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Gonnam has built a state-title contender at Newburyport

Friday, November, 16 By John Shimer
Staff writer

The key to success for the Newburyport girls soccer team is simple.

Start with a pack of good soccer players who are knowledgeable, motivated athletes willing to do the work necessary to become a successful team.

The concept is simple, but getting to that high level and maintaining it is a huge work in progress.

Too often an exceptional group of players will go through a particular high school in this area, but unless that school is named North Andover or Masconomet, when that group graduates, the program drops back down into mediocrity or worse.

The common rule of thumb is that bigger schools like NA or Masco can reload year after year because they have more resources to draw from, in particular, a large pool of students/players.

However, there has been one program that has been the exception to that rule | Newburyport | a team that has made the tournament all but one year in the last 13 and has become a true powerhouse on the North Shore.

Newburyport is not a particularly large city, sporting a population somewhere in the range of 17,500 people. That size is dwarfed by its closest soccer rivals' surrounding towns (Masco 22,928, Triton 21,008, Pentucket 17,000).

No, the difference has been that Robb Gonnam long ago realized great players don't acquire their knowledge of the game at the high school level. They may refine their game, but truly developing a player is a long process. That's why Gonnam begins his training at the ripe age of 11 or 12.

"You can't first start training a player at age 16 and make them superb by the time they are 18," Gonnam said. "The key is to teach and train kids at an early enough age where they are physically mature enough to be able to what you ask of them when designing a drill. As a 12-year-old, they are at an emotional stage where their attention span is improving, they are eager to learn, and they are not afraid to make mistakes. It really presents an ideal scenario for training.

"By the time they are 13- to 14-years-old their attitudes change. Emotional issues like boys, friends at school, and social events are bigger parts of their lives, however I already have them well trained, which can often help them get through tough times."

Fifteen years ago when Gonnam came to Newburyport, the program was not only a perennial loser, it had struggled to win a single game in the previous three years. His first move after getting hired was to strengthen the youth program by getting involved with an indoor team.

From there on, he became extremely active with the Newburyport youth system coaching teams and putting on clinics for players and coaches. After three years of work in the youth system, Gonnam had his team in the state tournament, and the program has only missed states once since.

The toughest part was making the parents and players believe that the result did not matter as much as development at a young age level. However, Gonnam quickly was able to solve that problem by inviting 11-, 12-, and 13-year-old girls along on bus rides to be ball girls for the high school team.

"I have always told those younger girls at the Fuller Field that someone like Taylor Bresnahan was right here at your age, and if you work hard enough, this can be your future," Gonnam said. "It gives them the incentive to want to improve their own abilities because they can see the tangible results with the way the high school girls are succeeding.

"It also gives them an identity. They call themselves the 'Bad puppies,' because our high school girls are nicknamed the 'Bad dogs,'" Gonnam continued. "That makes them feel special, and a player that feels you are treating them special will play their heart out for you."

With so many coaches taking care of young families and other responsibilities outside of the soccer world, Gonnam understands why those coaches can't devote the crazy hours that he devotes to coaching young children. However, he still does not understand why some do not try to spend more time on the field.

"For myself, working with young children on the soccer field has become my life, and I don't recommend coaching 20 teams like I do, which borders on insane," Gonnam said. "However, for me, there is no greater satisfaction than watching my kids succeed in a game like Wednesday night's Norwell match. Although I may be nearly broke, I would much rather be on the sidelines for that game than have $1 million in a bank account. The great thing about kids is if you are sincere enough and spend enough time with them, you will always get back what you have worked for in pride and satisfaction."