CalBears.com: What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Cori Alexander: That is a very tough question to answer, I could write an essay on all of the rewarding aspects of coaching, but I will narrow it down. As a kid the most influential people in my life other than my parents were my coaches and teachers. They molded me into the person I am today. To know the impact you can have on one kid’s life, in such a powerful and positive way, is something I will never take for granted or forget: to spend four years with these incredible women and watch them dream, discover and experience life, all the while being there when they need a listening ear, a guiding voice or a push in the right direction. Every day I go to “work” I smile because it does not feel like “work” at all. I am getting to build relationships, help kids to their greatest hopes and dreams and follow them as they graduate and move on to amazing careers! We coaches are the lucky ones!
CB: What's one thing you know now as a coach that you wish you knew as a player?
CA: Another tough one to answer, but I would have to say not overanalyzing. It was probably one of my greatest attributes, but also detriments. I had incredible attention to detail but beat myself up after every mistake in training and took criticism and feedback to heart a little too deeply. It takes thick skin and an incredibly strong psyche to be a top-level athlete! You have to be able to roll with the punches! As a coach, I now see the bigger picture much clearer!
CB: After experiencing your own National Championship win as a player, what is an aspect (or memory) of winning a National Championship that you hope our players have an opportunity to experience?
CA: Setting a goal and having a tremendous amount of hard work, sacrifice and dedication pay off! As we hit the weight room the spring before we won, we had one goal and one goal only: Win a National Championship! Deep down we knew we had the talent and the heart, but could we execute? It instilled a fire in each and every one of us that carried us through spring, summer workouts, preseason, non-conference, conference, playoffs and the College Cup. We were driven from within, we had an “As One” mentality and losing was not an option! We did not lose a game that year, finishing with a record of 23-0-2 and beating UCLA 4-0 in the final!
CB: In your opinion, what are the best attributes of a goalie?
CA: There are certain attributes as a coach that you cannot teach. They have to come from within! If a goalkeeper can possess: work ethic, confidence, aggressiveness and leadership, it is then my job as a goalkeeper coach to fine-tune the technical and tactical areas of their game that need improvement week to week, opponent to opponent.
CB: What's the most memorable match you have played in? Coached?
CA: Before we beat UCLA in the College Cup in 2005, we had to get through undefeated Penn State. The game was a back-and-forth battle: shots off the post, near misses, diving free kick saves and then it came down to penalty kicks. If you are a keeper they say you are the hero or the goat at the end of the day, and that day I got to be the hero. I stopped two penalty kicks and Christine Sinclair put away her final kick and we won the most memorable match I have ever played in! As a coach, it is a tie: the win against Stanford last year in overtime or the penalty kick win at Santa Clara three years ago! Both were such team wins, where every last player gave it everything they had! Coming out with a win against rival schools will always sit atop any list!
CB: You helped coach Emily Kruger to the program's all-time saves record and are now working with young players in Emily Boyd, Staci Burland and Maddie Julian. What are the most important lessons you hope to leave them with?
CA: I love getting these players as freshmen when they are sponges to all the new language, style of play and technical and tactical innuendos. Then, by the time they are seniors, I do not have to say a word. They are coaching themselves, their peers, the summer campers. They “get it.” The light bulb goes off and you know you have done your job. The greater lesson I hope to leave them with is their sport is a greater metaphor for life. All the triumphs, adversity, teamwork and perseverance they face while on the field is going to pay dividends for them in the grander picture of life! I hope to leave them more prepared for what life will throw at them in the future!
CB: You come from a program that was led for many years by a well-respected and legendary coach in Clive Charles (2000 Olympics men’s soccer coach, coach of men’s and women’s soccer teams at Portland with 13 conference titles, 20 NCAA tournament berths, 7 Final Four appearances and 1 National Championship). Was your collegiate career and/or your coaching career influenced by him at all, and if so, what was the most important lesson he left you with?
CA: Clive Charles is a legend and his legacy will always live on! Pre-season of my freshmen year he passed, but his teachings, philosophies and styles are what that program, to this day plays by. Despite me not knowing him for years and years, with the stories we’ve been told from Garrett Smith, Bill Irwin, Jill Ellis, Tiffeny Milbrett, the alums of the program, Clarena Charles, etc., he lives on in everyone that has played and coached at that program. Some of my favorite quotes from him will help encapsulate him and the philosophies he has taught me to try and instill in the players I coach:
“Earn the right to play.”
“Keep it simple, not only in your soccer playing.”
“Take care of the little things.”
“Have fun. If you have fun, you’ll win.”
“Keep your shirt tucked in. Keep your boots polished.”
“Tomorrow is promised to no one.”
CB: You are also a talented photographer (www.corialexander.com) with a real portfolio that goes beyond it just being a hobby. What got you into photography and what is it about photography that you enjoy?
CA: I have loved taking photos from a young age, but got much more into when I got to college. I was fortunate to travel overseas quite a few times with the US U-21 and U-23 National Teams and I always wanted to bring pieces of the trip back with me to show my family! Then one year I embarked on a 365 “photo-a-day” project, which also encompassed quotes and thoughts to go with each picture. That became my mental escape from soccer. I was playing professional soccer for Sky Blue FC of the Women’s Professional Soccer League and after trainings I needed something else to focus my mind on, other than soccer. Photography has been an amazing hobby-turned-side-business for me! As I have gotten older, I realized the more your life has balance, the more passion you are able to give! When I am coaching I love it and I fully emerge in it, when I am taking photographs I want to get the perfect shot, when I am with my fiancé and dog I want to be carefree and loving, when I am with my family I want to support them and make them proud. I used to be much more tunnel-minded – soccer was everything! Photography helped me find a balance, a release and realize I could be good at whatever I put my mind to.
DREAM BIG!
