Ernie Yarborough is currently the DA goalkeeper coach for the Indiana Fire Juniors. Prior to his role with Fire, Ernie has a wealth of experience and success as a collegiate soccer coach. Most recently as the Head Coach for Marian University in Indianapolis, he also has spent time as an assistant coach with Xavier University, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and UAB. Ernie has been to 3 D1 National Championships, 2 as a coach, 1 as a player.

Ernie grew up in New Jersey playing soccer and other sports before moving to Florida in high school. He had the opportunity to play overseas in Europe before retuning to the US to play in college at Indiana University. After graduation, he was the graduate assistant at his alma mater.

Coach

Ernie Yarborough: Boys DA Coach at Indiana Fire Juniors located in Westfield, IN.

Topic 1: First Impression as a Goalkeeper

Ernie discussed the importance of having a 'presence' as a goalkeeper. This comes in the form of communication on the field with your teammates, and with your coaches off the field. As a goalkeeper, you should be active in your position and always letting your teammates know you are there for them to help the team win.

Topic 2: National Championship Teams

Coach Yarborough discusses a variety of stories of the teams he’s coached for, that have won a national championship. He talked about how he encouraged his team to take it game by game and to try and be the best team on the pitch for that specific day. He harps on the mentality of his teams that have won, and how they’ve been solid for both cases which contributed to their win. 

Topic 3: DA Termination / Future of US Soccer

Coach Ernie discusses where his club, Indiana Fire Juniors, will play moving forward with the termination of the DA. He also discusses how he feels that the combination of the termination of the league with the pandemic, will result in a much more regionalized soccer atmosphere instead of the nationalized platform it is now. He thinks it will also heavily impact the recruiting mindset of college coaches, resulting in the majority of recruiting being more local and regional. Additionally, he believes this could give talented young soccer athletes that play for a smaller club, more of a chance to be seen by successful collegiate soccer programs. 

Topic 4: Preparing for Success

Ernie talks about how he uses the EXACT ‘success logs’ (journals) to help his players develop their game. We discuss the importance of accountability and how journaling is great way to build off successes and learn from failures.

Topic 5: Coolest Atmosphere

Ernie’s favorite atmosphere was the 1994 NCAA National Championship in Davidson, NC. He talks about how the whole town was amped up for the championship, and this made it an unreal experience. He still to this day is able to recall the sensations he experienced that day. 

Topic 6: Mount Rushmore of Soccer

Coach Ernie’s Mount Rushmore of Soccer includes: Brian Maisonneuve, Bruce Grobbelaar, Messi, and Oliver Kahn. He even added an additional fifth, Landon Donovan! 

As a goalkeeper, sometimes the pressure can be in intense. With Ernie's advice, along with a combination of other skills, you will be able to deal with the pressure in any game time situation. 

Full Transcript:

CHRIS GORDON  

Hey everyone. Thanks for joining us for another edition of exact club experts. Today we are joined by a longtime friend of the program. He is a goalkeeper coach at the Indiana fire juniors coach ERNIE YARBOROUGH. It was great to catch up with Coach Ernie and hear about his time playing and coaching in national championship games. How to stand out as a goalkeeper in a trial or camp environment in the importance of mental toughness and how it translates to success. You can check out the entire conversation at our blog, exact sports comm slash blog or on our social platforms, Instagram or Twitter, at exact sports and the Facebook page exact soccer. excited to share it with you guys and I hope you enjoy our journey. Thanks for joining us today. Good to always have you back in the exact fold and you know sharing your story. So let's get right into it. And hear a little bit more about your background and what inspired you to become a coach.

