A Bit of Banter In Pursuit of the Banner
Hagen’s coaching additions bring a new personality
Mike Brohard
She was in no mood to give up ground, not after all that’s been gained.
Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program, but it’s not limited to just the players. It’s bringing in the right coaches and heading into her fifth season at the helm of the Colorado State soccer program, she was faced with replacing both assistants.
After years of struggling to gain footing after the team was established in 2013, Keeley Hagen has the Rams on an upward trajectory. Two consecutive trips to the Mountain West tournament, reaching the semifinals in 2024 and dropping the final in 2023. Three trips to the tourney in four season after the team had just two appearances and no wins.
Key decisions indeed.
“It's never easy. I feel like hiring is one of the hardest parts of the job, to be honest,” Hagen said, whose teams have won 12 games in each of the past two seasons. “And you're always on somewhat of a time crunch just because of the way our semesters and seasons work.
“We were really patient when we were hiring the goalkeeper coach because I really wanted to make sure. It's the same thing we say in recruiting -- I really want to make sure we get the right fit in someone who wants to be here.”
For the Rams, that process became a British invasion, first with the addition of Sean Mapson as the goalkeepers coach heading into spring drills, then the late addition of Michael Wilson just a few weeks before the start of fall camp, and just about a month before the season opener when the Rams host Utah Tech on Thursday (7 p.m.) at Ram Field.
Just like her, both of them were looking for the right fit. A coach who they could match in how a program was run, an administration which backs the goals, truly making it a place they wanted to work.
Mapson was in demand, with more than one offer on the table. But once he found Colorado State had everything he was looking for – and once Hagen extended the offer – he took his name out of the running at the other two spots.
“I wanted to know as many people as I could that I had interviews with to make sure that it was all very much like, not just saying the right things, but also showing that they're doing the right things as well. And since I've been here over the last seven months, it's definitely been the case that they talk the talk, they walk the walk,” Mapson said. “They support us in a way that I've really only experienced maybe once previously at an institution that I worked at.
“It makes our job easier in terms of recruiting and providing for players. A lot of that is really looked after to the point where it's easier to manage players and keep them happy, which at the end of the day, if you have happy players you’re more likely to succeed on the field. So, for me, that was one of the reasons that attracted me to it.”
Wilson and Hagen had met initially at a training seminar around the time she took the Colorado State job, her first as a head coach. They worked in the same group over the year and came to find they were very aligned in thinking. A previous attempt to bring him on staff didn’t work out timing wise.
This time around, the timing has been perfect. Wilson will work with Hagen up front, while she’s given Mapson more responsibility than prior goalie coaches, with him also taking control of the back line.
A plus is they’ve both been head coaches at the collegiate level. They’ve been in her shoes, they understand the number of hats she has to wear, the burden she has to carry of having full ownership of a program. In turn, they both have the same goal – to take as much off her plate as they can.
"There's a lot of passion, a lot of energy and it's fun to hear them talk about it.”Keeley Hagen
But the best part may be where they were raised. In England for Mapson, in England and Scotland for Wilson, who was born in Germany. There is a certain personality which stems from their upbringing, a place where the game is revered much more than it is in the States.
In turn, they bring a new personality to the proceedings.
“I would just say that it's contagious. They watch the games all the time. And then that's actually encouraging for me to help me watch the game more because it's just through and through their fiber of kind of who they are,” Hagen said. “We talk about hey, soccer's what you do, it's not who you are. Being in Europe, that's the massive main sport.
“And so, I definitely feel like they're talking about the highlights or the games and it's also NWSL. It's not just the men's side, which I really appreciate too because they're in women's sports. There's a lot of passion, a lot of energy and it's fun to hear them talk about it.”
For example, when the women’s Euro Cup was being played, one could not walk past the soccer meeting room without seeing a game on the big screen, with either Wilson or Mapson – generally both – working on plans and taking in the action. They were hoping for an England-Germany final, which they didn’t get.
Which is too bad, because if there is one thing Hagen has truly enjoyed, it’s the banter between the two, something she knows the players have picked up on.
“To be honest, it's nice to have someone around that understands sarcasm a little bit more. I feel sometimes I say stuff and people look at me like, are you serious?,” Mapson said. “No, that's a quick whip. But it's enjoyable. It's a way that I think the British in general figure out if, you know, you're alike. It's by, it's banter.”
To them, they’re just being themselves at practice, which is what Hagen wants, what the players need. Eventually, they’ll catch on.
They hope.
“If we get to 50 percent by the end of the season, we’ll be pretty strong,” Wilson said. “That would be a good starting point.”
Which he already had with Hagen when he joined. He, like Mapson, said the transition was smooth. Even before he’d worked with the team, he had a comfort level with her, and she’s enjoyed watching both of them show more of their personalities the longer they are here, the more they’re on the pitch with the team.
The melding of the soccer minds has pretty much already taken place, and as time progresses, Hagen said she’ll relinquish more to Wilson up front. During their time together in licensing, Wilson said there were time they had plans taken apart and worked together to fix issues.
“We found there was a lot of similarities in terms of how we thought about the game, and I think that's one of the most important things. You have to have a coach and staff that are all on the same page, and all believe the vision and where we're going with things,” Wilson said. “Then also, with that belief, then feel confident, and then we have to execute what they're assigned to do, and so for me, that was a big push. You love it when you come here. It's beautiful, the facilities, the support you get. I think that's the biggest thing I've noticed since I've been here.
“It's a little bit different than previous schools is the amount of support you get from everyone around. It doesn't matter what the job title is. It doesn't matter which floor they're on, everyone's always supporting each other, and that's been a big, really cool community feel.”
Keeping it was important to Hagen. She’s invested too much time to take steps back. A culture has been developed which will always be tweaked a bit with an influx of fresh players and coaches.
Bringing in two-like minded assistants was a step in keeping it all together. Do that, the differences they bring are additive, not disruptive. And for them, having some shared experiences helps. They grew up on the same television shows, the same humor, definitely a passionate love for the game and teaching it.
They have their rivalries, too, which is also good. A bit of friendly banter has leveled up the energy on the pitch, even if there’s not 100 percent understanding of what they’re saying or actually meaning.
Even if their serious.
The players will get there. They have in terms of production and conference standing. Now was no time to take a step back.
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