Cross country
Phil Tiller Cross Country Assistant Coach
What do you bring to the program?
What I bring is lots of experience. I ran at [ACS] Cobham as a high school student, so I have a pretty good understanding of what it takes at that level and what it takes to get beyond that level and run division I at university. Beyond that, I ran fairly competitively on the roads. So maybe being able to offer advice and support to people on a more competitive edge and also helping the middle school and people who are maybe just getting fit or using sport for whatever reason.
How would you describe yourself as a coach?
I think if you asked that question to anybody I’ve coached, you’d find that they’d probably describe me as somebody who likes to have a lot of fun and a lot of laughs,” he said. When it’s work time I’m very serious. I try [to tell jokes] in the warm ups and on the jogs. I like it to be fun and easygoing. But when the workout starts or the race starts I kind of shift modes to being more serious and businesslike.
I’m also someone who is very patient and what I want most from athletes is for them to feel like they’ve done their best and that isn’t judged by me or anyone else; it’s just judged by the athlete on their own. Whether they feel like if they got last place and that was everything they can do, I give them the biggest hug in the world and tell them it’s the best job ever. If it’s first place it’s the same thing, or second place and they feel like they could have done more, then I would offer advice. But, I like to make people feel like they are the ones who judge their success.
What are your short-term goals for the season?
I don’t place a massive emphasis on winning, but like anybody, I like to be on a winning team. I like the hard work that coaches and athletes put in to pay off and many times that is judged by how you do at the end… From what I’ve seen [of the team] it’s capable of finishing in the top three at ISSTs and that would probably be a realistic goal.
What are your long-term goals for the program?
When I look at the time I spent at Cobham watching ASL, I would love to see [the team] in cross country win an overall championship. I know just about two years ago ASL won the overall track championship but it was only the first time in maybe 20 odd years. I’d love to be a helper to get that to be more frequent and I think we have the right people here, it’s just a matter of motivating and seeing what we can do as a team.
Boys soccer
Akay Mustafa Varsity Boys Soccer Head Coach
What do you bring to the program?
I bring a balanced perspective. I’m someone who’s coached in [an] international school environment for 12 years. I’ve worked at professional academies and semi professional academies, so I have a viewpoint from both perspectives.
How would you describe yourself as a coach?
[A] term that is being bandied about in the states is ‘read and react style’. I would much rather teach [a player] how to handle a situation rather than give you a specific formula for how to take it on. I think that’s reflected in my coaching and management styles.
What are your short-term goals for the season?
Our goals [for] the season are to improve every week, win every game we play in, and to make sure [that] at the end of the season, we finish where we are supposed to finish.
What are your long-term goals for the program?
We need to create the feeling of continuation throughout the program. JJV players need to feel like they can play JV, and JV needs to feel like they can play varsity.
Danny Cook Varsity Boys Soccer Assistant Coach
What do you bring to the program?
Hopefully some fresh ideas, because obviously I’m still quite young and I like to think I’m quite creative,” Varsity Boys Football Assistant Maybe spot something that’s a little bit different to what’s been done before. Also, I’m very enthusiastic when it comes to the sport itself. I’m very hardworking and very enthusiastic.
How would you describe yourself as a coach?
I would say I’m very much a man manager. I like to deal with the players on a personal basis, I’m not really the strict, I like to build a relationship with the players, get that development going. For me, it’s the personal side of things, I really want to get to know my players and use that as an advantage when it comes to playing games.
What are your short-term goals for the season?
As a team, we should be looking to try and win ISSTs.
What are your long-term goals for the program?
From a personal point of view, I want to develop the guys as much as possible, develop their game, and hopefully turn them into pro footballers.
Joseph Paul Wright JV Boys Soccer Head Coach
What do you bring to the program?
I bring in my ideas about competition. I think [that] it’s absolutely fantastic they way the school has everything setup. I think the bit that I have [over other coaches] is that I’m bringing a competitive edge and approach to competition.
How would you describe yourself as a coach?
I think that my sessions are enjoyable; however, when it comes to competition time, it’s very serious and there’s no [joking around]. We have to enjoy the competition and enjoy the nature of competition, but at the same time not at the expense of doing our best.
What are you short-term goals of the season?
Problem solve first and foremost, Any issues that we have in regards to how we play we want to sort that out as quick as possible, and I think we’ve done a good job of that.
What are your long-term goals for the program?
I would like to at least have some influence on the program here,” he said. And help make the whole football program uniform.