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

Well, I started playing A young age like a lot of kids, you know, I grew up down the Jersey Shore and had some opportunities to play soccer in the offseason of baseball and basketball. My family moved to Florida for high school, and I had an opportunity to get onto the high school in the club scene there. Really found a love for the game after going to Europe before my junior year on a regional team, having some success and seeing what football is like, you know, other than the United States at the time, and fell in love and that's when I made a decision I wanted to play in college. I was fortunate enough to earn a spot at Indiana University. We went to a final in 1994 keep runners up to Virginia that year. And throughout that journey in college, you know, I really paid attention to the coaching piece, you know, listened more than asked questions. And when I was done, I had an opportunity to go back to iu as a volunteer graduate assistant during grad school had a great experience with Great teams their three Final Fours and two national championships in 9899. And that was just a springboard then into college coaching and you know a great experience starting the program at the University of Michigan. Seven years there get into a final eight and just our fourth season as a program. And then on the UAB working with Mike getman, before heading back to the big 10 with the former teammate and son of my college coach Todd eglee. The University of Wisconsin was there only for a year before heading back to iu. He got the job as the head coach where he currently is still there and had some great success in 2010 when in the big 10 championship 2012 when in a national championship, and then 2013 winning another big 10 championship before becoming a head coach at Stetson University in Florida, as well as Marian University in Indianapolis and now working with the club here Indiana fire juniors development Academy

CHRIS GORDON  

It's quite the journey I always look at your coaching background, it seems like you've, you've hit half the big 10 and not done yet. So you said that a couple more check off the list maybe maybe come up Chicago hit up that

Northwestern doing a great job. 

ERNIE YARBOROUGH

You know Tim Lohan's got a good crew up there, you know, as he likes to say it's Chicago, or Chicago is big 10 town and they do a great job there on the lake great facilities and a great program.

CHRIS GORDON  

Absolutely. You talked about being a part of a few national championship teams. You know, as a coach, he has a player to a final as a coach, you know, you think you were a part of three national champions. Can you talk a little bit more about their those experiences and kind of what that that meant to you?

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

Yeah, I mean, winning a national championship is a an interesting storyline journey. You know, you got to have talented players. There's no question You gotta have some luck along the way, you know, the way the brackets fall, who wins and what games? You know, the biggest thing I think is you got to be stout defensively, I think all the teams that won national championships, you know, gave up one goal or no goals throughout the entire entirety of the tournament journey. And the other thing is, you got to have some good character, you know, you got to have guys that are willing to do some things that maybe are a bit more uncommon than most, you know, digging deep here, you know, resiliency, those types of things. You know, I heard a great quote one time by Lou Holtz, when he's talking about college football, I said, you don't have to be the best team in the country, you only have to be the best team on the field that day. And you know, I think in 2012, as an example, with IU, we found a way five different times to be the best team on the field that day. And, you know, when you have a bunch of guys that are committed to that type of mentality it can be Done. You know, it's one game at a time, and it's an opponent versus an opponent. And sometimes you match up well, and you have the advantage. And sometimes you don't. And you got to find ways to win. And I think championship teams find ways to win more than they find ways to lose.

CHRIS GORDON  

Yeah, I recall, one of the first times I met you guys, you were telling me the story from that 2012 team on how you guys entered the tournament as 16 seed after winning the big 10 tournament, and we're kind of walked me through that journey through the tournament, and it seemed like, your guys rose to the occasion on each for each game, and we're the underdogs and came out on top and

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

yeah, I mean, anytime you're seated, you're still one of the best teams in the tournament. There's no question about that. So yeah, 16 you know, and had to go play the one and that all sounds great. But the reality is, if you're in the NCAA tournament, you have a chance to win. That's really the idea of the whole thing. Find a way to get in, and then you know, the one and done mentality sets in, you know, the big the big game, the biggest match or experience on that journey was probably playing the number one seed Notre Dame at Notre Dame. You know, everyone always asked you once you win. When did you know? You know, what was the moment you realize you had a team that could win a national championship. And for that particular group, I would say it was at Notre Dame. We really were all over them in the first half. I mean, just should have been up a goal or two at halftime, but for whatever reason, it was 00 goalkeeping this chances whatever. And five minutes or six minutes into the second half, they come out score goal. And so it'd be very easy for a team to hang their head and be like, man, we did everything we could. It's not our day, blah, blah. But within about two or three minutes, we responded and scored a goal. And that's when I knew that's when I knew this team in particular had a winner's mentality. They weren't going to let something like that get away from them. And we went on to win and over time on the road. That's when I kind of walked away from that match knowing this is a group that can do this. And, you know, that particular run to the championship was an anomaly for us because it was kind of a retribution. tournament. You know, Xavier had beaten us a couple times in the preseason and we got to beat them in the first round Notre Dame and beaten us in the regular season so we got to go out there and beat them on the road. The year before we lost in the national round of 16 at North Carolina now we go to North Carolina in the quarterfinals and beat them. You know, Creighton had beaten us in tournament or a regular season match a year or two before now we're playing them in the Final Four, and we beat them and then the finals the final, you know, we play Georgetown had never played them before New opponents. So at that point, it was just mano a mano, and who's going to win the match and to be honest, they were very worthy opponent, obviously a great program just won the national championship this year. But you know, Brian does a great job and they were a great opponent and on the day, we found a way to get the goal, you know, The way it goes. But the reality was that team really had some resiliency and really had some fire. But I knew at Notre Dame when we scored that goal about two or three minutes later that we had the type of team that was capable of winning a national championship.

