Stephen Gorton
Photo by: Jose Juarez
Gorton Overcoming Challenges of Becoming a Head Coach During a Pandemic
12/7/2020 1:31:00 PM | Men's Soccer
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Stephen Gorton saw the traditional ways of recruiting, training and building a program change dramatically less than one month after becoming the Purdue Fort Wayne men's soccer head coach on February 13, 2020.
Despite the changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gorton is as enthusiastic as ever about the future of the program and progress of the last nine months.
"Purdue Fort Wayne was a place that I always had circled as a place that if the job opened up, I would be interested in it," Gorton said. "Knowing the area for recruiting, I knew this could be a really good program."
Gorton's primary concern when he arrived on campus was working with the student-athletes to provide direction. Getting them off on the right foot was the goal. Gorton gives credit to Christine Kuznar, Kelsey Passaglia and Mastodon women's soccer head coach Jason Burr, who stepped in to help bridge the gap between coaching staffs.
"We spoke with the guys that were returning and we didn't start using the term rebuild, we used the word 'rebrand'," Gorton said.
The following month on March 12, the Mastodon athletic department announced the cancellation of all athletic-related activities through the end of the academic year. In the fall, the Horizon League announced the Mastodons would have to wait to make their league debut.
It was obstacle after obstacle for Gorton. But if you've kept a hand on the pulse of the program, you'd be hard-pressed to find any slowing of early momentum.
Gorton hired Kooten Johnson as his assistant coach in mid-March, then added former Mastodon standout Romain Lopez as a volunteer assistant coach. Since then, Gorton has announced the additions of 20 newcomers to the roster, which will bulk up to 30 Mastodons in January of 2021.
These players were recruited in a variety of ways, as there were students who were already on campus, transfers from other Division I institutions, junior college transfers and true freshmen.
Gorton was able to travel to recruit players as soon as he started at Purdue Fort Wayne, but it wasn't long before the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to that as well. He had about a month of recruiting in Canada, Michigan, Ohio and other surrounding areas before the NCAA announced a recruiting dead period. The dead period was then extended all the way to April 15, 2021, which caused the coaching staff to shift their recruiting strategies all virtual. Gorton had managed a lot in his first month on campus however, as he had seven committed to play for the 'Dons before the shutdown.
With no in-person visits allowed, staying connected with his recruits was key. He did not get to know his future players as well as he would like, and since he was new to the university, Gorton was still building relationships with the admissions and compliance offices.
"Our goal was to get players in here that fit the model moving forward and players that I thought could compete right away and were able to fit into the culture that we have here," Gorton said.
Of course, a culture will look vastly different when two-thirds of a roster is newcomers, but this allowed Gorton to shape the program how he envisioned. He has instilled the culture of "RAPID", which on the surface-level is focusing on quickness and changing the ceiling of players on a daily basis. RAPID is an acronym for reason, awareness, process, improvement and destination.
"It's a lifestyle for our program to where we can look at it on a daily basis and see if we were successful," Gorton said.
His vision for the program came quickly, and Gorton started using that RAPID mindset to recruit from the beginning.
"You sell yourself a little bit, but more importantly you try to sell the vision of what you think the program can be and what the program can do for the recruits," Gorton said. "With a small roster, there was a chance for them to come in and play right away."
Prior to coming to Purdue Fort Wayne, Gorton was an assistant coach at SIUE (2019) and Horizon League member Oakland (2012-2018). In his time at Oakland, he saw competition in both the Summit League and Horizon League, as the Golden Grizzlies moved to the latter in 2013. Gorton helped lead the Golden Grizzlies to quite a bit of success, particularly in the Horizon, as they rattled off five winning seasons in his seven years. This also included 2014 and 2015 Horizon League championships and trips to the NCAA Tournament, which saw Oakland defeat No. 24 Kentucky in 2014. In his one season at SIUE, he led the Cougars to two draws against Big Ten teams, including No. 7 Michigan State.
His coaching pedigree alone would be enough to sway some, but his familiarity to the Horizon League is an added bonus to others. With the Mastodons making the move to the Horizon in 2020, it was just another bullet point that Gorton could use in his recruiting pitch.
Once the 2020-21 academic year came, the challenges did not stop. The Horizon League announced that fall sports would be pushed back, so now Gorton had to manage a team with an even more extended off-season.
"It was an opportunity for us," Gorton said. "It was an opportunity for us to get to know our student-athletes even better, a chance to continue to speak on the culture. I thought the response from the players was going to be negative, but it's been so encouraging to get to know them and build a family. We got a lot accomplished."
The Mastodons had eight weeks of training in the fall of 2020 with some limited time in the weight room as well. Through eight weeks, there a few words that Gorton uses to describe his team.
Eager. Hungry. Coachable.
"They have a high energy that we hope can continue," Gorton said. "But for those eight weeks that we were training, there was no burnout and there were very few days where they were lacking. They're talented, but they're also humble and they have a good winning mentality."
There is an elephant (dare I say, Mastodon?) in the room, however. The 'Dons haven't played anybody with this team yet.
"We'll see what happens we play and when some adversity hits, but we're getting them ready now," Gorton said. "Once that adversity hits, our response can be a positive one."
As the Mastodons prepare for their first season in the Horizon League, whenever that officially comes, Gorton has a vision ready for that as well.
