Out of all of the coaches we have here at Legacy, in my opinion none have as much passion and determination as the head varsity soccer coach, Aaron Cottrell.  He took the soccer team deep into the playoffs last year and is repeating success this year.  Because of his coaching, Legacy went from a no-name team to ranked number two. You can’t say Legacy’s player talent was the only reason they made it to the state playoffs last year.  A team can have a bunch of all stars, and if the coach doesn’t know how to utilize them, they can be the worst team in the league.

Cottrell possesses an ability not only to coach his players, but also to motivate them to play at their best level. Cottrell’s leadership and teaching produced several quality players such as Isaac Pile, Bryan Zahner and Kevin Spoonemoore.

Cottrell remains calm and confident in his team when coaching their games on the sidelines.  I have seen him show expressions of frustration and anger when plans aren’t executed, but I feel he does it only to motivate his team to play harder.  He’ll sometimes talk to his players on the sidelines with a laid back manner, but still gets the point across that they need to do their job.

Finally, when I went to talk to him after the win over Everman, he was very relaxed.  You could tell by his expression and tone that he wasn’t pleased that the team didn’t play up to it’s potential, but satisfied with a win. After the interview he gave a subtle nod and quickly jogged back to his team.  That’s the trait that Cottrell possesses that distinguishes him as our best coach.  He’s not concerned with his publicity.  He could care less if his name is in a magazine because of his team’s success.  His focus is on his team and finding ways to make them better.