CHRIS GORDON  

Definitely, that's what I really respect about soccer, especially at the division one level is any team can beat anybody. You know, you're not just you know, this one sees not just getting an easy walk to the sweet 16 Elite Eight, it's, you know, it's anybody's game when you get into the tournament, so it's really cool to hear about that journey. How you guys. I mean, honestly,

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

most, most of the hardest games I've ever been a part of have been in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. You know, I think because the the higher seed is coming in, as you said, kind of thinking, you know, hey, we're the higher seed, maybe this is going to be our day. And obviously, the lower seed is coming in thinking, you know, we can upset this team. We're going to give you your best effort. So I think honestly You know, in terms of on paper disparity, it looks like one thing, but the reality is, I think the first and second round games are some of the hardest to play. Because once you get deeper in the tournament, both teams are very good usually. And so it's much more of a match, so to speak. But no, I think it's it's very true that the first couple of rounds in soccer are very difficult.

CHRIS GORDON  

Yeah, I mean, that makes sense. I feel like a lot of early matchups or games where maybe you hadn't played that team or much a report on them. So it's kind of an open, open table for for anything to happen. But again, it's a really cool experience. And I I'm glad you're able to share it. I'm kind of flipping to the club side of things, obviously, with the fire Junior juniors now and they haven't developed an academy team within the organization. And with the news, breaking this this past week about the termination of the development Academy. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on you know what's going on and how the club has kind of reacted to that situation.

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

Yeah. You know, I work for a wonderful organization here on the north side of Indianapolis, the Indiana fire juniors, they support an academy club at this point, I guess is what we should call it. Obviously, within the last week to 10 days, news is broken that the development Academy as we know it is no longer which is certainly disheartening. big proponent of thinking that the Federation should be involved in the development of youth players. But that's not going to happen right now, for a lot of different reasons. Our club has been very responsive in a positive manner. Once we started hearing of the situation developing, we took a lot of proactive steps to align ourselves in the best situation possible for still maintaining a 10 month commitment to the kids. And that, you know, have a few different options. The one that's come out recently that you've probably heard about is the MLS is going to take over, most if not all the academy programs at least all have been invited. In I think we were our conference, the Great Lakes Conference of the development Academy. We were committed to staying together no matter what, whether we all went to the CNL whether we all went to the MLS, whether we only did our own thing and had our own League, the 10 or 12 MLS, Midwest teams wanted to stay together. We were all the technical directors got together in the interim. They agreed that we as a unit had a very good thing going. We were close enough regionally to travel and make this work. So we stayed together so when the offer came from MLS to join their program, all of us went and I think we were one of the only divisions of the academy that actually went in hole into this new situation. You know, some East Coast teams might go east you know, some West Coast teams might do something different. You know, some may go back to playing High School and six months us why is and and that's fine for them. But I think our club had a big commitment to continuing the developmental pathways of a 10 month program. And many of our kids are on board and we're ready to go. We're just now kind of in limbo like everybody else is in terms of when and how this is going to start with the clubs made a great commitment to us. And we've made a great commitment to our players because of it.

CHRIS GORDON  

Well, that's the first I've heard that full region is kind of committed to the same thing. So it's good to hear that players are in good hands in the Midwest. Now, looking at it from a college coach perspective, you've obviously been involved in the college game for a long time. How does this change the the future of recruiting a top local soccer this?

