John Michael Hayden growing in second year as head coach
With a season of experience as a head coach, John Michael Hayden goes into his second year as the leader of Louisville men’s soccer with more knowledge of what comes with the position.
The Cardinals went 10-8-2 in 2019, reaching the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I learned a lot last year, that will help me moving forward,” Hayden said.
Hayden served as an assistant coach for Louisville for four seasons prior to being named the head coach in Dec. 2018 following the resignation of former head coach Ken Lolla.
In his first season as head coach, Hayden set standards for the program based on previous environments he has been a part of. Hayden played for Jerry Yeagley, who won six national championships at Indiana University, and coached as an assistant for Lolla, who led Louisville to the national championship game in 2010.
Hayden wants to continue to build a stronger culture heading into his second season.
“I could have done better along those lines in setting the culture, certainly it was something that we focused on and I felt like it was good, we were a really tight knit group that had a solid culture,” Hayden said. “It’s focusing on the process every single day.”
Hayden, who won back-to-back NCAA championships as a player at Indiana in 2003 and 2004, has spent time reflecting as a coach during the offseason. He has tried to learn and grow as a coach by participating in Zoom calls and reading.
“I think that will help me construct the environment I want to create for the program,” Hayden said.
Although the offseason has been different because of COVID-19, Hayden said he has become closer to his players. He checks in with players with one-on-one conversations to stay connected.
“When our summer kind of hits, the guys go off, they play on their summer league teams, they get wrapped up into that,” Hayden said. “We have phone conversations here and there, but because the way this has gone, we are able to Zoom, Microsoft team, I see my guys weekly now.”
With players returning to campus for voluntary workouts, Louisville’s performance staff can begin to train student-athletes for the standards Hayden wants to build toward for the program.