5.7 and 1.9 percent, two numbers that can bring a thriving dream to dinky crumbs spread across the living room floor.
For many young children, playing both collegiate and professional sports is dreamt about. Quite frankly, it doesn't even matter which sport in particular. If they are shooting hoops, in their minds they're shooting the last second shot to win an NBA Finals; if they're on the pitch playing soccer, it's scoring the last goal in the World Cup; if they are in the batting cage, it's getting that walk-off base hit in the World Series.
They are inattentive to reality, always the hero in their own fantasies, but sadly the statistics do not support their desires. In men's soccer specifically, according to gcic.edu, only 5.7 percent of high school athletes play collegiately, while 1.9 percent of those college athletes move on to the professional level.
For Pat Noonan, Indiana University alum and an U.S. Men's Soccer Assistant Coach, those childhood aspirations were achieved.
"It was just playing a professional sport, when I was younger it wasn't necessarily just soccer; it was loving sport in general. As I grew up and matured, soccer was my biggest passion and was something I was confident I could do at a professional level. (I was) certainly able to live that dream and enjoyed every moment of being a professional player," Noonan said.
From just west of St. Louis, Noonan was raised in Ballwin, Missouri where he attended De Smet Jesuit High School. There he played three varsity sports: basketball, baseball and soccer.
Noonan chose to take college visits to Duke, North Carolina, St. Louis and Indiana, and mentioned that his favorite two were North Carolina and Indiana.
"The Indiana visit helped solidify wanting to be apart of the program," Noonan said. "With the team they had, certainly with Coach Yeagley who had been so successful. (He) not only helped mold players, but men, to go on past college and have success."
Noonan is referring to the success of Jerry Yeagley, the coach of the Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer team from 1973-2003. During that time span, his teams won six NCAA Championships and a Division I Record 544 games. Some consider him the most successful collegiate soccer coach in the history of the sport.
He always had a keen eye for Noonan.
"Pat Noonan had the slice and dice moves that very few players had," Yeagley said. "He could cut you up with different kinds of moves. He was very deceptive, and he could cut the ball on a dime. He had deceptive speed and he scored goals, and he was a great competitor."
Yeagley also stated that Noonan always had the intangibles that go with being a champion and a winner, even back to the days at De Smet when he was playing baseball.
During his four years in Bloomington (1999-2002), Noonan was a three-time All American (first team junior and senior year) and was acknowledged twice as the Big Ten Player of the Year. He left Indiana University ranked seventh all time in goals, and sixth in points scored.
As he did individually, the team endured much success as well. From 1999-2002, the Hoosiers went a combined 69-18-2 (29-1 Big Ten), went to three College Cup's (final four) and two National Championship game's, winning one in Noonan's freshman season.
Like many other players, Noonan admitted to having nerves when he began his career here in Bloomington, although he did play in all 24 games of his rookie campaign.
"There were nerves. You're anxious because it's unfamiliar territory," Noonan said. "You get into the college game and it's a huge step up and it puts you in a situation where you're a freshman with a lot of older, more experienced players that have already been around the college game….I think the coaching staff as well as the better players, they were welcoming and encouraging and kept pushing me early on to have success, and I think that was very helpful in me becoming a starter and a piece of the puzzle."
During that '99 season the Hoosiers found themselves in a rather similar position, playing UCLA in the first round of the College Cup. Two years prior the Hoosiers were 23-0 and on route for an undefeated season before the Bruins beat them in overtime, eventually going on to win the National Championship.
"For me it was a new opponent and a new challenge in the semifinal game, so it wasn't something that was really a thought for me," Noonan said about the team losing two years prior. "It was a very tough opponent in a semifinal game, and it ended up being one of the best games that I've been apart of."
The Hoosiers were up 2-0 with just fifteen minutes left until UCLA scored their first goal. Then just five minutes later, the Bruins scored again to tie the game. The Hoosiers found themselves in the same situation they were two years prior, back in overtime against UCLA in the College Cup.
The sour taste of defeat from 1997 became pungent once again.
"When you're sitting 2-0 with 15 minutes to go you're thinking you have the game in control and you're on the way to a championship game, but that's the perfect reason why you keep focus and you do what's necessary to close out the game," Noonan said. "They were a very good team that had a lot of attacking talent, so going into overtime it was getting your focus (back) so that what just took place in the last 15 minutes doesn't have a negative effect on the overtime period."
Four overtimes later, Noonan found teammate Ryan Mack cutting to the goal near the top of the box, delivered the pass, and Mack took care of the rest.
The ball smacked the back of the net with a sweet sound of revenge.
