas and played for Solar Soccer Club that’s been out here for a long time. I graduated and went to Baylor University on a soccer scholarship and ended up partially tearing my ACL and completely tearing my hamstring and so I ended up transferring to a small school in Louisiana called Centenary College where I finished and played three years of Division 1 soccer. So a little about coaching and soccer, I’ve been playing since I was four, I’ve always loved it, and I actually started helping out at soccer camps when I was in middle school, so I would go and coach four/five/six year olds at soccer camp, and when I was in college I helped out and did skill sessions for the Shreveport football club, and then when I moved back from Louisiana, I started coaching with Liverpool. That was in 2007. I spent a few years there and decided to coach with the Texans for about three and a half years before we joined with Villarreal and so I’ve been coaching here in Texas since about 2007.

You mentioned that you played, what position did you play?

I actually played as an outside midfielder and as a forward and sometimes centre defender.

You mentioned you had a serious injury. How was that for you, that must have been a really hard time in your life?

It was pretty rough, and it was actually right before I started my freshman year, I had about eight months of rehab. Just to get back and I would say it was hard when it happened because I had to call my new college coach and say I did this, and when you’re going into college for that first year with a scholarship and trying to figure out if I’m going to get to play professionally etc. And I played a fair amount but mentally being able to get back to 100% and give 100% was tough. It took me about nine months to get back to where I had started.

What advice would you give to someone who goes through an injury like that?

You just have to dig in and put in the work and when you finally get back out there, you can’t really afford to be afraid because if you give 75% you’re probably going to get hurt again. So, you need to go in 100% and you should listen to your body and make sure that you’re ready to get started and go back out there.

You said you’ve been involved in soccer since you were four, how has it changed?

Growing up in North Texas and playing there, and coaching here now, it’s a huge difference. Lake Highlands Girls Classic League has been around for a long time, I’ve actually played in it. But when I was younger there were only six teams from each age group in Division 1 and six inDdivision 2 so only 12 teams in total. Now it’s 30 teams, you have a lot of different clubs getting involved, but back when I played, everything was concentrated in the Dallas area, we used to drive 45 minutes to an hour for training. Everyone was good, it was very competitive, and you had a core group of coaches, some of whom still coach today, that everybody wanted to play for. I think now, because you have different options, you don’t have to drive 45 minutes to an hour, people now make decisions based on what would be more convenient, not what would be the best for their kids. It has changed because coaches used to be a little harder, they used to be a little rougher. Also, parent involvement wasn’t very high because there weren’t as many places to play. Parents today can leave a team and take their kids to another team just down the road. Sometimes I think they make decisions that aren’t always best for their kids, but they do it anyway out of convenience. Talent is a lot less concentrated. There is talent all over the metroplex so you don’t always get to see all of the really great kids playing together at one time.

Do you have any soccer inspirations? In terms of players or coaches that that you look up to or have looked up to?

Yeah so growing up, I was a big Julie Foudy fan, she’s №11 so I chose to be №11. I think I got really lucky growing up with the Julie, Mia Hamm and Brianna Scurry, they were all the talk of the TV and they came to North Texas when I was about 13 and did a try-out, a round robin tournament and we got to meet them. I think just seeing them, watching them play was something that at the time I aspired to do, and it kept me going. I also have an older brother who was playing at the time and I was born with that competitive characteristic which meant that I wanted to be better than him and play at his level. Those kinds of things, then my dad and my mum were really involved, getting us to practise, talking to us after games, that all really drove me. As a kid, I also wanted to play in college so that was also something that spurred me on.

In terms of coaches, is there anyone you look up to?

Yeah, there’s two coaches in the metroplex, one of them is Lee Waddell he coaches for FC Dallas now, he was there with me at Liverpool and came out when I was kind of coming into my own and figuring things out. He’d come and sit through practices and give me feedback. Also, Christopher Pulpaneck he’d come to sessions and give me feedback. They’re the kind of people that today if I have any problems, they’ll still come and give me advice, feedback, take a look at the situation. Then a coach from when I was growing up, Juan Navarro, he always answered my questions, always stayed on top of me, always made sure to remind me that I was good enough to play there even on my worst days. When you’re a teenager, trying to figure out where to go to school, whether you’re good enough. It’s important to have someone who’s confident in you and who reminds you of the good things you can do as a player. That was what Juan was for me.

In terms of Villarreal Texas, can you explain your role there and what you do?

S: Yeah of course, so I’m the Director of Coaches at Villarreal, and I was coaching at the Texans and I had two teams whilst going through some life changes; I was taking up a new job outside of soccer which required travel, so I needed some help and I actually asked Gio to come help and take over the 2009 group that he coaches now. Then I met Christian and we were building these teams with the Texans. The boys (Gio, Christian, & Estevan) call me the Godmother because all of our girls have been coached by me at some point in time. Christian and Gio decided that they wanted to start a club with Villarreal and I’m happy that we did it. What happens is I attend two training sessions a month, I attend games, and I sit down with the other coaches to discuss how everything is going, where there is need for improvement… We do a Friday night skill fair every other Friday, we open it up to the community. We also do a few fundraisers around and then besides just helping out the coaches, and helping them manage their teams, I also work with our team managers to make sure that we are out in the community, and that the players and parents are representing Villarreal NTX the right way. It’s vital that we’re saying and doing the right things in order to grow our presence here in North Texas.

The things you’re talking about with the community are really core Villarreal values both in Spain and with you in America. What would you say the best thing is about being involved with Villarreal North Texas for you?

You know what, I think it’s great that every Friday the group gets together for skills for the community, I think it’s fun that you guys come and visit and that we get to go over to Spain too. I also think as a once player, the idea that you’re connected to a club where you may have the chance to go and train with their academy, even if it’s just for a week over the summer is an incredible advantage we have, when I speak with parents, I say to them that there is no other club in Texas where you’ll get this opportunity and experience. The two big things for me are the coaching development and the opportunity for our players to become the best that they can be and that would include the chance to get to go to Spain and train with the Villarreal academy.

Recently, you had a visit from Julio Salinas, the Villarreal International Methodology Director, how was that for you?

It was great, it was eye opening, you know we have been doing things the same way, probably the same way our coaches have been doing with us since we all started, and for us to get to sit down and talk to Julio about a different approach and a different way to train our kids was great. We all walked out of that room with the attitude that we’re going to do things differently. For us, that is the most important thing, that our kids are getting better, so if we can adapt and change our ways, to aid our children, then that’s a win for everyone, it goes back to coaching development and player opportunity — the two most important things for us.

Firstly, if you had any superpower, what would it be?

My superpower is being able to talk to kids.

What’s your favorite food?

I’ll have to say Pizza.

Your favorite musician/band?

I listen to a lot of Ed Sheeran.

If you could be an animal, which would you be?

I’d have to say a cheetah!

If you could visit any country in the world, where would it be?

It would be Spain!

Finally tell me something that might be a surprise to the people at Villarreal North Texas.

This is funny; I really enjoy Hallmark Christmas movies.