Leadership

Overview

While Genny pursued her MBA at John Carroll University, she was selected to be the Graduate Assistant (GA) for John Carroll Women’s Soccer. As the GA, Genny’s role included recruiting, planning practices, scouting opponents, organizing team fundraising events, mentoring student-athletes, and acting as a liaison between student-athletes and professors. The most critical part of Genny’s role was being a liaison between the head coach and the players; as players experienced academic, personal, and/or internal team difficulties, Genny was the first person to work through a given player’s concerns, assess the situation, address the situation if possible or escalate to the head coach if necessary.

Challenge

Prior to becoming the GA at JCU, Genny was a four year varsity athlete and two-year captain for JCU soccer. One of the challenges Genny encountered in becoming the Graduate Assistant less than a year after graduating was transitioning from being viewed as a player and captain to now being viewed as an assistant coach. Because one of Genny’s main roles was helping players with any concerns that may arise, Genny also had to strike a balance between being viewed as a coach as well as being a confidante and trustworthy sounding board for any personal, academic, and/or team issues.

Solution

In her first season as the Graduate Assistant, Genny was able to successfully transition from player to assistant coach/trustworthy confidante for players. She earned the team’s respect by running parts of practices, holding 1 on 1 practice sessions, working with recruits, and making critical game-time adjustments. Similarly, off the field, Genny willingly met with players at any time of the day to discuss issues and/or concerns; she worked with players to address any of those concerns and only escalated issues when the given player felt comfortable, and Genny found it necessary. She earned each players trust and did so by working with each player whether it involved sitting down with a professor, helping the student-athlete with a project, and/or simply being a sounding board for life advice.

Impact

While there is no quantifiable data to support Genny’s work as the GA, the team recognized her as a crucial leader for the program both on and off the field. Through this experience, Genny learned that her favorite part of coaching soccer is being able to work with the athletes. After her two years were completed as the GA, Genny turned to coaching youth soccer so she could continue to work with athletes. Genny was the head coach of a youth girl’s soccer team for 4 years; she enjoyed working and mentoring the girls on a weekly basis.