Itensity, fight, resilience – we’re gonna do whatever it takes to win
Interview with Chattanooga's WPSL Coaching staff
Chattanooga Football Club will kick off its Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) season this Friday, when it takes on the UFA Gunners at Finley Stadium. Playing in the WPSL’s Southeast Conference’s Peachtree Division, CFC will also face off against Atlanta Fire United, Decatur FC, and Georgia Impact. I sat down with Head Coach Juan Hernandez and Associate Head Coach Maryn Beutler to discuss the upcoming season, Friday’s game, and the job of building a squad to challenge for titles and represent their community.
Background
I begin by asking them to tell me about their respective careers in soccer and the journeys that brought them to the bench of CFC this year.
MARYN: I’ve been in soccer for about 10 years now. I graduated college and had the opportunity to be a graduate assistant at my alma mater. I’m very grateful for my college Head Coach who gave me an opportunity to have a professional career as a coach in the game. I had a few stops with clubs and college soccer and I’ve found a home here in Chattanooga which I’m super grateful for. I was most recently with Colorado Rapids and first assistant at the Colorado Storm in a successful three year stint. Now I’m here working with our MLS Next boys and the Associate Head Coach of the women’s team working with Juan which is super exciting. I’ve always been super passionate about soccer. As a player, it was the only thing I did growing up, I put all of my eggs into that basket. Gratefully it worked out for me in the long term and I’m really excited to continue to help grow the soccer community in Chattanooga.
JUAN: All my family have been coaches at the highest level there is. So, that’s been ingrained in me since I was a kid, I grew up in the world of elite sport, whether it was playing with or coaching national teams in Spain. So that’s the environment I grew up in. I grew up in Spain, Spain is a soccer country. Everything we do and live towards there is for soccer. So, I grew up in that environment and since I was a kid I knew that I was going to either play or coach or both. I also always knew that education was important, so I took an Exercise Science pathway in my education. I have my Masters in Exercise Science studied at West Florida as a graduate and an assistant coach. At some point while playing in Spain I decided to come and play here in college, came to CFC in 2015, turned professional with CFC, I was captain at that time. I later got involved with the academy, I lead the girls’ program now in the academy and was assistant coach for the past two year with the women’s team.
Given her perspective on the game, I’m keen to get Maryn’s take on the evelotion of the women’s game during the course of her life in the sport.
MARYN: Its interesting looking back at my youth career, I never had a female coach until I got to college. I laugh because I always wanted to be a coach, both my parents work in sports. But I never thought about what it would look like financially or with those opportunities. As it evolved I realized there are sacrifices to working in the sports industry. I took that path and I’ve seen one of the most drastic evolutions of females in sport. That’s been amazing to see and be a part of, and I’m very proud of that. I’m always very grateful of people like Juan, like Miguel Rodrigues, and Sebastian Giraldo here at the club who support women’s sport, because we do need those allies and people to create opportunities for us.
Preparations and recruitment
So, how are preparations coming along for the WPSL season ahead?
JUAN: They’re going really good. We have done an immense amount of work to get to this point. We’ve done a lot of recruiting, a lot of analysis, and a lot of work to make sure we’ve planned the whole season ahead. So, when we’re here everything is about the game, the game, the game. The first four days reflected all the work that we’ve been doing for months. The team is getting together right now but in terms of the emotional and buy-in aspect: the girls are working really hard. They can see and feel how the club is treating them, and they know this is a professional environment. So they are embracing that and they’re putting that into their effort on the field. Things are clicking, we’re getting there and by the time the first game comes we’ll be ready.
How has recruitment gone?
MARYN: Juan and I strategized a lot on what this looks like in the sense of the style that we want to play and the athletes that we need to be successful within that style. So, we utilized all the contacts that we had across the country from Juan knowing people across the Southeast region and me knowing a lot of people on the West coast and Central regions to utilize our resources within college environments and coaches that we know. Another part of that evolution of women’s sport is college coaches wanting their female athletes playing soccer in the summer, and they know that there are a lot of opportunities that are eye-opening to what this could look like post-college. If players want to play professionally after graduation, a lot of clubs are creating that environment, Chattanooga FC being one of those. So, getting coaches to understand what we can provide the players so that when they get back to their college seasons, they’re ready to go. There’s a lot of trust in that, it’s extremely beneficial to have those relationships and have that trust in-place because we really had a lot of support from those universities in sending players our way. We’re excited to see what the athletes can do, obviously this is the first season of these girls playing together. We have a few from the same college teams that know each other but for the most part it’s a mixed bag. So, we need to figure out getting everyone oriented with one another to perform their best based off the quality that each player has.