The Hoosiers were on to their second straight National Championship game.
They went on to play Santa Clara, who also took place in a four overtime game in their semifinal matchup. Noonan admitted that he did remember having heavy legs and that he might have worried about them a little too much, but when the game started those thoughts vanished quickly.
They went on to beat Santa Clara 1-0, bringing the Hoosiers their fifth National Championship and second in as many years.
"It was certainly a good experience in my first year of playing collegiate ball," Noonan said. "Seeing the joy like any championship, of all your teammates and the coaching staff, all the members of the University, family, everyone who's been there and had been apart of it. It took the whole year and to have it conclude with a championship makes all that hard work, ups and downs worth it and that much more enjoyable when you're holding the trophy and you're a champion."
In his four years at Indiana University, Noonan believes he retained many valuable pieces of advice that he has used throughout his life. Noonan knew he came to Indiana University to play soccer, but in order to pursue his soccer dream he had to first get work done in the classroom, and this was one of Yeagley's specialties.
"He was the same and very determined to make sure that we were all doing what was necessary in the classroom, to be able to have success when the soccer gig was over was very important to him…. but to have him help me understand the significance of the diploma and graduating, showed me that playing was only going to take me so far. He wanted me to be in a position to be able to rely on my education and that message hit home to me," Noonan said.
Another Yeagley specialty:
"He added a human factor, where he treated his players like his own sons, and I thought that was a special relationship from a coach to a player."
Yeagley summed it up quite well himself.
"There's a family, the IU soccer family. Family members take care of each other. If you are apart of the IU soccer family your teammates, your coaches, anyone you've worked with is there to help you, it's one thing we have taken great pride in. We're always there…I'm still always there," Yeagley said.
Noonan was selected ninth overall by the New England Revolution in January of 2003. While with New England, Noonan played in three MLS Cup Finals, all ending in defeat. Finally in 2008 with the Columbus Crew, the jubilation of being crowned a champion re-surfaced.
In 2011, Noonan decided to enter the MLS Re Entry draft, where he was selected by the LA Galaxy. A decision that catapulted himself to where he is today, an assistant coach of the US Men's National Team (USMNT).
A year later, Noonan realized that his playing days were numbered, but he did not want to leave the game that he had become so infatuated with over time.
"The transition was kind of brought up in my last season in 2012, and it was the best move (for me)," Noonan said about starting his coaching career. "The fact that I played for the Galaxy under Bruce (Arena) helped the transition into coaching be a little bit easier. My comfort level of knowing the players and coaches helped me have an opinion early on in my coaching career."
Bruce Arena, the current head coach of the USMNT was the head coach of the LA Galaxy when Noonan arrived in 2011. Arena admired Noonan's work ethic and knowledge of the game, and evidently that is why he asked Noonan to join him as a coach on the United State's team.
It wasn't easy leaving the LA Galaxy, but this was an opportunity that Noonan couldn't decline.
"The understanding that this is an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. It was difficult leaving such an important club with the LA Galaxy, but it was the opportunity to try something new and work with our national team," Noonan said. "(I'm) hoping to be apart of getting us qualified for a World Cup, and certainly the end result of being apart of a World Cup would be a great accomplishment…It might be only once in this lifetime, I'm hoping to be apart of something special in the future."
With the USMNT, Noonan focuses on scouting, as it is the biggest part of his job. He is also apart of film sessions and breaking down games. While he is on the field, he focuses his attention on the attacking group, where he tries to get them to work with one identity.
Yeagley was pleased to hear that more than 20 of his former players went on to be coaches, while he offered a bit of advice.
"Hopefully the program that they were with for four years here at IU helped to shape their thinking, helped to set the standard and the expectations, helped to show them how you deal with individuals and teammates," Yeagley said. "How coaches need to handle players with different personalities and how to get the best out of each player, those are some things that I would've hoped they would've taken away from Indiana."
"And another thing, and one of the most important, is that you've got to out-work your opponents. You have to out-work those other guys, both in recruiting, training, and all aspects (of the game), there are no shortcuts."
Noonan mentioned that one day he does want to be a head coach, but right now he's trying to stay in the moment and do everything he can to get the USMNT back to where it belongs.
"There have been a lot of great things done with our national team to help grow the game and grow the sport. We're in a tough position at the moment, but it's our job and a great opportunity to help guide these players and bring success on the field," Noonan said.
"We want to qualify, but not only qualify, we want to have success in Russia. Certainly qualifying is the first goal, but I think once that's accomplished that we have a group and talent that could do some special things in the World Cup, and I'm excited to be apart of it."
iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/4/6/mens-soccer-pat-noonan-from-iums-to-usmnt.aspx
Go Hoosiers!