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

Well, I mean, having been a college coach for 20 plus years, you know, I can remember recruiting without the DA. And so I think, in some ways, it goes back to that a little bit. I think the you know, number one, how strong was MLS Academy Be with either regional play, showcase events similar to what the normal da was doing. And then also what happens with the clubs that aren't involved. No ecml events become more important. Us wise events, steak cups and regional cups become much more prevalent. I mean, I can remember work in the University of Michigan. And, you know, one of my regions was Region One, we recruited a lot out of New York, New Jersey, that area. And so every summer for, you know, six, seven years I was traveling to Niagara Falls, Virginia Beach, Providence, Rhode Island, to go to regionals. You know, when I think that becomes a little bit more important now for some of these clubs, you know, recruiting in general, the coaches will find the players, you know, they, they can't not go see them. And so it's going to be a little bit more on the players potentially, to let the coaches continue to know where they're going to be. But at the same time, I think you're still gonna have coaches. Try Traveling to events, finding the players and wanting to go out and see them play. And I think that's a great thing is maybe there's more of that now maybe it's maybe it's regionalised, to a point where some more schools, smaller schools can get some more events. I do think in the interim of what's going on with the corona virus and reopening things and getting groups together, I do have a feeling things will be much more regionalized at first. So the next year or two can be interesting to see how that develops. But I think in the long term, you're going to have a similar structure to what you had with the DA where it's going to be regional schedules, and then two or three showcases throughout the year.

CHRIS GORDON  

Yeah, no, that makes sense. I feel like it might give some of the lower level teams, players an opportunity to be seen by those top level coaches,

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

that as well as I think the high school programs in the next year or two could be valid again, you know, I think you know, and you've heard me say this in some of the events we've had with exact were high school. was kind of a backup and evaluation opportunity. It was a it was, hey, we've seen this kid, you need to see him again. So we went to high school game. Now high school may become more of a discovery situation, in the sense that coaches are local, you know, they have an opportunity to go to these high school matches and see kids or maybe some of the different clubs local to them, that maybe they haven't gone and traveled to go see what the bigger clubs so yes, I think the next two or three years is going to delve out to be a little bit more local regional opportunities for kids. And I think honestly, as a parent, you know, maybe I don't want my kid going so far, you know, maybe these little more local, more regional options are a lot more available to me now in my mind than they used to be. You know, I don't want my kid being six, seven hours away with the uncertainty of everything that's going on. And I think it's a new world we live in and I think there's gonna be a lot more opportunity for kids to do things closer to home as well as coaches. To recruit closer

CHRIS GORDON  

that's right it's a lot of changes and I'm sure the next year to a soccer rules will be interesting for all of us. shifted over your goalkeeper guy, you've obviously been a goalkeeper coach in college now your your, your role is directed towards goalkeeper keeping right now with the fire juniors. And I know goalkeepers have that, you know that that standout personality always got to kind of be the voice of the field. So if I'm, you know, maybe joining a new club, especially maybe with the DA not existing anymore, trying to find a new team to play for what's the best way for me to make a good first impression. Maybe not just on the field, but even off the

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

well I think in terms of recruiting. You know, first impressions come and how you communicate with a coach. No, I can remember my recruiting journey. You know, my father and I sat down my junior year and he said give me 10 schools If you're interested, I don't care why, you know, location, size, soccer, academic school, whatever. And we sent out, you know, a background letter and resume. And so I think that first step in you taking a proactive approach and getting in touch with people is important. It's a little bit of a leadership in terms of putting yourself out there. You know, putting yourself on an edge, maybe some schools respond to you, some don't. Obviously, you build a rapport with some and then and then have the opportunity to go to their schools or campuses, their their camps, whatever it may be. So that's the first step is how you present yourself to the coach. They have to know who you are, they have to know what you're about. They have to know where you're from, where you're playing, all those types of things. Once the coach then knows who you are, and has an opportunity to see you play. I think one of the biggest things that we talked about whether it was our college goalkeepers whether it's our club goalkeepers youth keepers I work with is have a presence. You know, when a coach leaves a field, he should remember that he saw you on that field. Right? Whether that's communication, whether that's coming off your line consistently well for balls in the air, being aggressive on, you know, through balls and breakaways, staying connected with your team, you need to have a presence on the field. And I think that those goalkeepers are the ones that will leave an impression with a coach when they walk away. And, you know, if they're in a meeting, you know, in a recruiting meeting after an event and say, Hey, you know, okay, let's talk about goalkeepers who'd you like, and, and oftentimes, and I've had this conversation with head coaches and with assistance when I've been a head coaches, you know, hey, this kid really stood out to me because of his presence. You know, he communicated Well, he was staying connected with his backline. He he had some timely access. He wasn't afraid to come off his line for balls. I knew he was part of the team and part of the game. And I think there's a lot of kids that are just too hesitant to make themselves present. And so for me, the biggest piece of advice that I would give young developing goalkeepers is have a presence on the field that's not cockiness, it's not confidence, or overconfidence or arrogance. It's just being active in your position, letting the players on your team know you're there for them, and making sure that they know you're there to make plays to help them win and be successful.

