By Peter Gallagher |
Bill Irwin adheres to a simple philosophy. And after 27 years of coaching in the Pilots soccer program, few can challenge his singularly holistic approach to The Beautiful Game.
“My philosophy is to make [soccer] enjoyable,” Irwin said. “If they’re playing or training in an enjoyable environment, learning will take place, and they will leave here a better soccer player, a better student, a better person, with a degree.”
Irwin grew up in the small coastal town of Donaghadee, Northern Ireland. Situated 18 miles southeast of Belfast, Donaghadee remained relatively unaffected as the period of violent unrest known as The Troubles enveloped large swaths of Northern Ireland in political and religious conflict. From 1967 to 1971, Irwin played goalkeeper for Bangor F.C., a local club, until he attracted the attention of suitors from across the Irish Sea.
“I was playing part time and working in the shipyard,” Irwin recalled. “There were several clubs from England that had an interest, and Cardiff came in and bought me. They bought me, and off I went.”
Cardiff City, a Welsh football club founded in 1899, is currently in the midst of its first season in the vaunted English Premier League.
“We were in the old second division,” Irwin said. “We were always sort of fighting relegation. We were in the bottom half (of the league) and I think we got relegated once or twice, then got promoted. I was there for eight years and we went through three managers.”
Relegation and promotion are often unfamiliar terms to American sports fans. Imagine if Major League Baseball demoted the San Francisco Giants to the minor leagues after a particularly poor season that took them to the bottom of the standings. This is relegation. The only way the Giants could return to the professional ranks would be through promotion, or winning their league outright the following season.
Irwin left Cardiff City in 1978 and traveled across the Atlantic to play for the Washington, D.C. Diplomats of the North American Soccer League. The NASL was the first professional soccer league in North America, and lasted from 1968 to 1984. Though virtually unknown now, the league attracted some of the best soccer players in the world and filled large capacity stadiums across the U.S.
“The NASL when I first came in was very good,” Irwin said. “There was a lot of talent, like George Best, Rodney Marsh. These are players probably kids today have no idea who they are, but these were world-class players. It was fun for me.”
The NASL grew rapidly during the 1970s but, due to overexpansion and expensive player contracts, folded in the 1984 season.
“I think … we were fighting NFL, baseball, stuff like that. I think, just fighting for that sports dollar, and not getting those crowds. Maybe America wasn’t ready for it. But I think we blazed a trail for today’s MLS,” Irwin said.
In 1987, Irwin shifted his focus from the goal to the sideline. Clive Charles, the famed Pilots coach, hired Irwin as his assistant after the two men found themselves in the same city, though not for the first time.
“Clive and I, we went way back. We both played together in Cardiff,” Irwin said “When he finished playing, he came back to Portland ‘cause he liked the area. And I came back to Portland ‘cause my wife is a Portland girl. I came out to see him one day and he said, ‘Hey, come help me out.’ And that was it. We had a lot of fun together. I usually got fired about six times a week.”
After the death of Charles in October 2003, Irwin was promoted to director of soccer, a position he has held for the last 10 years. With Irwin’s promotion came a renewed focus on the defensive end of the field, a strategy borne of his experience in front of the goal.
“Being a coach here now, and seeing Bill and the detail with which he teaches goalkeepers, he has forgotten more about goalkeeping than I know about goalkeeping,” said former player and assistant men’s coach Brandon McNeil. “He’s the best goalkeeper coach in the country.”
Senior Justin Baarts has spent five years in goal for the Pilots after redshirting his freshman year. He does not hesitate when asked to expound on Irwin’s philosophy for the team.
“He preaches fundamentals,” Baarts said. “He always says, ‘Be a pessimist.’ If someone else messes up, how can you find yourself in a good spot to cover them up? Work on defense first. That’s our team philosophy.”
The men and women of Pilots soccer are off to a strong start and begin conference play this coming weekend. The unchanged Irwin philosophy of defense, enjoyment and personal betterment will continue to inform their winning ways.