Girls soccer
Bruce Brown Varsity Girls Soccer Head Coach
What do you bring to the program?
Massive amounts of experience. [I’ve coached] over 30 years of coaching girls this age at a very high level.
How would you describe yourself as a coach?
Demanding, But I’m fair. I treat everyone the same, [It] doesn’t matter if` you’re the best or the worst player. All I do is expect the best effort that you can give, but that sometimes can be demanding.
What are your short-term goals for the season?
No matter where you come from, the end of the season is what you’re aiming for. Whether that’s ISSTs here, or a state tournament in the states. We’re trying to prep the team to be peaking at the time that we play that tournament.
What are your long-term goals for the program?
The history that I’ve been able to track down with ASL is that the soccer program is very strong. [I want to] … increase the numbers because it seems to me that there are too few young ladies playing at this school for one that is especially steeped in tradition.
Harry Sherman JV Girls Soccer Head Coach
What do you bring to the program?
I think I bring fresh ideas, a different outlook on the way that I think football should be played, a new approach.
How would you describe yourself as a coach?
I am a coach that very much likes to be involved with the players. Having a relationship with the players is very important. Nowadays, you see that the emphasis is on man management, as opposed to actually coaching the game. I like to build relationships with players, and use these relationships to progress.
What are your short-term goals for the season?
To get the girls better at football than what they were at the start of the season,” Sherman said. “Ideally, from the first to the last game, I want to see an improvement in the way they play as a team.
What are your long term goals for the program?
I want to be more part of the set up. I love the way that ASL works, the kids, the facilities, the equipment, all great. I just want to continue to develop the students, helping them improve themselves.
Julia Harrison JV Girls Soccer Assistant Coach
What do you feel you bring to the soccer program?
I think I bring an experience in the sport as I have previously played against international schools as well. I have an understanding of how the tournaments work. Also, I know a lot of the girls from previous sports like softball, and seeing them progress in sports and playing soccer.
How would you describe yourself as a coach?
Stern at times, but fair.
What are your goals for the season?
Definitely winning LSSAs, as well as building more of a team relationship between us.
What are your goals for the season?
I hope that we can develop having a program where there is a progression to move up from JV to varsity. It’s not just separate teams. We want a flow where when you are on JV, we’re training you up to varsity. It doesn’t matter what age you are, what grade you are, we’re trying to see a progress. Whether you’ve been playing for five years, or playing out of school, that there is a progression going up.
Field Hockey
Randolph Richardson Varsity Field Hockey Head Coach
What do you bring to the program?
Love. I fell in love with this game, and I really cannot get enough of it. So if there’s anything that I bring more than anything else, it’s love. I picked up the game when I was in my 20s. I had to learn how to play and learn how to coach. I learned how to umpire it. I love it.
How would you describe yourself as a coach?
I’m a transformational coach… By transformational, it means essentially looking at athletes and understanding a couple of things: You don’t get better unless you play. My approach is to try and develop teams and programs where everyone has a chance to play.
What are your short-term goals for the season?
To see how well coach K [Varsity Field Hockey Assistant Coach Kelly Isbister] and I can bring out the very best in the girls that choose to play,” he said. “That’s the most immediate goal. You have to understand, health and safety are always our number one priorities, and health has to do with fitness – which is out of our control until practice and the season begins. So, I’d love to get us to the end of the season without any major injuries or illnesses, and practice good habits. I’d love to see us generate more offense, tighten up our defense, play not only with our strongest players but with our weakest links in a way that always demonstrates our very best efforts on the field.”
What are your long term goals for the program?
I would really like to help ASL be the school that everyone wants to play,” Richardson said. “They know that when we go to them or when they come to us, we’ll give them a really interesting, competitive game. We’re sportswomen. We understand that the game is the game, and yes, we’d love to win, but when it’s all said and done, we can find things in common with each other, and I hope that one thing we have with each other is the love of playing the game.
I want to build on the enthusiasm and the love that the girls bring to playing the game, so much so that those girls who are not yet playing a sport at all choose to play with [field hockey] next season.
Photos by Print and Online Media Editor Olivia Abrams, Sports Editor Jonathan Novak and Managing Editor: Online Christina Leonard
Opinions Editor Sophie Ashley, Features Editor Alexandra Gers, Managing Editor: Online Christina Leonard, Online Editor Maddie Sayre and Editor-in-Chief: Print Michaela Towfighi contributed to reporting