CHRIS GORDON  

Yeah, I think that's the one thing I've noticed that our camps is the goalkeepers are typically the one of if not the most confident player on the field because their mentality is got to be at a high level. And obviously, as you're aware of exec camp, you know, we talk a lot about the mental game and operate some tools throughout camp that hopefully will help build confidence and you've always been a big supporter of that and you know, what's happening with your your awesome power poses over the years,

Unknown Speaker  

everything that you've done to kind of really voice that so

CHRIS GORDON  

You know, going back to your teams now, whether it be in college or on the club side, how have you use those tools with your teams? Not just on the field, but off the field? What have you done to kind of help? Really ingrain that within them?

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

Yeah, you know, I've done exact camps for several years, you know, through all the different models of what they've done from the two day weekend camp to the three or four day summer camp to the one day prep camps and all the different stuff. And you know, the one thing that I typically go back to the most whether it's working with young players or college teams, even and I've had this discussion with teams at the level of IU in the locker room after a game is kind of the journaling part. I mean, way back in the day, we used to give them a paper and we'd asked them before and after the sessions to write down kind of what they thought of where they were, and, you know, leading up to the session, what made them feel that way. You know, what is something that can be different and that's the One that really stuck out for me the most because it makes you think about the place you were in before and during how you did. And so if you had a really successful training or game or match whatever it may be, it makes you think about did I get the right amount of sleep? Did I right? eat the right foods? Did I come to the park prepared? Did I forget my boots and have to run around like a chicken with my head cut off, you know, and then played poorly, like, it makes you kind of connect the positives with the positive hopefully or the negative with the negative. And I think kids can really learn from kind of the journaling piece of what leading up to something. What makes that important I mean, even to the point where like I said we had a performance one time I'll never forget it. at IU. We won the game. We won the game I think it was to nothing against a pretty much a rival opponent local. And we didn't play very well. I mean played poorly. To be honest, and we're in the locker room after the game, and Coach eglee says to the group, you know, you shouldn't be happy with his performance and, you know, be satisfied with the wind but certainly learned to grow. And he asked the assistants to give kind of their two cents, if you will. And, you know, Coach Mays it off, gets up there and talks about how he couldn't look in the mirror if he played that way. And, you know, it's funny, Coach Mason offers now at Ohio State is one of my best friends and I've never seen him yell my entire life when the nicest guys I've ever met, never seen him yell. But I could tell in that moment how mad and upset he was just by the tone of his voice, but it didn't go off. So then he asked me and I, and I referenced the journaling piece. I just said, Hey, you know, think about your day today. Think about whether you were rushing to class whether you were getting up on time, whether you were nutrition, eating and hydrating correctly. Did you get to the pregame meal in a way that you nap when you shouldn't have napped or you're ready for the match when it started. Did you Warm up properly. And that really came from the experiences we had with exact. And a lot of guys afterward thanked me for that, because they realize that they were doing some things that day that didn't lead to a positive performance.

CHRIS GORDON  

Right, I think it's the accountability piece that helps us grow. You know, if we, if we don't really acknowledge what we've accomplished, or maybe our failures, we're never going to become better at our craft. So I think, you know, you're right, the accountability piece is really going to help players really evaluate their performance and continue to get better over time, because it doesn't happen overnight. And that's, that's why we set goals, so that we can accomplish. Yeah, that's a good Good point. The journaling is definitely a good way to do that. And I think that leads me to my last question right now, obviously, we're not on the field, with our teams, with our players with our keepers. So we really need to rely on yourself to become better players. So you know, Obviously, we're all doing doing videos, we're all getting weekly training regimens. You know, we've all heard those things. Do you have anything specific that you're doing with your keepers that are keeping them engaged?