For many young children, playing both collegiate and professional sports is dreamt about. Quite frankly, it doesn't even matter which sport in particular. If they are shooting hoops, in their minds they're shooting the last second shot to win an NBA Finals; if they're on the pitch playing soccer, it's scoring the last goal in the World Cup; if they are in the batting cage, it's getting that walk-off base hit in the World Series.
They are inattentive to reality, always the hero in their own fantasies, but sadly the statistics do not support their desires. In men's soccer specifically, according to gcic.edu, only 5.7 percent of high school athletes play collegiately, while 1.9 percent of those college athletes move on to the professional level.
For Pat Noonan, Indiana University alum and an U.S. Men's Soccer Assistant Coach, those childhood aspirations were achieved.
"It was just playing a professional sport, when I was younger it wasn't necessarily just soccer; it was loving sport in general. As I grew up and matured, soccer was my biggest passion and was something I was confident I could do at a professional level. (I was) certainly able to live that dream and enjoyed every moment of being a professional player," Noonan said.
From just west of St. Louis, Noonan was raised in Ballwin, Missouri where he attended De Smet Jesuit High School. There he played three varsity sports: basketball, baseball and soccer.
Noonan chose to take college visits to Duke, North Carolina, St. Louis and Indiana, and mentioned that his favorite two were North Carolina and Indiana.
"The Indiana visit helped solidify wanting to be apart of the program," Noonan said. "With the team they had, certainly with Coach Yeagley who had been so successful. (He) not only helped mold players, but men, to go on past college and have success."
Noonan is referring to the success of Jerry Yeagley, the coach of the Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer team from 1973-2003. During that time span, his teams won six NCAA Championships and a Division I Record 544 games. Some consider him the most successful collegiate soccer coach in the history of the sport.
He always had a keen eye for Noonan.
"Pat Noonan had the slice and dice moves that very few players had," Yeagley said. "He could cut you up with different kinds of moves. He was very deceptive, and he could cut the ball on a dime. He had deceptive speed and he scored goals, and he was a great competitor."
Yeagley also stated that Noonan always had the intangibles that go with being a champion and a winner, even back to the days at De Smet when he was playing baseball.
During his four years in Bloomington (1999-2002), Noonan was a three-time All American (first team junior and senior year) and was acknowledged twice as the Big Ten Player of the Year. He left Indiana University ranked seventh all time in goals, and sixth in points scored.
As he did individually, the team endured much success as well. From 1999-2002, the Hoosiers went a combined 69-18-2 (29-1 Big Ten), went to three College Cup's (final four) and two National Championship game's, winning one in Noonan's freshman season.
Like many other players, Noonan admitted to having nerves when he began his career here in Bloomington, although he did play in all 24 games of his rookie campaign.
"There were nerves. You're anxious because it's unfamiliar territory," Noonan said. "You get into the college game and it's a huge step up and it puts you in a situation where you're a freshman with a lot of older, more experienced players that have already been around the college game….I think the coaching staff as well as the better players, they were welcoming and encouraging and kept pushing me early on to have success, and I think that was very helpful in me becoming a starter and a piece of the puzzle."
During that '99 season the Hoosiers found themselves in a rather similar position, playing UCLA in the first round of the College Cup. Two years prior the Hoosiers were 23-0 and on route for an undefeated season before the Bruins beat them in overtime, eventually going on to win the National Championship.
"For me it was a new opponent and a new challenge in the semifinal game, so it wasn't something that was really a thought for me," Noonan said about the team losing two years prior. "It was a very tough opponent in a semifinal game, and it ended up being one of the best games that I've been apart of."
The Hoosiers were up 2-0 with just fifteen minutes left until UCLA scored their first goal. Then just five minutes later, the Bruins scored again to tie the game. The Hoosiers found themselves in the same situation they were two years prior, back in overtime against UCLA in the College Cup.
The sour taste of defeat from 1997 became pungent once again.
"When you're sitting 2-0 with 15 minutes to go you're thinking you have the game in control and you're on the way to a championship game, but that's the perfect reason why you keep focus and you do what's necessary to close out the game," Noonan said. "They were a very good team that had a lot of attacking talent, so going into overtime it was getting your focus (back) so that what just took place in the last 15 minutes doesn't have a negative effect on the overtime period."
Four overtimes later, Noonan found teammate Ryan Mack cutting to the goal near the top of the box, delivered the pass, and Mack took care of the rest.
The ball smacked the back of the net with a sweet sound of revenge.
The Hoosiers were on to their second straight National Championship game.
