Andy Steele
May 2010
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How long have you been coaching with Elite Soccer?
Since 1998.
What other job do you currently hold?
8th grade English and Social Studies teacher at Jack London Middle School.
What is your favorite part of coaching with Elite Soccer?
There is a great support system with the coaches and directors. Everyone is willing to help each other out, whether that be substituting for games/sessions or learning new coaching tips from each other. In addition, the Positive Coaching Alliance philosophy unites coaches, players and kids to appreciate the game.
What is your favorite part of coaching youth players?
At any age, I truly enjoy coaching kids with great character. This usually leads to excellent team chemistry. Teams filled with kids with that quality find ways to overcome adversity in games and pull together. I’m also constantly amazed at the speed of development when kids receive proper training. The 4 v 4 season provided me the opportunity to see kids play who I had not seen play for a while. Sometimes that was a season, or even 1-2 years. Their development from athletes into soccer players was great!
Where were you born?
Skokie, IL
Where did you grow up and what high school did you attend?
Arlington Heights and then Buffalo Grove High School.
Where did you go to college, and what was your degree in?
Undergraduate: University of Wisconsin-Madison- History Degree
Grad School: DePaul University- Masters in Teaching and Learning
Soccer playing experience (include any honor/accolades received)-
Youth- Arlington Aces and Sockers FC.: Illinois Olympic Development State Team, Region II Midwest/North Olympic Development Team
High School- Buffalo Grove High School: 4 years Varsity, All-State, All-Area Sun-Times, Captain of Daily Herald All-Area Team, MSL North Division Player of the Year
College- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Academic All Big Ten, member of 1995 NCAA Championship Team
Other- Five Time Illinois State Cup Champion, Region II North Champion
What position did you play?
Sweeper, outside back, outside midfield
What other coaching experience do you have?
I started doing soccer camps/clinics as a senior in high school and continued through high school and college.
What is your best soccer memory?
Winning the U17 Illinois State Cup against Pegasus. That year a handful of players left our team to go to the rival team, Pegasus. On paper, they were favored based on talent. Before the game I remember our coach saying, “When we score the first goal, they will lose their composure and we will win. They do not have heart like us.” I had never experienced a coach putting so much confidence into a team, nor had I ever been so ready to play. Sure enough, we scored the first goal 10 minutes into the game and went on to win 3-1.
What is the best soccer game you’ve ever seen?
USA vs. Mexico 2007 Gold Cup Final at Soldiers Field. It was like the USA was playing an away game. The stadium was filled to capacity-65,000, but maybe 5,000 were cheering for the USA. The USA came back to win 2-1 on a Benny Feihalber rocket from 30 yards out.
If you couldn’t play soccer, what sport would you like to be good at?
Baseball. I would play centerfield, leadoff, and steal bases.
What is your favorite pro soccer team or player?
Manchester United and the USA National Team. I like Joe Cole of England, Fabiano Canavaro of Italy, Zidane from France, Xavi from Spain.
What made you get into coaching?
It combines two things I enjoying, soccer and teaching. In addition, my club soccer coach David Richardson, is on one of my role models. He demonstrates all the qualities that make an excellent coach. My experience playing for him inspired me to become a coach.
What is your favorite:
Movie? Shawshank Redemption, Traffic, and most recently The Hurt Locker.
Food? Pasta.
Book? Great Santini.
Restaurant? Silver Cloud, RJ Grunts, Piece, Topo Gigio.
Sports Team? Cubs.
What is the most interesting place you have ever lived?
I spent four months in Tel Aviv, Israel. Unreal.
What is the coolest place you have ever visited?
San Sebastian, Spain.
What is one place you want to visit?
Greek Islands.
Do you have any pets?
Nope.
What other jobs have you held?
In high school I worked at Camelot Pool and checked in passes and worked the snack stand. I also worked as a day camp counselor and worked at various soccer camps.
If you could be any superhero, which superhero would you be and why?
The Flash. Then, I would not have sit in traffic with my commute from city to the burbs and vice-versa.
What kind of music do you like to listen to?
I guess if I had to say my favorite, it would be rap with a funk. Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys and Jurassic 5.
If you could make up a team name and/or mascot, what would it be and why?
I feel like everything has been taken, when a team is called the Brewers.
What was your favorite subject in school?
History
Tell us about your family:
I’m the youngest of three. My sister is the oldest. Mike, one of the directors of Elite, comes next and is my older brother. My parents currently live in Evanston and try to get out to see us coach some games. I think it is less stressful to see us on the sidelines than on the field playing.
Did anything funny and/or embarrassing ever happen to you while playing soccer?
I was 13 years old and our team made it to the semi-finals of the tournament where we had to play a team from Canada. This team was HUGE. I had never seen kids that age so big. During the game, one of their players chased a ball that went out of bounds. The kid was so fast and so big that he ran right through a metal chain that was waist high, which connected two wooden stakes in the ground. The metal chain was left on the ground and I was left thinking……..how am I going to mark this guy??
If you could be another Elite Soccer trainer for a day, who would you be and why?
Stein. That dude can dance. Ask for his wedding video.
What is your best Elite Soccer memory?
I have a few. I think back to 1998 when Brendan, Mike, and myself each had one team to train 1x a week. They had a vision that they could provide quality soccer training for this area. To see that vision come to fruition is fantastic. Another memory has to be my first Academy team at U10. We played six games in the preseason seeding tournament, going winless and scoring only one goal. I remember my manager, Shawn Mongoven, sending out an e-mail to everyone saying it was great to see the kids play, it was their first time playing as a team, and we can only get better. It is four years later and they are U13. Many of those boys are still in the Academy Program and developing into soccer players who are playing in the higher divisions of NISL. I will always remember where those boys came from, where they are now, and all the support the families have provided for that to happen.
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