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

Yeah, I think one of the great things that our club has has mandated us to do is have a weekly meeting with our teams and the goalkeepers so our academy teams from you 13, all the way to you 19. They have a weekly zoom meeting. So they all get on a call, the coach goes over, you know, a fitness plan that the club has developed to make sure the guys are doing it. We have skills challenges. So each week, we have to have a video picked up by one of the players that the rest of the team is trying to do. We're getting now into tactical breakdowns and analysis. So, you know, we get a group of guys in the team that, you know, maybe it's four or five guys are looking at half of a match and we have eight or 10 page PowerPoint where they're filling in information to share at the next meeting. So the engagement piece is there. We Two weeks, sort of like a training session, if you will. And part of that is we have the goalkeepers as a team. And so they go to their team meeting on one night. But on on one evening of the week, I get all you know, 10 or 12 keepers in a zoom call. And we do something very similar. You know, we one of the, one of the pages of the fitness exam program is goalkeeper specific, there's three or four technical exercises that they can do. I then challenge one of the guys in the group to come in the next week with a different video clip of something we can be doing. So they have to go and do some homework. The other thing that we do is we have one of the goalkeepers in the group, go and find like a goalkeeper piece, motivational piece, historical piece. You know, we've done something on technology and goalkeeping. We've done something on don't quit motivation. We've done something on what different clubs are doing with training and advancements in that area. And then the other one I have each week is they have to go and do a bio. They have to find a goalkeeper that inspires them for some reason. And the really neat thing about that so far has been the stories that these guys are finding. They're not finding the manual nor played in the World Cup and is great with his feet. You know, the first guy that that did it for us, did Mason statue or who plays for the Orlando city? He fought cancer off for a year now has come back and is playing for Orlando city B. And then last week, a kid did either casius because he had a heart attack and he had to quit and the challenges so they're finding unique players, they're not just finding the common, you know, everyday big name goalkeeper and telling you this guy meant, you know, was my favorite. And so I think it's really neat to kind of get a perspective from them about what they see as important. And then we talk about leadership each week. We try to, you know, give them an opportunity to say hey, this is your chance to be leaders within your team? Are you calling your players? Are you contacting your teammates? Are you asking them what they're doing and challenging them in different ways? Because this really is a unique time to find out who is engaging, who are the people that are staying involved, who are the people that you want to talk to or hear from. And I think a goalkeeper has a great opportunity to impress themselves upon their team in that way moving forward.

CHRIS GORDON  

Sure, yeah. I mean, there's no blueprint for this and everyone kind of has their, their own way of managing through this time. And, and like you said, I think physically, it's easier to stay engaged more than mentally you know, it's always it's, it's a nice break in the day to go outside and go for a run or juggle a ball or, you know, do anything where you're not looking at a screen. I think mentally it's like, that's where we really need to focus on. You know, staying involved being with our teams, even if it's through zoom chat. I think that's going to help us become closer and hopefully, it will come out of it. In a situation where we appreciate the game,

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

we actually made, I actually made the comment to one of our coaches in a meeting last week, we were having, you know, we're talking about, you know, do we do we move kids on from the team without really having the chance to evaluate them the spring? Or do we bring them into a preseason situation and kind of see how they do and blah, blah. And I said, very succinctly, I go, you're going to find out really fast, which kids care about their game and which ones don't. Because you're going to have a group of kids who have stayed fit, have stayed sharp, and are staying ready. And then you're going to have this random group of kids who have been video gaming and not getting outside and, you know, they think they're going to be ready. And which kid do you want? You know, when it comes down to which kid you're talking about having the team or not having the team? You know, do you want the kid that's coming in, ready, fit sharp, maybe a bit off technically? Or do you want to take the chance on the kid that, you know, didn't care about his game for three months and is just thinking he's gonna pay right back up where we left off. And those are, you know, I think we're going to find out real quickly about a lot of things about a lot of people

CHRIS GORDON  

will hopefully we find out soon. So two fields with a player soon and add a camp or with it with our teams playing our first regular season game wherever it might be. All right, what is this interview with some fun questions get to know you a little bit better. First of all, ask and you've been involved with some big games over the years, will there be a coach or a player? If you're the pick, you're the coolest atmosphere you've ever been a part of? What would it? What would it be? For me? That's easy.