They went on to play Santa Clara, who also took place in a four overtime game in their semifinal matchup. Noonan admitted that he did remember having heavy legs and that he might have worried about them a little too much, but when the game started those thoughts vanished quickly.
They went on to beat Santa Clara 1-0, bringing the Hoosiers their fifth National Championship and second in as many years.
"It was certainly a good experience in my first year of playing collegiate ball," Noonan said. "Seeing the joy like any championship, of all your teammates and the coaching staff, all the members of the University, family, everyone who's been there and had been apart of it. It took the whole year and to have it conclude with a championship makes all that hard work, ups and downs worth it and that much more enjoyable when you're holding the trophy and you're a champion."
In his four years at Indiana University, Noonan believes he retained many valuable pieces of advice that he has used throughout his life. Noonan knew he came to Indiana University to play soccer, but in order to pursue his soccer dream he had to first get work done in the classroom, and this was one of Yeagley's specialties.
"He was the same and very determined to make sure that we were all doing what was necessary in the classroom, to be able to have success when the soccer gig was over was very important to him…. but to have him help me understand the significance of the diploma and graduating, showed me that playing was only going to take me so far. He wanted me to be in a position to be able to rely on my education and that message hit home to me," Noonan said.
Another Yeagley specialty:
"He added a human factor, where he treated his players like his own sons, and I thought that was a special relationship from a coach to a player."
Yeagley summed it up quite well himself.
"There's a family, the IU soccer family. Family members take care of each other. If you are apart of the IU soccer family your teammates, your coaches, anyone you've worked with is there to help you, it's one thing we have taken great pride in. We're always there…I'm still always there," Yeagley said.
Noonan was selected ninth overall by the New England Revolution in January of 2003. While with New England, Noonan played in three MLS Cup Finals, all ending in defeat. Finally in 2008 with the Columbus Crew, the jubilation of being crowned a champion re-surfaced.
In 2011, Noonan decided to enter the MLS Re Entry draft, where he was selected by the LA Galaxy. A decision that catapulted himself to where he is today, an assistant coach of the US Men's National Team (USMNT).
A year later, Noonan realized that his playing days were numbered, but he did not want to leave the game that he had become so infatuated with over time.
"The transition was kind of brought up in my last season in 2012, and it was the best move (for me)," Noonan said about starting his coaching career. "The fact that I played for the Galaxy under Bruce (Arena) helped the transition into coaching be a little bit easier. My comfort level of knowing the players and coaches helped me have an opinion early on in my coaching career."
Bruce Arena, the current head coach of the USMNT was the head coach of the LA Galaxy when Noonan arrived in 2011. Arena admired Noonan's work ethic and knowledge of the game, and evidently that is why he asked Noonan to join him as a coach on the United State's team.
It wasn't easy leaving the LA Galaxy, but this was an opportunity that Noonan couldn't decline.
"The understanding that this is an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. It was difficult leaving such an important club with the LA Galaxy, but it was the opportunity to try something new and work with our national team," Noonan said. "(I'm) hoping to be apart of getting us qualified for a World Cup, and certainly the end result of being apart of a World Cup would be a great accomplishment…It might be only once in this lifetime, I'm hoping to be apart of something special in the future."
With the USMNT, Noonan focuses on scouting, as it is the biggest part of his job. He is also apart of film sessions and breaking down games. While he is on the field, he focuses his attention on the attacking group, where he tries to get them to work with one identity.
Yeagley was pleased to hear that more than 20 of his former players went on to be coaches, while he offered a bit of advice.
"Hopefully the program that they were with for four years here at IU helped to shape their thinking, helped to set the standard and the expectations, helped to show them how you deal with individuals and teammates," Yeagley said. "How coaches need to handle players with different personalities and how to get the best out of each player, those are some things that I would've hoped they would've taken away from Indiana."
"And another thing, and one of the most important, is that you've got to out-work your opponents. You have to out-work those other guys, both in recruiting, training, and all aspects (of the game), there are no shortcuts."
Noonan mentioned that one day he does want to be a head coach, but right now he's trying to stay in the moment and do everything he can to get the USMNT back to where it belongs.
"There have been a lot of great things done with our national team to help grow the game and grow the sport. We're in a tough position at the moment, but it's our job and a great opportunity to help guide these players and bring success on the field," Noonan said.
"We want to qualify, but not only qualify, we want to have success in Russia. Certainly qualifying is the first goal, but I think once that's accomplished that we have a group and talent that could do some special things in the World Cup, and I'm excited to be apart of it."
iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/4/6/mens-soccer-pat-noonan-from-iums-to-usmnt.aspx
Go Hoosiers!