"We want to compete right away," Gorton said. "It's going to be a learning experience, but with the Horizon League there's so much parity. From the top to the bottom there's teams winning games. If we can control what we can control, I think some pretty good things will come for us this spring."
Despite the changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gorton is as enthusiastic as ever about the future of the program and progress of the last nine months.
"Purdue Fort Wayne was a place that I always had circled as a place that if the job opened up, I would be interested in it," Gorton said. "Knowing the area for recruiting, I knew this could be a really good program."
Gorton's primary concern when he arrived on campus was working with the student-athletes to provide direction. Getting them off on the right foot was the goal. Gorton gives credit to Christine Kuznar, Kelsey Passaglia and Mastodon women's soccer head coach Jason Burr, who stepped in to help bridge the gap between coaching staffs.
"We spoke with the guys that were returning and we didn't start using the term rebuild, we used the word 'rebrand'," Gorton said.
The following month on March 12, the Mastodon athletic department announced the cancellation of all athletic-related activities through the end of the academic year. In the fall, the Horizon League announced the Mastodons would have to wait to make their league debut.
It was obstacle after obstacle for Gorton. But if you've kept a hand on the pulse of the program, you'd be hard-pressed to find any slowing of early momentum.
Gorton hired Kooten Johnson as his assistant coach in mid-March, then added former Mastodon standout Romain Lopez as a volunteer assistant coach. Since then, Gorton has announced the additions of 20 newcomers to the roster, which will bulk up to 30 Mastodons in January of 2021.
These players were recruited in a variety of ways, as there were students who were already on campus, transfers from other Division I institutions, junior college transfers and true freshmen.
Gorton was able to travel to recruit players as soon as he started at Purdue Fort Wayne, but it wasn't long before the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to that as well. He had about a month of recruiting in Canada, Michigan, Ohio and other surrounding areas before the NCAA announced a recruiting dead period. The dead period was then extended all the way to April 15, 2021, which caused the coaching staff to shift their recruiting strategies all virtual. Gorton had managed a lot in his first month on campus however, as he had seven committed to play for the 'Dons before the shutdown.
With no in-person visits allowed, staying connected with his recruits was key. He did not get to know his future players as well as he would like, and since he was new to the university, Gorton was still building relationships with the admissions and compliance offices.
"Our goal was to get players in here that fit the model moving forward and players that I thought could compete right away and were able to fit into the culture that we have here," Gorton said.
Of course, a culture will look vastly different when two-thirds of a roster is newcomers, but this allowed Gorton to shape the program how he envisioned. He has instilled the culture of "RAPID", which on the surface-level is focusing on quickness and changing the ceiling of players on a daily basis. RAPID is an acronym for reason, awareness, process, improvement and destination.
"It's a lifestyle for our program to where we can look at it on a daily basis and see if we were successful," Gorton said.
His vision for the program came quickly, and Gorton started using that RAPID mindset to recruit from the beginning.
"You sell yourself a little bit, but more importantly you try to sell the vision of what you think the program can be and what the program can do for the recruits," Gorton said. "With a small roster, there was a chance for them to come in and play right away."
Prior to coming to Purdue Fort Wayne, Gorton was an assistant coach at SIUE (2019) and Horizon League member Oakland (2012-2018). In his time at Oakland, he saw competition in both the Summit League and Horizon League, as the Golden Grizzlies moved to the latter in 2013. Gorton helped lead the Golden Grizzlies to quite a bit of success, particularly in the Horizon, as they rattled off five winning seasons in his seven years. This also included 2014 and 2015 Horizon League championships and trips to the NCAA Tournament, which saw Oakland defeat No. 24 Kentucky in 2014. In his one season at SIUE, he led the Cougars to two draws against Big Ten teams, including No. 7 Michigan State.
His coaching pedigree alone would be enough to sway some, but his familiarity to the Horizon League is an added bonus to others. With the Mastodons making the move to the Horizon in 2020, it was just another bullet point that Gorton could use in his recruiting pitch.
Once the 2020-21 academic year came, the challenges did not stop. The Horizon League announced that fall sports would be pushed back, so now Gorton had to manage a team with an even more extended off-season.
"It was an opportunity for us," Gorton said. "It was an opportunity for us to get to know our student-athletes even better, a chance to continue to speak on the culture. I thought the response from the players was going to be negative, but it's been so encouraging to get to know them and build a family. We got a lot accomplished."
The Mastodons had eight weeks of training in the fall of 2020 with some limited time in the weight room as well. Through eight weeks, there a few words that Gorton uses to describe his team.
Eager. Hungry. Coachable.
"They have a high energy that we hope can continue," Gorton said. "But for those eight weeks that we were training, there was no burnout and there were very few days where they were lacking. They're talented, but they're also humble and they have a good winning mentality."
There is an elephant (dare I say, Mastodon?) in the room, however. The 'Dons haven't played anybody with this team yet.
"We'll see what happens we play and when some adversity hits, but we're getting them ready now," Gorton said. "Once that adversity hits, our response can be a positive one."
As the Mastodons prepare for their first season in the Horizon League, whenever that officially comes, Gorton has a vision ready for that as well.
"We want to compete right away," Gorton said. "It's going to be a learning experience, but with the Horizon League there's so much parity. From the top to the bottom there's teams winning games. If we can control what we can control, I think some pretty good things will come for us this spring."
~ Feel the Rumble ~
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