Playing a sport and coaching a sport are two extremely different jobs from two completely different perspectives. Center midfielder and captain Arman Ter-Barseghyan (’10) is fortunate enough to see the soccer field from both outlooks. Coaching has been something Ter-Barseghyan wanted to do because he wanted to share all his experiences with children who are still developing their skills.
Ter-Barseghyan dedicates most of his time to coaching. Since September of 2009, he has been assisting in coaching varsity soccer coach Kevin Cadenas’s soccer team of 12-year-old boys for little league. He spends three hours a week coaching as well as attending games during the little league’s season. The team also participates in tournaments, which involve about three games every weekend, where they play club teams of the same age range from all around California.
Ter-Barseghyan helps out with the team’s offense, works with the midfielders and forwards, and runs drills such as passing, dribbling, and kicking the ball into the goal. They practice in different places such as Muir Middle School and several parks as well. He meets with the team every Tuesday and Thursday.
Ter-Barseghyan hopes to pass down his own skills to his team. He always tells his team to “use what they have learned” and trust each other as well as themselves because he has a lot of confidence in all of them. He wants to take them to tournaments and games that he attended when he was younger.
“I just want them to improve and give their best at a very competitive level,” he said.
Ter-Barseghyan expects a strong season and many victories from the team he is currently assisting because he feels that they are “a strong group of boys who can really play soccer and take everything seriously.” Although the team he coaches is much younger and less experienced than his own team, both teams are always eager to learn more and are fighting for victories.
By March, Ter-Barseghyan will have his own team of 9-year-old boys who will play tournaments all over California in the summer and spring. In September, the team will play in the Coast Soccer League, which is the number one little league in California.
Ter-Barseghyan has been playing soccer since he was 5 years old. He first joined a team in Armenia at the age of 6. His cousin Edgar played soccer as a hobby, and his uncle, Tolik, was a coach for a team. Another relative, Uncle Albert, played until he injured his hand at age 24. A family of soccer players, who have always pushed him to play and continue the sport throughout the generations, has surrounded and influenced Ter-Barseghyan for his entire life.
During his freshman year, his natural talent immediately led him to join the varsity team at school.
Starting his sophomore year, Ter-Barseghyan was promoted to captain of the team. His strategy is different from his captains in the past because he works towards “calming his team down,” such as preventing arguments among his teammates.
“Arman is a great captain who knows what he wants for his team and will do anything in his power to get us in shape to do our best in every game,” teammate Sako Tumasyan (’12) said.
Ter-Barseghyan was recently titled the California Interscholastic Federation’s most valuable player.
“Arman deserves to be a leader because he works hard all the time and always tries to be a better player,” father Hovik Ter-Barseghyan said. “This is a good [test of] responsibility for him.”
Coach Kevin Cadenas believes that this year’s team is by far one of the best they have had in years, especially because of the contributions of Ter-Barseghyan.
“Arman is the playmaker of our team because he is able to control the team, and make the right decisions that lead the team to victories,” Cadenas said.
While growing up, Ter-Barseghyan’s prime role model has been his father. Throughout his whole soccer career, his father has put so much of his time and support into Ter-Barseghyan’s soccer teams and worked countless hours to pay his annual soccer fees just so he can continue playing year after year.
“I want to prove to him how much I appreciate it,” Ter-Barseghyan said.
He admits that coaching and playing differentiate in many areas.
As a coach, Ter-Barseghyan feels that it is important that he figures out the right formation for his team and the appropriate positions for each of his young players.
“As a player, I cannot always make an impact on the field, but now, I can make an impact off the field as a coach,” he said.
Although he is aware that coaching is more difficult, he feels that “it is similar to being captain because [he] still has to make sure the chemistry of the team is good.”
Ter-Barseghyan knows that he has a bigger responsibility now because as a player, he had the mentality of “you win some, you lose some.” He wants to be a helpful and respectable coach and do his best to make the kids win as many games as they are capable of winning. Ter-Barseghyan also feels that it is crucial to work harder so the children’s parents accept him and believe in him as a coach. He also mentioned that there are several adults who are recommending their children to him for private lessons.
Ter-Barseghyan does not plan on playing in a team at college because he has medical issues involving his breathing, something he has managed to keep under control for the past four years. Although it is not a critical condition, he runs out of oxygen quickly, weakening him and causing him to lose energy during games.
As for coaching in the future, Ter-Barseghyan plans to lead his new team of 9-year-olds for the next several years.
“Soccer is in my blood,” Ter-Barseghyan said. “I could never leave it.”
