After finishing their weight lifting and running, the Marauder soccer team was called together, head coach John Gall told them he would soon be leaving. There was a look of disbelief in all the player’s eyes as they tried to process what they were just told. When it finally sank in, some were mad at why he would leave before the season started and others were crying because they were sad to see their coach leaving.
Gall announced that he had received a full time offer to be the Boys’ Director of Coaching with FC Dallas. While the boys were excited to see Gall’s career grow, they knew that this opportunity meant he would no longer be there to support them on the sidelines or lead their practices.
“This isn’t just a chance for me to spread my wings, it’s their chance to see how they fly without me,” Gall said.
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Soon after Gall’s senior year of high school, he left his family in Wales,United Kingdom and came over to America, to play college soccer at Oklahoma City University. It was a hard transition moving to another country, but he was determined to keep going further in his soccer career.
After college, Gall was a trainee with FC Dallas, then known as the Dallas Burn. But later his career moved in a different direction. In 2001, Gall accepted a coaching position with the Marauder soccer team, which he would continue to shape for the next 15 years.
For the past 18 months, Gall had been helping coach youth elite teams for FC Dallas. After the other FC Dallas coaches watched Gall, they offered him a full time job. He has had dreams of furthering his career, and Gall said he was taking the job offer to challenge himself and to see how he would adjust to the new circumstances.
“I’m excited to further my career, but I am sad I won’t be here with my players,” Gall said.
Assistant boys soccer coach Riley Dodge who has known Gall for a year and a half was taken aback by the news. He says he knows it’s a great opportunity for Gall and his family, but he is still surprised he was leaving after being a coach for so long. But even with Gall being gone, Dodge plans to continue to push players just as hard.
“I’m excited for him, this is a great chance for him to further his career as a soccer coach and as a person,” Dodge said.
Junior Austin Wills says though the upcoming season will be hard without their head coach, he believes they will still play to their full potential.
“We know what’s expected of us so we can’t let this take us back. We have to move forward,” Wills said.
Assistant boys soccer coach Preston Jund has been coaching with Gall for the past five years and said he was sad to see Gall go. His favorite part of coaching with Gall was watching him shape the program into what it is now.
When Gall first started coaching, he said the soccer team was overlooked and players didn’t take it seriously. Gall established authority with the players, so it became a program where boys could come play and improve their skills.
With the spring soccer season right around the corner, Sam Garza has been named the interim coach. He is a Marauder alumni who won a state championship with Gall in 2007 and 2008, and Texas Gatorade player 2008. After his time with MMFC, Garza moved onto playing in college and has played in Major League Soccer for the past eight years.
Garza said as the interim coach he’s going to push the boys just as hard as Gall did and the goal is to make them an even better team.
Though some players are still upset about Gall leaving, Garza said he is determined to make the soccer team a family atmosphere for all of the players. He has worked out with MMFC many times before when he’s in his off season from the MLS and that has helped with the transition of coaches.
“I’m not going to let the boys slip through the cracks, I’m going to push them because I care,” Garza said.
Gall said hopes he’s leaving an imprint on the boys that they will continue to work hard and push themselves. Though he’s getting out of his comfort zone, he knows the boys are too. He wants his legacy to remain that he made MMFC a team just as important as any other school sport.
“I may not be there on the sidelines coaching, but I’ll be there in spirit cheering them on,” Gall said.
