Few things can change a person’s perspectives on life more than parenthood does. In no time at all, you can go from glaring at the woman with the crying baby on an airplane to glaring back at the glarers as you try desperately to soothe the one in your arms.
<em>What are you looking at, jerk?</em>
So it’s not surprising that as Matt Watson has watched his own children grow, the former professional soccer star has warmed more and more to the idea of mentoring young players.
After trying his hand at coaching youth soccer with a couple of other clubs in the Indianapolis area, Watson recently signed on as the under-10 academy director at Bargersville-based South Central Soccer Academy.
He will be overseeing all of the coaches in those lower age groups, helping to set the overall direction for the club’s youngest players.
"The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve enjoyed coaching, and this gives me an opportunity to have some say in the curriculum; I think that’s going to be enjoyable for me," Watson said. "Having experienced so much football, I definitely want to have a say in what goes on, and I think this is a good opportunity for that."
Playing experience is certainly not something that Watson lacks. Born and raised in the United Kingdom, he came to America to play collegiate soccer at Maryland-Baltimore County and then left after two years to join the pro ranks. He played with six different teams beginning in 2006, including the Vancouver Whitecaps and Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer, before playing for the Indy Eleven the last three seasons.
Watson, who turned 36 on Jan. 1, was the team captain under Eleven head coach Martin Rennie, who also teamed with Watson in Vancouver and with the Carolina RailHawks of the United Soccer League.
Rennie believes that Watson is a natural with young kids — something that a lot of talented former players might not necessarily have the patience for.
"He’s just got a really friendly personality," Rennie said. He’s also got kids of his own, so he’s got a lot of experience in that regard as well. He just seems to connect with them well.
"Some people are just well equipped to do that and some people aren’t, but he’s one of those people who just seems to have a natural knack for it."
Since coming to the area, Watson has done some coaching with FC Pride and the Indiana Fire Juniors. When SCSA’s director job came open, both sides became excited about the possibility of Watson coming aboard.
Nick Hargett, SCSA’s assistant director of coaching, believes that Watson will mesh well with the rest of the club’s staff.
"I think we mesh up style-wise," Hargett said. "The age groups he’s going to be working with, so much of it’s about player attention, creating enjoyment for the game. Obviously, he has a great playing pedigree — he’s come up through the professional youth system in England; he has all of that. But the thing that stuck out for us was just philosophically, we were aligned on how to play the game, but also just his enthusiasm and being able to bring joy to those players. That was the big selling point for us."
Having some creative control was a key selling point for Watson — as was the ability to stick around the Indianapolis area and help grow the game. With his family, which lives in Carmel, now pretty well entrenched here after three years, he was looking for a more permanent gig now that his playing career is likely over.
"We wanted to put down some roots in the area," Watson said. "Obviously playing, I’ve moved all over and not really had a home base. My kids are getting a little bit older, they’re in school, they’ve got friends, and we really don’t want to move anytime soon, so it just seemed like a good time for me to do something where I’m going to be able to stay in the area and have a home base for a while."
SCSA’s recreational league already has ties to Indy Eleven, and as Rennie and Hargett both pointed out, having the team’s former captain sign on in such a pivotal role will only serve to strengthen that connection going forward.
Watson sees potential for the sport to grow significantly in the Indy metro area, particularly in the south suburbs, and he’s eager to have a hand (or would you prefer foot?) in that growth.
"I love the game, and I want to stay around it, and there’s definitely tons of football around here," Watson said. "I just want to make sure I’m somewhere I feel like the game’s growing and being taken seriously, and I can contribute to it."
