Podcast: Hartford’s John Natale on preparing for the shift to Division 3

University of Hartford women's soccer coach John Natale joined 'The Goal.' (Hartford Athletics)

The latest guest on New England Soccer Journal’s “The Goal” podcast is University of Hartford women’s soccer coach John Natale.

The 2023 season will be Natale’s 20th campaign at the helm at Hartford, and it will come with historic change. After competing as a Division 1 institution for decades, the Hawks will compete in the Division 3 Commonwealth Coast Conference. 

For Natale, it’s the latest challenge in a career that has seen him become the winningest coach in Hartford women’s soccer history and a five-time America East Coach of the Year. Even last season, as a Division 1 independent, Hartford finished with a record of 10-3-1.

Natale joined host Matt Langone to discuss the coming move to Division 3, how the program is approaching it, and the success of last season.

The full podcast can be accessed below and is available on all major platforms. If you enjoy it, please leave a rating and a review.

Here are some highlights from our discussion with Natale:

On the key to last season’s success with change on the horizon:

Natale: “I think we had great leadership. At the end of the day, we had a good core of players that bought into what the staff wanted out of the year, and that was just to give them a competitive season, where they can grow as players and have a healthy environment. Not only did we have great leadership, we had players that emerged.”

On keeping players focused on the present and not the move to Division 3:

Natale: “I think that was the biggest challenge for the staff, and myself, was to have them enjoy the moment. Just enjoy the season that they’re in, the players, their teammates, the environment that they’re in, and just build off that. Like I said, we had great leadership. So, the players that are here want to be here, they want to play for this program, and they want the program to succeed.”

On his coaching mindset heading to Division 3:

Natale: “Me being at this point in my career, I just control the things I can control. I can’t control that situation. What I can control is the players we bring on the team and put on the field, and how we carry ourselves and how we handle ourselves — that I can control. What I hope, if I can control that, is that we put out a good team, we bring in good players, we get good results, and if we keep doing the right things, the winning will take care of itself. That’s the way our staff has approached things with the team.”

On what he looks for as a recruiter:

Natale: “I think I keep it very simple. I recruit a kid that has talent, and talent means a lot of different things and it’s different for different coaches. But I like the players that are technically good, tactically have an understanding of the game, and physically can compete. I think every coach is going to tell you that, right? It’s, like, the standard. But we also look for a kid that loves to play the game, that has a bit of passion that wants to play the game when we’re not around. We’re on breaks, summer breaks, winter breaks — they’re just looking to get out and practice, playing a pickup game, and just have some kind of passion when the coaches aren’t around.”

On the gap between Division 1 and Division 3 players:

Natale: “It’s hard for me to answer that question, because I’ve been a Division 1 coach for 20 years and now I’m heading down this path. I will say this, we were able to play Wesleyan in a game this past season, and I thought they had players that were definitely Division 1 athletes. I just saw them play for the first time, and got to compete against them. I don’t know what the overall standard is for Division 3. I’m heading down that path now.”

The Goal” podcast is brought to you by the New England Revolution and Soccerheads New England.

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