Feature: Hosler Guides Women's Soccer Squad in New Direction
10/22/2021 1:17:00 PM | Women's Soccer
By Naya Gros
For msuspartans.com
New Michigan State women's soccer Head Coach Jeff Hosler knew he was coming into a good situation. He took over the team in June, after former Coach Tom Saxton retired at the end of last season after leading the Spartans for 30 years.
Hosler, who had coached Grand Valley State women's team to a 144-12-6 record over six years, would need to find a way to make a smooth transition into a program who had only known one coach for decades. Hosler is an East Lansing high school grad and is very familiar with the area. He guided the Lakers to three NCAA championships, five NCAA title game appearances, and at least the Elite Eight, has the greatest winning percentage of any coach in Laker history.
"It's a dream come true for me to be coaching at Michigan State and coaching in the Big Ten," said Hosler. "The athletes have been awesome. There's been a lot of buy in since day one. I think they really invested in the ideas that we bought as a coaching staff. We ask them to trust that we train them properly and take care of their bodies and I think that has worked out really well to this point."
It looks like things are going well so far.
"The adjustment was smoother than you might think," fifth-year midfielder Danielle Stephan said. "I think the majority of the team was excited and optimistic about a new leader. The team for the most part has been incredibly open-minded in embracing new challenges. I am very grateful to have gotten the opportunity to have a fifth year and play for someone different, especially someone like Coach Hosler.
"It goes over my head sometimes how huge of a deal it is that our team has a new head coach after 30 years. It's the beginning of a new era for Michigan State women's soccer, and it is pretty awesome to get to be a part of that history in the making."
Stephan said Hosler has been proactive in getting the players to have faith in his coaching and processes.
"I think Coach Hosler has truly lifted us to believe in ourselves. He asked the team to take a leap of faith and to trust in him. Buy into what he is doing, and we will find success. To me, that spoke volumes of his confidence in himself and his coaching staff, and his confidence in the potential of our team. We need that. It feels reviving," said Stephan.
The team's chemistry and roster, which is mostly still from the Saxton era, has adapted well to Hosler.
"As a team, we adjusted to having a new coach with excitement," said redshirt junior goalie Lauren Kozal. "We knew the areas in which we needed to improve and he has pushed us to grow to recognize our potential.
"Coach Hosler is a competitive, passionate and driven coach. He is always challenging us on the field and in the classroom, he truly wants all of us to be the best we can be. I am looking forward to winning games and continuing to build a winning program."
Both Stephan and Kozal emphasized that the team chemistry has only gotten stronger and that they are all working together towards the same goals. The biggest change that Hosler has made to the team is shifting the team's mindset to being committed and winning.
Hosler is very pleased with how his team is performing so far.
"I think learning how to win on a daily basis and learning how to give your best effort has been really important," said Hosler. "I think as we're building our culture we are ahead of schedule and a big part of that is because of the kids' maturity and open-mindedness."
Hosler believes programs can not be judged solely on their outcomes. As a new staff, they emphasize the importance of learning from both positive and negative experiences in order to grow and accomplish goals.
"I'm excited for our athletes," he said. "They're playing hard, they're focused, and it's our job to put them in a position to have an opportunity to get a result. We will continue to show different elements, formations, and styles of play as we compete."
Sophomore defender Zivana Labovic looks forward to winning with Hosler and learning to be at ease in the presence of discomfort.
"The biggest difference I've noticed this year is the overall energy between the team. No matter what we're doing, everyone is fully committed to it and ready to get after it. So it's been cool to see how dedicated everyone is to really being the best team we can be," said Labovic.
Labovic believes that this season will present new experiences, challenges, and opportunities which she thinks can be really exciting.
"From the start, Coach Hosler asked us to buy into his coaching, ideas, and goals, which can be hard for any team to do, but we took what Coach Hosler told us and ran with it," she said.
Hosler said he holds his team to high standards both as a group and as individuals. He puts the team in situations where it can learn and grow on and off the field.