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

That's 1994 final against Virginia. We played in Davidson, North Carolina. They had built up over three years, the Final Four to this point where they had about 15 to 16,000 people I think it might have been closer to 20. By that point. They kept adding stands every year. That it got bigger and bigger. And just the I mean, obviously, it's the national finals. So it's an exciting game anyway. But driving into the whole town was so absorbed by the events and so you're driving through the small town and people are banging on your bus and, you know, you see the fans and you see the people up, you know, leading up to the game and, you know, and I'm getting chills just talking about it right now you walked out of the locker room. And yeah, it might have only been 20,000 people but because it was so tight, and on top of you, it felt like 100,000 It was a beautiful sunny day. You know, I can remember what the field look like and the sounds the IU band is down on one end the Virginia bands at the other and they're playing back and forth and again was a great match and you know, just didn't go our way. You know, we hit the post, we had one foot off the line. They score a goal about 30 minutes in and you know, just didn't go our way. But yes, I would clearly say and I've played in big stadiums with big crowds But the intimacy of that and the vibe of that whole event really struck a chord with me. And I don't think we've ever reached that Pinnacle and a final four since we decided to go to big stadiums after that, and it just kind of lost its luster.

CHRIS GORDON  

How do they always play at Davidson?

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

No, they, they used to play up until 1992. They played a campus sites quite a bit. Then for 1990 and 91. They played in Tampa at USF. And I actually went to the 1990 finals, a senior in high school. So I was in Orlando, Florida. I went to the main, the Final Four over there. And then in 92 to 94. They had a three year commitment to go to Davidson and what Davidson also did was, you don't remember this, but they basically had a national Game of the Week. And so on a Wednesday night, they would have two teams around the country, fly to Davidson and play. Some play a game a match against each other on national television. Yes pn or regional network or whatever it was to kind of hype up Davidson as the final for host. And so 9293 94 they had a Davidson it went from like 15,000 to 18,000 to 20,000. And then they figured, okay, well we've outgrown this. Then they started going to Richmond, 9596 97. They got up to about 25 28,000 at Richmond one year, then they're like, okay, we've outgrown Richmond. And that's when they started to go into these big, you know, stadiums. And you know, and that was the, you know, 99. We played in Charlotte Erickson stadium. And I mean, as cool as it was to be in an NFL stadium. I mean, it was empty, like, you could hear the echoes and, you know, there might have been 10,000 people, but it felt like 1000 were at Davidson, there was 20,000 and it felt like 50 and so I think they they kind of overshoot shot themselves a little too soon and like I said, I don't think they've ever gotten back to that intimate feeling of what it can be like. You know, at the Final Four for college soccer

CHRIS GORDON  

yeah I remember going to the I think it was the 2014 or 2013 final Notre Dame verse. Village Orson is officially at the

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

empty it was a really cool way so it was I mean and that's part of it was soccer as we play in December and it's not a great travel time and the weather stinks and you know Kerry's done a great job. I think that's the closest they've come to Davidson is when they play a carry. But the problem with that is you better have a Carolina or Virginia team close by where you're not going to have enough people there either. You know, I mean it really depends on location and who's in it. I think Santa Barbara is in a very good job posting the couple times they've done it. But obviously that's on the west coast and it's difficult to get to and even I didn't go to an IU Final Four out there. Last Last year, you know, it just it's too far away and timing didn't work. You know, but that's the way it is. But yes, when you asked me the coolest environment I've ever been around, for sure. For me it was the 94 final at Davidson against Virginia, even with a

CHRIS GORDON  

finger so Ah, that's the next question. So your northeast guy born raised, you spent some time down south. curious to see how you answer this question. Given the outcome given the choice, would you rather be coaching 100 degrees or 30 degrees? You're standing on the sidelines.

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

Me personally, I would probably go with 30 degrees. I'd rather be a little more chill than I would be hot. But again, neither one of those are a great a great situation for soccer so

CHRIS GORDON  

but I want you to always be 65 and sunny.

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

Not well, he can live in Carolina could be alright. But no i Think that you have a better opportunity to get more out of players in a cooler environment than a hot environment. I think guys will pace themselves more when it's hot and sweaty than cool and and cold. They they can go harder longer when it's cold.