When building a roster like this, are going largely on coach feedback, or are you usin video clips or stats?
MARYN: All of it! Juan and I watch a lot of soccer, whether its college soccer, NWSL or Super League so we kind of have an idea of the type of players we’re interested in. Then from there its about reaching out to those coaches to get a feel for that player’s interest in us. And then there were some players that just came about in conversation with those coaches who we didn’t know about, and then we got video, had conversations with them and realized they’d be a really good fit for us.
JUAN: A lot of it is about connections and the trust we have in those people and the trust they have in us, because we do not get to see some of the players live. We have some returnees, some players we know from the past from other clubs, players who play for college coaches that we trust, and we have video evidence obviously. There are no blind decisions, but it is a mix of all those aspects. And then we also have academy players that are going to be part of the first team once their season is done. Our job is for the community, but we also want to bring in external people in order to be successful. So we try to combine the talent outside and the talent inside, grow our community, and contend for a championship.
With that in-mind, what does the CFC WPSL side represent? Is it a spectator event for fans, an outlet for the academy, or a means to develop athletes? Or is it all three?
JUAN: There’s two clear causes that we have: one is winning a championship and the other is developing a soccer community. We are doing both at the same time. That’s the ultimate goal, how can we grow Chattanooga soccer? Part of it is being successful and part of it is putting resources into the people that we have. So we’re doing both and that’s been part of the recruitment process; how can we balance the two? We wanna be successful and a winning team, so we wanna get the best. But we also want to get the best from the area so we have players that are from UTC, from local colleges, and top players from the academy.
MARYN: And we also have the top players that reside in Chattanooga in the off-season, and I think that’s a really important comment to make also. We have attracted some of the best female soccer players to have come out of Chattanooga.
In terms of recruitment and the players announced, I see a blend of youth and experience. But I especially notice the experience, with players bringing experience from successful WPSL and USL W sides, Reading FC in the WSL, and players with foreign experience. Is such strong recruitment a statement of intent?
JUAN: Yes. It blends both models. You bring in those players to win, but those players are also great leaders who are gonna support everything that goes on underneath. While we’re going for a Championship, we‘re focused on our other goal which is building the soccer community.
MARYN: Part of our model is developing the athletes to set them up for success in their next endeavor. So, these more mature players who have these experiences, they’re coming to Chattanooga for the summer so that when they get that phone call to sign a professional contract, they’re ready. For that, we have to have a balance. We can’t have a full roster of players looking to play professional soccer, whether in the NWSL or abroad, or ideally later on in the community in Chattanooga. We also need younger players who are gonna return to play for Chattanooga next summer and help build a foundation of not having to start from scratch every single summer in terms of our dynamic superiority. That’s a conversation we had, how we can balance both.
On that note, here’s at least four returness from the 2024 season coming back. How important is that?
JUAN: It’s really important. It’s part of what we’re here for which is to develop and the more consistency we can have, the better. This year is the biggest building year with the goal of promoting players to pro, with bringing those players back from college and continuing to help them become successful players in college and bringing those academy players in so they can later be successful college athletes. So that’s the goal, and we’ve done months and months of work to ensure the footprint we put on this year is the base of what’s coming.
Are there any lessons from last seaon that they want to use to drive success in 2025?
JUAN: A lot of small details, how to be better, be more professional, do things in a different way. It wasn’t an unsuccessful season, results wise, it wasn’t what we wanted but there was a lot of building, growth and players we supported along the way. We need to define what success means for CFC. Results wise it was not, but players felt welcome, they grew, and when they left they were thankful for the experience they had. So, there was success in the context, if not in the results.
CFC’s first three games are at home. How important is this for the season ahead?
