Those with knowledge of the U.S. soccer community may already know of UW men's soccer soach John Trask and his already well-traveled career,both at the collegiate level and Major Leage Soccer Level. But for those who have yet to discover the game, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that he's kind of a big deal.
Trask brings with him an amount of experience that would look good on any résumé. Starting his career in 1993 as an assistant coach at Indiana, Trask quickly made a name for himself.
He would go on to be an assistant coach in the MLS from 2001 to 2004, spending time with the Miami Fusion, D.C. United and FC Dallas. He then made the move back to the collegiate level where he took over the reins as head coach at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Many view this year as a rebuilding year for the Badgers, and Trask is among them. He is no stranger to taking on the task of rebuilding a team, however; his years in the MLS were just that.
"It really is a rebuilding process when you bring in this many new kids," Trask said.
While in the MLS, Trask helped bring three programs into the spotlight. Changing the mentality while with the Miami Fusion and D.C. United, Trask was able to reshape a culture into one where soccer was the focus. In his second year with Miami, he was finally able to witness results from his hard work, when his team won the Supporter's Shield, awarded to the team that finishes the season with the best record.
Much was the same in D.C. for Trask. However, this time he was unable to see the profits for his effort.
"Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the fruits of our labor," Trask said. "The following year a new coach walked in with many of the same pieces of the puzzle that we put together and they won the Supporters Shield and the MLS Cup."
In his return to the college stage, Trask continued his ways of turning programs around. Upon becoming the head coach at University of Illinois-Chicago, he inherited a team that had a record of 5-12-2. Trask was able to turn that program around in two years, claiming the Horizon League Championship and making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
"This is not the first time I've been through this process —which doesn't make it easier, doesn't make it harder," Trask said. "There are just some experiences that I know that we are going to go through, and I think we are going through them right now."
As a head coach, Trask looks at the game with defense in mind, believing that the road to building a good soccer team begins with preventing goals and turning the ball back to the offense.
"I believe that you got to start with defense," Trask said. "It's not rocket science."
Defense is only the first stop on the Badgers' journey though. Rebuilding takes time, and Trask understands this. He also understands that in order to truly start on this journey, you need the players to do so. After losing nine seniors at the end of last season, Wisconsin has brought in a large freshman class.
"It comes down to players. We got some good freshmen players like Paul Yonga from the Minneapolis area; Joey Tennyson, who was at the Shattuck academy; some excellent kids from Chicago and some very good players from the Milwaukee area," Trask said.
Excited to be coaching for Wisconsin, Trask welcomes the fact that he is actually coaching, not just managing. He prefers the process of coaching a team up to a point when it "feeds itself" and he can sit back and simply manage.
So far, the players on the field for Trask have responded well to the new coach, and they obviously respect the work he is doing.
"You can definitely tell that he knows what he is talking about," junior defender Colin Mani said. "He brings a level of energy to every practice, and the guys are really responding."
"I love being coached by Trask," senior forward Bryan Gerster said.
Coming to Wisconsin is also a sort of homecoming for the coach. Trask is originally from the Milwaukee area and is a life-long fan of the Packers, Brewers and Bucks.
Although his team has made obvious strides on the field already this year, Trask still has plenty of work to do with his 1-6-2 Badgers. But this team is definitely in it for the long haul on the road to success.
