Team First: Brian Plotkin
In his first season at West Point, men's soccer head coach Brian Plotkin is hoping to build an unselfish culture in order to build a stronger and more successful program in the future.
Brian Plotkin will be the first to tell you that he is all about the team.
The newly appointed head coach of Army West Point men's soccer is always quick to turn the conversation towards his Cadet-athletes and always makes you aware of the achievements of his players. His wealth of soccer knowledge and experience is hidden underneath a sense of selflessness that he hopes to infuse into his program as he enters his first season at West Point and his first as the leader of a college soccer program.
Success begins with our Cadets being good teammates. That's the foundation of it all, selflessness and competitiveness. It all comes back to three words that I want to be at the center of our team; purposeful, powerful and passionate.
Army West Point Athletics welcomes Brian Plotkin (@plotty10) as our new leader of @ArmyWP_MSoccer ??????
— ArmyWestPoint Sports (@GoArmyWestPoint) May 27, 2021
??: https://t.co/tPCiZCy4J9#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/0K2PwYjK6A
Plotkin believes that the first step in building a championship-caliber program is to establish a culture that emphasizes teamwork and encourages an unselfish attitude.
"Success begins with our Cadets being good teammates. That's the foundation of it all, selflessness and competitiveness." said Plotkin. "It all comes back to three words that I want to be at the center of our team; purposeful, powerful and passionate. We have to be purposeful in our training. We have to be passionate in everything we do. Finally, we have to be powerful in our belief that we, as a team, can achieve our goals."
By emphasizing these three attributes, Plotkin hopes to create an environment that will help develop not only good soccer players, but high-quality Cadets and young men.
"I want to recruit players that will go on to become good officers in the Army. That is the overall intention and goal." said Plotkin. "Obviously I want to recruit good soccer players that are capable of helping us achieve the successes the program is capable of - whether that be winning Patriot League trophies and making runs in the NCAA tournament - but that only happens when you develop Cadets of high character."
Plotkin has no shortage of championship experiences, winning on nearly every stop he has had in his soccer career. As a player, he won two national championships at Indiana University and was also part of an MLS Cup winning team with Columbus Crew. Those experiences were formative for him, and are memories that he frequently draws back on for inspiration. He hopes to use this inspiration as he guides Army Soccer through a challenging 2021 schedule in his first season.
"Looking back on those successes gives you a good frame of reference because each team was uniquely different, my role on each team was uniquely different." said Plotkin "Now I can use those experiences to identify with my players and relate with them because I have been there and seen what it takes to contribute to a championship-caliber team in every role."
From a coaching angle, Plotkin has had the opportunity to coach alongside a number of influential mentors. Whether it was with Chad Riley at Notre Dame, Neil Jones during his time at Loyola or Jerry Yeagley at Indiana, Coach Plotkin was able to add his own strengths into the program in order to benefit the players he worked with. Throughout his career as an assistant, he has mentored numerous all-conference players and assisted in the development of teams that have won four conference tournaments. The lessons he learned from those mentors have helped him create his own personal coaching philosophy and goals that he plans to use in his time with Army soccer.
I think this Academy, West Point, the United States Military Academy; we're going to outwork you. It is in our nature and that is who we are.
2??0?? days until #ArmySoccer ??
— Army M.Soccer (@ArmyWP_MSoccer) August 6, 2021
We kick off our countdown to the 2021 season with @CoachPlotkin talking about the schedule and how is team preparing leading up to the first kick! #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/ePj0E3YYT2
“I love to coach and the desire to create the best team possible is my motivation.” said Plotkin I think my ambition is to push a program as far as it can go and that works into my goal here, which is to add years to the signage around the stadium. I was fortunate in my past to have played for some of the best coaches that this country has had and the aspiration for me now is to try and reach their level."
Coach Plotkin will coach his first game as a head coach on August 26, when the La Salle Explorers travel up to West Point. That Thursday will be Plotkin's 17th day with his team and only his 90th day on Post. Plotkin is excited to see what this team can accomplish even in such a short time together as they build their team's image
"I am really looking forward to that process and developing that team identity," said Plotkin. "I think this Academy, West Point, the United States Military Academy; we're going to outwork you. It is in our nature and that is who we are. We want to focus on the Next Play, the next moment, have a short memory and to be great in our reactions and win every in-between moment that presents itself during the game”