JUAN: It’s important for us to show our fanbase who we are right away. We wanna put down momentum and excitement making our stamp on the league right away. Fans need to know the first three games are at home and we need their support right away.
MARYN: The way this season is set up is very short. So, the first few games of the season matter immensely. Those performances, those points, are where teams set themselves up for success and long-term playoff runs or they don’t. So, it’s very important for us to get results in those first three games at home.
What are your targets for the season?
JUAN: We wanna win the last game in July. That’s the goal, that’s what we’re building toward as a club, that’s what we’re working toward. Everything we do to prepare for the first game is gonna bring us to that last game. The team knows it and are excited that this is the goal. They came here for that reason.
MARYN: It’s important as an athlete to understand what your goals are. We train every single day, we have eight games, playing every team twice. If you lose sight of those goals it can become just something that you’re doing every day, rather than something that you know matters. Juan and I work with the players to ensure that it’s no mystery why we’re showing up and the intensity and effort we bring every single day in training and in games.
Style of soccer
So, what can fans expect when they watch CFC this season? Do the coaches have a philosophy or style that influences their approach to the game and how their team will play?
JUAN: For fans that have seen me play; the way I play is the way I think and the way I think is the way I coach. Thankfully Maryn and I see the game eye-to-eye in this sense, and it is part of what we talk about every single day: how can we implement our experience as players with our knowledge as coaches so we can impart that to the girls, and they can enjoy the game. At the end of the day, it’s for the athletes to enjoy the game. The game is still a game. And when you enjoy it, you win. We’re tying to balance having a professional environment with the joy of the game and I think our style of play is gonna bring that to the fans. It is a style of play that replicates our style of play as athletes, but also the fun style of soccer people want to watch. Our objective is to be dominant on the ball.
MARYN: We’ve built a Championship roster. Every single player we’ve recruited to be on this team is a champion and wants to be a champion. So, I think that you’re going to see that as spectators every single game. The intensity, the fight, the resilience – we’re gonna do whatever it takes to win.
Community
What would they like to see in the stands this season and when they kick off on Friday?
JUAN: I’m hoping to replicate what happened when the men were amateur. Obviously, that’s gonna come with time and success and that’s our job. We know we need to build a team to be successful and we’re gonna work hard so fans can experience that because that’s what will attract people to the game. We have a core group of fans who will always be there, for the men and for the women. But we also wanna bring in those looking for excitement and a championship team, so that’s what we’re building toward. I have a firm conviction that as we progress through the season and people see what we are, they’re gonna start noticing more and coming more.
Finally, what message would you give to the people of Chattanooga, to encourage them to come out to Finley and support CFC?
MARYN: Everybody watch women’s sports! We have an amazing opportunity to provide something really exciting and on the rise to a small community in Chattanooga. Women’s sports have grown, whether it’s soccer or women’s basketball, across the globe. It’s really exciting to have this opportunity in your backyard. So, hopefully we get female athletes’ support out there, we get our male athletes’ support out there. I coach boys’ teams in the academy, they’re asking about it, they’re excited to come out to our games and support us. It’s a really cool dynamic to have. The last thing I’ll say is that we want for this thing to continue getting better so this season is a starting point for us in what we can do and provide to our community. As the years go on, we’ll continue to get more support.
JUAN: CFC represents Chattanooga. With all the values, with everything we do. Our goal is to represent Chattanooga, to make Chattanooga a well-known city across the States, or even the world, based on our fanbase now; it’s across the world. So, our goal continues to be the same and also grow the women’s game here in the city. And we’re achieving that and the fact that we have brought this type of talent to the city, everybody in the city should acknowledge that, and should come watch what that looks like because it is the most talented team that this city will have seen. There’ll be some good competition [across the league] and seeing that in Chattanooga facing each other: the community needs to embrace that, embrace the talent we have brought and the type of talent we’re gonna play against.
CFC’s season kicks off on Friday when it takes on the UFA Gunners at Finley Stadium at 7pm. You can read the Southeast Soccer Report’s Season Preview for Chattanooga’s WPSL campaign HERE.
My thanks to Maryn and Juan for their time, and to Hayes Creech for organizing the interview.