The Daily Cougar: When did your involvement with soccer begin?
Chris Pfau: I started playing when I was five years old. I played for a club team growing up and got involved in an early teen’s program at a national level. I was drafted out of high school but decided to go to college. Then I got drafted out of college and played professional for 10 years.
TDC: Why start coaching?
CP: I really never thought about coaching but every pro team I played on had summer camps and I worked them. I didn’t really enjoy coaching, but I loved being around the kids so I always did it. After about my third year of doing camps I started coaching club. It just kind of evolved into coaching. Towards the last two years of my pro career I became an assistant coach and that’s where my passion ended up.
TDC: What style of soccer do you prefer and how does that influence your coaching?
CP: I’m very much, get the ball on the ground and get ready to attack. I simplify the game. I think formations are a little bit over rated. You take the top teams, once they start 4-4-2, players are all over the pitch and that’s just because they understand how to attack and how to defend. As we start off the season, it’s going to be very simple, very basic concepts — very much pro-style in terms of how we defend and attack.
TDC: What is your philosophy?
CP: To me, it’s all chemistry. The star is not the player, the star is the team. Through my pro career, the teams that did well were the ones that fought for each other.
TDC: What made you come to UH?
CP: I believe you can win here and be very successful. The administration is very supportive across the board with all athletics. I think going into the Big East will open up some doors but I believe that if you work extremely hard and do the little things, that you can build a top 20 program. And that’s why I came down here.
TDC: How are you changing the program?
CP: I hope when people come that we’ll be better organized, understand the game a little bit better and be a more cohesive team. I think we’ll understand each other’s roles and responsibilities and fight more for each other. That’s the big step this fall that I’m trying to work through.