CHRIS GORDON  

I agree I'm on your side. And so a lot of the guys, you know from the south have been sticking with the hundred degree and I just, I've done those mining camps in the summer. They're not they're not. I mean,

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

I've coached in every culture played in every part of it, so I get you but I'd much rather be cooler than hot. That's my own philosophy.

CHRIS GORDON  

Fair enough. All right, last question. This might cause I think a little bit but if you were to give your Mount Rushmore of soccer players so your top four guys who've maybe played with coached or or looked up to over the years, who would it be?

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

I mentioned earlier, I think Brian Mays been off for a while. have different reasons. Number one, he's a fantastic human being. But he's also a fantastic footballer played for the US in the World Cup in 1998. played in the Olympics for us in 1996 was a Herman Trophy winner in 1994 as a teammate, so for sure, I think he's definitely one of them. goalkeeping wise. I got to give a nod to the person that really got me to be number one, the type of goalkeeper I was at the time as well as the Liverpool fan I am today and that's Bruce Grobbelaar. A lot of people may not know who he is, but he played for Zimbabwe. But he was the goalkeeper for Liverpool back in the 80s when they were having a lot of their success. And just the guy that I kind of caught on to when I was in high school and really kind of tried to emulate for me Messi. I think when it comes to the whole Messi Ronaldo debate, I think Messi wins out in that respect because he's more committed. They both scored the same amount of goals within like a dozen of each other, I think at this point, but Messi also can set up Messi can create Messi can break things down, where I think Ronaldo is just a blunt instrument, scoring goals. So I would put Messi in that respect. And then the fourth one. I don't know, that's tough, you know, probably another goalkeeper just because of the way he played and the professionalism and the hard work that he puts in his Oliver calm.

CHRIS GORDON  

Basie list, definitely get out of this list.

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

Yeah, I could see that Jeff and I see the game a lot of similar ways. But Oliver Kahn was was a machine he he definitely had presence in the goal, which we talked about earlier. And I think, you know, one of my great memories is watching the 98 or sorry, the 2002 quarterfinal. You know, and he had a great match against the US and just his presence on the field I think led that team you'll find out And I think that that'd be one for sure that definitely hits the mark and, and I'll throw in a fifth one there. Just because I saw his goal the other day and it really got me going again was Landon Donovan. For the US.

CHRIS GORDON  

I'm surprised.

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

Well, I was. I just think the impact he had on the game at a time for this country's very important. You can't you know, you always talk about you can't talk about the history of something without mentioning someone. And I don't think you'll ever be able to mention the history of soccer in this country without mentioning Landon Donovan. Love them hate them for any number of different reasons. Yes, he never made it overseas. Yes, he never was this or that. But the reality was he did some big time things for this country in this sport at the time at different times when it needed to be done. But that can be said for a lot of guys. I mean, I grew up in the 80s and 90s with the hearts and the Ramos ranges and the violas and there's a great documentary out right now, if anybody's listening soccer town USA, it's on Netflix, I think it is. And it talks about Carney, New Jersey in the late 80s, early 90s. And how it produced, you know, this talent of three guys went to a World Cup from one small town in New Jersey. And it really is a spectacular documentary that talks about some of those guys as well. So first off, but you know, we got a lot to talk about if you want to keep going.

CHRIS GORDON  

Yeah, no, I have to put them on. Listen. No, I have to time. Fabulous. Fabulous. All right. Anyway, man, I appreciate you coming on and shared some insights and great stories. As always, it's been a pleasure and hopefully we see out on the field soon.

ERNIE YARBOROUGH  

Hey, no problem, Chris. I appreciate it. Always a chance to talk soccer with you guys. I love it. Thanks for everything. And if you need anything from me, let me know.

CHRIS GORDON  

Absolutely. All right. Take care. That's all for our conversation today with Coach Ernie. Our Bro, we appreciate him coming on and giving us some great advice and insight. Coming up on exact club experts. We'll be talking to more coaches and hopefully getting your questions answered. As we're all now waiting to get back on the field. again to see any of your interviews, please check out our blog tech sports comm slash blog, or go to our Facebook page exact soccer and or Instagram or Twitter with the tag at exact sports. We'll catch you all again soon.

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