The Westside girls soccer team has a new head coach, but he is no stranger to the team. After being the girls assistant coach for the last 10 years, Nathan May has been promoted to head coach for this season.
“Before he was our main coach he was our assistant coach so I have known him for the past couple of years. He is very nice and is also good at giving feedback when we need it,” junior Lucy Pocras said.
May has been the assistant coach for as long as some of the girls can remember, so the bonds are already very strong.
“I would describe my relationship with May as someone that I can always rely on and talk to about a thing that’s bothering me. When he pulls you off the field, or when you are on the field, he is so encouraging and he always tells what you can improve on and what you are doing well. He always answers my questions and clears confusion,” junior Luci Proctor said.
The girls have really enjoyed coach May’s coaching style.
“I would describe May’s coaching style as very constructive. He always is drawing up plans for the team or for an individual to answer questions or to show us something he is seeing. He always wants the best for the team and his players and he is someone that makes asking questions very easy,” Proctor said.
The girls have looked up to Coach May as both a coach and motivator.
“He is very good at being motivational. Going into the season we were unranked playing number two Marian for our first game. He gave us multiple motivational speeches to remind us that we know our talent and don’t need anyone to tell us what our talent level is,” Pocras said.
Coach May talks about what made him want to start coaching.
“I started at Westside 10 years ago [as assistant] just out of college, just after moving to Omaha, and wanting to stay involved in soccer after college. All those years later I’ve done a lot of coaching at different levels, and I am excited to come full circle at Westside because it’s one of the places my coaching journey started,” May said
Coach May talks about why Westside was his choice.
“I really enjoy coaching at Westside, and being a part of the community. I wanted to take on the challenge of coaching the high school group and helping provide a good experience to this group of players that I really enjoy coaching,” May said.
Proctor talks about how Coach May has impacted her career.
“He has impacted my career because he is one of the first coaches who has shown me that my ability is important to the team and he has built my confidence so much,” Proctor said. “He has made me a player who doubts less and has more confidence on the field, helping me step up and make an impact. He is one of the reasons, along with my teammates, that I enjoy high school soccer so much.”
Coach May talks about how his relationship with the girls impacts the overall environment on the soccer field.
“The goal is to create the most professional and challenging environment possible, but also the most caring environment. I think the girls and I have a professional relationship, but the banter before and after training is something I enjoy tremendously,” May said.
Proctor talks about how coach May has been setting them up for success for the upcoming season.
“He has been very open with us throughout these last couple of weeks so that there’s nothing that we don’t know about. He has shown us that he is confident in us so we as a team have no reason to not be confident in ourselves. He has given us everything we need to succeed and I believe we will be prepared to do our best because of the preparation from the coaching staff,” Proctor said.
May talks about how he tries to make sure the girls are on the right path.
“ I think constant feedback and a mentality that we have to be our best every day despite whether or not things go the way we hope as a team or individually each day. Doing each of our honest best is important for our success,” May said.
You can catch coach May and the girls in action at Papillion La Vista South on April 19th.