"We've really come a long way as a team and know we still have ways to go," said Labovic.
For msuspartans.com
New Michigan State women's soccer Head Coach Jeff Hosler knew he was coming into a good situation. He took over the team in June, after former Coach Tom Saxton retired at the end of last season after leading the Spartans for 30 years.
Hosler, who had coached Grand Valley State women's team to a 144-12-6 record over six years, would need to find a way to make a smooth transition into a program who had only known one coach for decades. Hosler is an East Lansing high school grad and is very familiar with the area. He guided the Lakers to three NCAA championships, five NCAA title game appearances, and at least the Elite Eight, has the greatest winning percentage of any coach in Laker history.
"It's a dream come true for me to be coaching at Michigan State and coaching in the Big Ten," said Hosler. "The athletes have been awesome. There's been a lot of buy in since day one. I think they really invested in the ideas that we bought as a coaching staff. We ask them to trust that we train them properly and take care of their bodies and I think that has worked out really well to this point."
It looks like things are going well so far.
"The adjustment was smoother than you might think," fifth-year midfielder Danielle Stephan said. "I think the majority of the team was excited and optimistic about a new leader. The team for the most part has been incredibly open-minded in embracing new challenges. I am very grateful to have gotten the opportunity to have a fifth year and play for someone different, especially someone like Coach Hosler.
"It goes over my head sometimes how huge of a deal it is that our team has a new head coach after 30 years. It's the beginning of a new era for Michigan State women's soccer, and it is pretty awesome to get to be a part of that history in the making."
Stephan said Hosler has been proactive in getting the players to have faith in his coaching and processes.
"I think Coach Hosler has truly lifted us to believe in ourselves. He asked the team to take a leap of faith and to trust in him. Buy into what he is doing, and we will find success. To me, that spoke volumes of his confidence in himself and his coaching staff, and his confidence in the potential of our team. We need that. It feels reviving," said Stephan.
The team's chemistry and roster, which is mostly still from the Saxton era, has adapted well to Hosler.
"As a team, we adjusted to having a new coach with excitement," said redshirt junior goalie Lauren Kozal. "We knew the areas in which we needed to improve and he has pushed us to grow to recognize our potential.
"Coach Hosler is a competitive, passionate and driven coach. He is always challenging us on the field and in the classroom, he truly wants all of us to be the best we can be. I am looking forward to winning games and continuing to build a winning program."
Both Stephan and Kozal emphasized that the team chemistry has only gotten stronger and that they are all working together towards the same goals. The biggest change that Hosler has made to the team is shifting the team's mindset to being committed and winning.
Hosler is very pleased with how his team is performing so far.
"I think learning how to win on a daily basis and learning how to give your best effort has been really important," said Hosler. "I think as we're building our culture we are ahead of schedule and a big part of that is because of the kids' maturity and open-mindedness."
Hosler believes programs can not be judged solely on their outcomes. As a new staff, they emphasize the importance of learning from both positive and negative experiences in order to grow and accomplish goals.
"I'm excited for our athletes," he said. "They're playing hard, they're focused, and it's our job to put them in a position to have an opportunity to get a result. We will continue to show different elements, formations, and styles of play as we compete."
Sophomore defender Zivana Labovic looks forward to winning with Hosler and learning to be at ease in the presence of discomfort.
"The biggest difference I've noticed this year is the overall energy between the team. No matter what we're doing, everyone is fully committed to it and ready to get after it. So it's been cool to see how dedicated everyone is to really being the best team we can be," said Labovic.
Labovic believes that this season will present new experiences, challenges, and opportunities which she thinks can be really exciting.
"From the start, Coach Hosler asked us to buy into his coaching, ideas, and goals, which can be hard for any team to do, but we took what Coach Hosler told us and ran with it," she said.
Hosler said he holds his team to high standards both as a group and as individuals. He puts the team in situations where it can learn and grow on and off the field.
"We've really come a long way as a team and know we still have ways to go," said Labovic.
Players Mentioned
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