Season Preview: Cerro Coso ready for inaugural men's soccer season

Cerro Coso Athletics will make history this fall season when it fields the first ever Coyotes men's soccer team. Cerro Coso has tapped Joseph Bouchelle as the first coach for the new program, and the new Coyotes coach is excited at the chance to create a new program, culture, and make a run for a championship.

"This has been honestly a dream for me, having a chance to create a program from the ground up. Being able to bring in a culture, bring in athletes that want to do that too. I think that's what I'm most excited about is seeing how these athletes are going to create this culture. I can lead and coach, but really, it's on the boys, and seeing the kind of kids I've been able to recruit so far and continue to look forward, it's going to be really fun," he said.

This will be Bouchelle's first head coaching job, but that doesn't mean he is a stranger to the beautiful game. He has experience as a player and as a coach. 

"I played and/or coached since I was two years old," he said. "I played all growing up; my dad was a coach so I was always around the game. In college I got hurt and wasn't able to play anymore, so I transitioned into coaching and haven't looked back since then. It's been really a continuation of what I love and being able to still be part of the game has been huge for me."

As the head coach of a new program, Bouchelle has his goals for what he hopes to accomplish, but he also knows he will face some struggles that come with building a new program that has no history or culture.

"My deepest desire is a championship in season one, and every coach will tell you that. Every coach will say I want to win championships. Judging from the conference and from the guys we have been able to recruit so far, I feel it's a realistic possibility," he said on what he wants to accomplish before speaking on the struggles he will face.

Regarding the struggles: "Right now, our roster is really small. We have a small roster, so injuries, eligibility, the stuff that every program goes through, it's going to be tough. There are going to be growing pains – there always are. Bringing guys from a lot of different backgrounds is going to be tough as well because we don't have a culture yet. That's one thing when you have a culture and an established program, you can bring in these guys and they know what is going on. But these guys are coming from different backgrounds and creating it. There are going to be growing pains. It's going to be a lot of figuring each other out, but I'm excited. I try to be really positive and forward think when it comes to mistakes, to those growing pains and how do we learn from it instead of how do we focus on it."

Looking ahead to the inaugural season of men's soccer, Bouchelle has goals for his team when they play in the preseason and when they get their first shot at the Inland Empire Athletic Conference.

"For preseason we are playing a few really good teams, and I haven't been able to get as many games as I wanted. Again, being a new program is tough, because everyone's season is already full, so it's difficult, but we really want to make sure we are going into every game in this preseason treating it like a championship game," the Coyotes coach said. "When we do that, it will allow us to go into our conference games more prepared and, same idea, every conference game is a championship. Every single one, because when it comes to the end of the conference season, that's what determines the postseason. I think our goals going into the preseason or non-conference really are figuring ourselves out, making that culture, building off that. Conference play is we are coming in as a wrecking ball."

Bouchelle is looking forward to watching his players play against every team in preseason and conference. He said, "I don't think there is a team on the schedule that I'm not excited about. Found out the other day I was recruiting a kid who is now going to another team we are going to play, so we are looking forward to that. We are excited for that because it will be good to see him and compete against them. It's tough to really pick them out. We are excited to play Norco, who won the conference last year. We are really excited to see immediately how we are going to do, and we play Norco early in our conference season. That is a big one, but really just everybody. I'm excited."

Looking ahead to his first season, Bouchelle is excited to start the first ever men's soccer season at Cerro Coso and the chance to get fans to attend games and watch an exciting brand of soccer.

"I have been talking with the guys every day, and all of them are so excited. It's obviously going to be an eye-opener for them going from high school to college because it's a different game. And it's a different experience. They are probably not used to 5 a.m. practices, which we will be having for preseason at least, getting that conditioning in, and conditioning is different from high school to college. There is a lot of excitement for the program from myself, to the boys, and I think that is one of the biggest things for me is seeing that the boys are excited. And every single recruit we are bring in is excited to be here, and that is huge for me too. If they are excited to be here, then I know they are going to work, and we are going to work together and be a really good program," he said.

"That is another one the boys keep asking: how many fans are we going to get? And I tell them I don't know because it's a new experience for us and the town. But my goal is to provide a product that people want to see. I don't like thinking of soccer as a business or a product, but when it comes to fans, they want to see something exciting. And that is what we do, we do a very exciting style of play, very energetic, lots of energy, lots of goals, lots of shooting, and that's what people like to watch. I'm excited to see the kind of support we get back from the town, and the boys are really excited to be part of the community. And not to say come and watch us play games, but also, how can we help out in the community? Are there events or schools that want to meet college athletes? Things like that.

Eduardo Miranda

The Daily Independent