{"id":7615,"date":"2023-04-28T02:43:14","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T02:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/?p=7615"},"modified":"2023-05-02T15:49:42","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T15:49:42","slug":"kicking-it-up-a-notch-yaya-imade-promoted-to-girls-varsity-soccer-head-coach%ef%bf%bc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/2023\/04\/kicking-it-up-a-notch-yaya-imade-promoted-to-girls-varsity-soccer-head-coach%ef%bf%bc\/","title":{"rendered":"Kicking it Up a Notch: Yaya Imade Promoted to Girls Varsity Soccer Head Coach\ufffc"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On Monday, April 10, shrieks of joy erupted from the main floor of the Tate Library as a group of seven varsity girls soccer players celebrated a long-awaited decision. The source of their enthusiasm was an email confirming the promotion of former head junior varsity coach, Iyayi \u201cYaya\u201d Imade, to head coach of the varsity team. Several members of the team had specifically contacted the athletics department to lobby for the promotion. Across the board, the team expressed delight at the news, a sentiment which Imade shared. \u201cI\u2019m really excited, because it offers me a chance to continue the project I’ve been working on for the past three and a half years \u2013 and I use the word project because I do see it as a project,\u201d says Imade. \u201cIt’s a long term goal of mine, a big picture of play. It’s development over time, not a one season thing. To continue on that path is really amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The majority of the team has been previously coached by Imade on JV, or is familiar with him from preseason and occasional joint practices. \u201cWhen I was on JV, I had him as my head coach,\u201d says Sammy Stein (Form V). \u201cThat year was the most I’ve ever learned about soccer, and the most I’ve grown as a player.\u201d Imade pushes his athletes to work hard \u2013 because he knows they can. Many anticipate that he will concoct an ideal balance of fitness, discipline and \u201ctough love.\u201d He brings out the best in the team, and his investment and faith in the players is reciprocated. \u201cWe strive for greatness when we’re with him, because we don’t want to disappoint him,\u201d says Alexa Citron (Form IV). \u201cIn my opinion, he is the person who sees the most of our potential.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imade was raised in Germany and has played soccer seriously since around the age of nine. He played for four years on the varsity team at Martin Luther King High School in New York City and received a scholarship to play for another four at St. Lawrence University. He still competes on a men\u2019s team, South Bronx United, and began coaching at Fieldston shortly before the pandemic. Imade\u2019s style is heavily influenced by the German school of soccer, a mix between possession and positional play \u2013 and above all else, gegenpressing<\/em> (which loosely translates in English to \u201ccounterpressing\u201d). At its core, gegenpressing <\/em>means that after a team loses possession of the ball, they push high up the field with a structure and intensity that forces an immediate turnover from the opponent. It requires high fitness, a developed positional understanding, and strong team chemistry. In general, Imade describes the optimal coaching approach as roughly 30% tactics and 70% social competence. Anyone can study training modules or curate a particular style of play, he says, but understanding how individuals respond to different instruction styles is key to effective coaching. \u201cI can drill in on tactics all day. But if I don’t have good relationships and don\u2019t understand all the unique individuals that formulate a team, I won’t get the best out of a player,\u201d says Imade. \u201cIt’s really important for me that I also get to know the human being outside of the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In previous years, the team has struggled with communication between coaches and players. Season by season, it was hit and miss. Most players, including junior Roxy Shapiro and sophomore Adia Stokes, believe that Imade will mend the disconnect. With a renewed trust, they\u2019ll be able to hone in on their technical skills. \u201cHe knows most of the players, exactly what their skills are, what their strengths and weaknesses are,\u201d says sophomore Caitlin Neidow. \u201cGoing into the season and not really having to take the time to get to know people on the team sets us ahead already.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While GVS won the NYSAIS Girls Varsity Soccer Championship in 2021, they did not qualify for the playoffs last season. The new coach enters with several objectives for the team \u2013 first and foremost, to make the NYSAIS playoffs and compete for the championship again. He hopes to cultivate a more concise and unified style of play, enough to impress onlookers \u2013 which entails gegenpressing<\/em>, playing out of the back, and continuing to maintain a tight defensive line. \u201cYes, you can win without playing really well. Yes, you can win by being scrappy and being ugly. But for me, we want to win in a wholesome way. We want to win totally,\u201d Imade says. And, of course, he wants to have fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, both Imade and Fieldston had prepared for him to step into the role. \u201cI’ve really watched him sort of grow and develop as a coach and as a person,\u201d says the Director of Athletics, Gus Ornstein. \u201cHe has all the skill set to be successful, and I love how excited and passionate he is about it.\u201d Still, Imade completed the full job application process as any other applicant would. Typically, the athletics department posts a notice of job opportunity and identifies the most qualified two or three resumes. Then, Ornstein invites candidates in for an interview, and often introduces them to other members of the department for external feedback. Although the decision is ultimately Ornstein\u2019s, he appreciates player insight. \u201cIn the end, they’re the ones they’re going to be out there every single day,\u201d says Ornstein. \u201cIf their thoughts make sense, and their reasoning makes sense, which it usually does with our students, that input is valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imade anticipates that the prominent difference between JV and varsity will be the quality of players. Rather than developing individuals one-on-one, there\u2019s an increased big-picture focus on winning games. For players, it provides opportunities for increased freedom and independent problem solving on the field, which can occasionally result in clashes with coaches. \u201cThere’s gonna be challenges here and there, but I think, ultimately, we’ll iron everything out through communication, mediation, and a shared understanding,\u201d says Imade, echoing players\u2019 hopes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere will definitely be players who are quintessential to our success and other players who may not get as many minutes,\u201d says Imade. \u201cBut one thing I do want to assure everyone is that if you come to training with an open heart, you work hard, you follow the rules, and you do all the right things, you will get something out of being on the soccer team. You\u2019ll have a strong network of family to fall back on and speak to when you need help. You always have me as somebody that can provide guidance. And besides that, we\u2019ll develop in a very holistic way. You’re not only improving on the soccer field, you’re improving as human beings as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On Monday, April 10, shrieks of joy erupted from the main floor of the Tate Library as a group of seven varsity girls soccer players celebrated a long-awaited decision. The source of their enthusiasm was an email confirming the promotion of former head junior varsity coach, Iyayi \u201cYaya\u201d Imade, to head coach of the varsity team. Several members of the team had specifically contacted the athletics department to lobby for the promotion. Across the board,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":330,"featured_media":7617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[347,318,317],"tags":[],"coauthors":[481],"class_list":["post-7615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-news","category-sports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-27-at-10.41.59-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/330"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7615"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7681,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7615\/revisions\/7681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7615"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=7615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}