SILVER SEASON SERIES: The Rock of Stability

Embarking on the Silver Season of Texas A&M's storied soccer program, there are four people who have pretty much seen it all.

Head coach G Guerrieri, associate head coach Phil Stephenson, assistant coach Lori Stephenson and director of operations Curt Magnuson have been together for 17 years with G and Phil in the midst of their 19^th together on staff.

They've seen the thrilling celebrations, the tenacious players that have made school history, the evolution of women's college soccer and the rising culture of the sport at Texas A&M.

During the nearly 20 years they have been together, A&M has claimed eight conference regular-season crowns and six league tournament titles. The Aggies have made it to the NCAA Championship all 16 of their previous seasons on staff, earned 13 Sweet Sixteen appearances, made it to the Elite Eight on six occasions and competed in the 2014 College Cup.
 

"The consistency of the program can be directly linked to the consistency of the coaches," Guerrieri said. "We do everything with a knowledge of what has actually happened in this environment, with this program and with the players that have been here in the past."

When they were first starting out, they each had a vision for what they hoped the program would become.

"A lot of success, but success earned the right way," Lori Stephenson said. "We really do try to do everything above board, the right way, with a lot of laughter and smiles. It's not militant, but there are really high expectations. There's a lot of discipline, but it is discipline that's self-instilled by the players."

Throughout the years, the staff has built on each other's strengths, achieving the culmination of their goals through creating an environment for the players that is challenging but still fun and a culture that emphasizes excellence.
 

"Culture doesn't change in a day," Phil Stephenson said. "It doesn't change because you put a sign up on the door that says 'play like champions today.' Culture doesn't change because you yell louder or move quicker. It's a process of getting the right people in place. It's the process of being on message daily and I really feel that our culture now is in a great place."

Additionally, Guerrieri said that their differences diversify and benefit the staff.

"The strength of our relationships is that we all understand the four of us are incredibly different people," Guerrieri said. "I wouldn't say that any of the four of us have the same personality traits. Because of that we complement each other instead of step on each other's toes. I think that that's been the most successful attribute."

The three coaches have even been compared to the original American Idol judges.
 
"Phil is from the North of England and he's brutally honest, so he would be Simon (Cowell)," Guerrieri said. "Lori is very conscious of the way people listen to her and the way that they are taking information in and their feelings, so she's pretty much Paula (Abdul) and then, I'm kind of Randy (Jackson) in the middle that tries to keep things logical and moving forward."

However, they do share certain similarities. In college, Lori and Phil were defenders and Guerrieri was a goalkeeper.
 

"All of us being on the defensive side of the ball, we all knew that the best defense wasn't playing defense, it was offense," Guerrieri said. "We really believed in playing a game that's fun for the athletes to play. It's a lot more fun to have the ball than it is to chase the ball. We want to play with a style that is attractive and exciting for the crowds, but we want one that's exciting to play as well, that is very active and very much going forward."

When he was hired in 1993 by John David Crow, Guerrieri explained the style he sought to strive for as emulating the 1980's Showtime Lakers, "running, fast and really fun to watch."
               
Then, he began building his team. Within the first five years, two of Guerrieri's assistant coaches were hired as head coaches at other schools.
 
Knowing it was time to expand, he set his sights on a colleague he'd worked with for a couple of seasons in the Olympic Development Program with U.S. Soccer.

"We saw the game the same way," Guerrieri said. "We saw, number one, what we liked in the game was similar and then also that some of the mistakes other people were making we felt that could be better with a different point of view."

At the time, Phil was the head coach at Methodist College.

"He was the only call I made and I was fortunate that he took a chance of leaving a position where he was the decision-maker to be able to come and work alongside me," Guerrieri said.

In 2001, Lori was hired and that same year, a director of operations position was created for Magnuson who began working with Aggie Soccer as a student manager in 1995.

"When Curt came in is when the program changed in the community in that our crowds doubled in size and our community relations got immensely better," Guerrieri said. "He does so many things well. We kept putting more and more things on him so now he's completely indispensable. He has an immense impact on the program."

Taking care of the abundant behind-the-scenes aspects of Aggie soccer such as travel, budget, working with the camps and more, Magnuson revealed one secret as to why the staff has been together for so long.
Guerrieri's leadership.

"He empowers us to take care of the part of the program that's our strength," Magnuson said. "He empowers us to be in charge of something then, that's us, that's our role. You feel valuable and you don't have that desire to leave."
               
The sentiment is shared.

"I feel like Coach G is like the standard bearer of the program and soccer," Phil said. "Coach G is all over the community, the state, the country letting people know about our story. He's carried the banner for Texas A&M Soccer for all these years."

Guerrieri attributed the cohesion of the staff and specifically the success of the Aggie Soccer Camp, which is the largest in the country, to the collaboration of the four elements.

"They're not employees of mine, they're partners of mine," he said.

Stephen F. Austin head coach Wally Crittenden was an assistant coach for the Aggies from 2010-12. Working closely with the four, he said that their competiveness and perspective drive the success of the program.

"G has a great ability to look at things from 10,000 feet and project the overall path of the program on many levels ranging from facilities to development," Crittenden said. "Phil is an expert at practice and game management.  He also has a knack for simplifying the game so they will be successful.  Lori is a tremendous thinker and looks at the game in ways that often offer a great counter-balance.  She is also really good with helping staff and players keep perspective and is always there to talk when you need.  Curt is talented in his ability to anticipate outcomes, both positive and negative, to all the ideas that are coming out of that staff."

He mentioned that his best years as an assistant coach were working with Guerrieri, the Stephensons and Magnuson.

"I really enjoyed our banter and it is always special when you know you are working with talented people," Crittenden said. "Above all, though, was the connection our families had."

Lori highlighted how from its inception to now, Texas A&M Soccer has become a home to players and staff.

"It really is like becoming a part of a family," Lori said.

Many former players keep up with the current Aggies through what the staff calls "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants."

They connect current members of the Maroon & White with other players that have worn their number and contributed to the legacy of soccer at the school.

"Being an Aggie soccer player is not a four-year experience, it is something that will last for the rest of their life," Guerrieri said.

Making an impact on players and having them visit after their collegiate careers at Texas A&M is special for the staff, as well.

"It's a brilliant sport to play and a difficult sport to coach," Phil said. "It's a player's game. It is incredibly hard because everything's different all the time. The reward that comes out of seeing young people develop is truly amazing."

For Lori, who has been a stay-at-home mom, a PhD candidate, a cancer researcher and a professor in addition to a coach, helping players achieve their goals is a top passion.

"We're trying to develop them on the field and off into who they are," Lori said. "It's not trying to create robots of who we think they should be but really just watching them grow. It's like a never-ending dream for someone who likes the kind of things that I like."

The memories that stand out the most to Magnuson are making the Elite Eight for the first time in 2001, the streak of conference championships from 2004-07, and an announcement after a victory in Ames, Iowa, when the Aggies needed a result from Austin to win the Championship.

"It was the last game of the season and we get word that the result went our way which clinched the conference championship for us," Magnuson said. "I can't tell you for the life of me if Texas won or lost, but either way it gave us the championship which was cool. I remember celebrating, everybody got off the bus and was running around, going nuts."

While there is much excitement and expectations surrounding this season, the chief goal remains, to win a National Championship.

Guerrieri predicts the SEC will be incredibly strong this year, yet says the Aggies' dreams are well within reach.

"Just like our team, the staff tries to make it to where everybody plays to their strengths," Guerrieri said. "We utilize the strengths of the others to make sure that the program is always coming from a position of strength."