Bob Ammann, Head Coach Men's Soccer - Cal State Fullerton

Soccer News: Great Coaches on Great Soccer

SN is excited to launch a new series, Great Coaches on Great Soccer.  The series launches with Cal State Fullerton's head coach Bob Amman.

Bob Ammann, Men’s Soccer Head Coach at Cal State Fullerton University talks to SN on team building, youth soccer and the pay-to-play system.

How important is team bonding?
It is crucial to the overall success. A team that is not bonded in some way is ultimately going to be more fractured. A chain is as strong as its weakest link is the old phrase and in soccer this is very true. For movement on the field to occur, players need a psychic link and familiarity with the way each.  Players who know each other will also know how they move, how fast they can move and what they are capable or likely to do.

Why does a bonded team play better?
Players who know each other and are connected will have a much greater chance of instantaneously having the same ideas. Moves often break down on the field because two players have different ideas of what to do next.

What are your suggestions for bonding?
There are a number of ways but bringing in the services of a professional can really help in this process. I have hired someone who among many other things has incorporated group discussions (no more than 11) that can facilitate new understandings for each player. It is also important for players to get better at listening to each other. To know someone well is what we are after- and to do that in life one has to listen. Cohesion is the goal and bringing people closer can be achieved better in non-stressful situations.

Recommendations for youth soccer development.
I believe that we need to have better players play against older players. To often talented players stay within their age groups so they can out perform the competition. I also believe we could benefit from an over 18 age group where anyone over 18 is eligible to compete. This will enhance the competition level while also giving players that might have exhausted their collegiate eligibility a structured environment to compete in rather than a “old mans” league.

Comments on "pay to play" paradigm.
The worst thing with soccer in this country. When players/parents are “customers” the coaches will generally always make them correct. We need to make it where the clubs and coaches are the customers and it is an honor for said player to compete for that club. The winning takes precedence over development due to this pay to play paradigm.  

Your team: The players - are most of the team from youth clubs?  Olympic Development Program (ODP)? Bradenton?  Any players from 'academies'?
Our team is made up of players that all progressed through the ranks of club soccer. Some of them have participated in ODP and some of the recent additions played for different USSF Academies.

What did you think of Project 2010?
It was a great idea. Winning the World Cup is something very few Countries have ever done. We are still many years behind some of the competition in regards to the process. For example, Holland & Russia have never won the World Cup and England and Spain only once each. It still isn’t part of our social make up although we have made large advances over the past 20-30 years. I hope that in another 20 years the sport will have continued to develop and young athletic boys will see soccer as a career path.

 

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Soccer Coach Info: Bob Amman: After 15 years on the Titans' coaching staff and four years as a Titans' player, Bob Ammann (AH-mahn) was the obvious choice to succeed Al Mistri as head coach and try to bring the Titans' men's soccer program back to the prominence it enjoyed in the 1980s and 1990s. 

During Ammann's coaching tenures the Titans made five trips to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the national semifinals in 1993 and the quarterfinals in 1994.

"I am extremely honored and very excited to be taking charge of the men's soccer program at my alma mater," said Ammann at the time of his appointment. "I appreciate this opportunity and look forward to bringing the program back to the national prominence that we once had. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, but I am confident and very eager to make sure that the necessary steps are taken to achieve our goals."

Ammann was a Titans' goaltender during the 1983 through 1986 seasons. He posted 12 career shutouts including six in the 1986 season when he helped the Titans capture the Pacific Coast Athletic Association championship and their first NCAA Div. I playoff berth. His best goals against average was 1.250 in 1985, his junior season. His younger brother, Mike, was the Titans' goaltender 1990 through 1993 and went on to a long career in professional soccer. 

"I'm proud of the fact that I have been involved with six Cal State Fullerton NCAA Tournament teams," says Bob, who was the goalkeeper in 1986, a part-time coach in 1993 and 1994 and a full-time assistant coach in 1996, 1998 and 2000.

Bob played at the professional level for Neuchatel Xamax of the Swiss First Divison in 1989 and 1990. He also played for Brighton and Hove Albion F.C. in England, the Edmonton Brickmen of the Canadian Soccer League and the Los Angeles Salsa of the American Professional Soccer League.

He is serving his second year as a regional representative for the U.S. Soccer Academy, assigned to scout and evaluate U16 and 18 talent in the West for the U.S. national team.  Ammann currently serves as a committee member on the Gender Equity Committee 2001-present and served as the NCAA Site Representative for Men's NCAA playoffs.

Coach Ammann's Scouting/Coaching Career Outside CSF

• United Stated Soccer Federation Development Academy scout, 2009-present

• United Stated Soccer Federation Development Academy market training coach, 2009-present

• U-18 National team staff coach Carson, Calif.; October 6-13, 2009

• United States Soccer Federation "A" license (highest license available)

• National Soccer Coaches Association of America Big West Conference representative, 2009-present 

• Director of Goalkeeping, Stampede FC, Legends FC & PSA Soccer Club 

Interesting note: Ammann is one of five former Titan student-athletes now serving as head coach at his or her alma mater.