Zac Ludwig

Men’s Head Soccer coach

Lily Goodfellow: When and how did you start coaching soccer?

Zac Ludwig: Well, I was a player all my childhood. When I was in high school, the youth club that I played for asked me to help coach some of the younger teams, so that’s how I started coaching. It was a fun experience.

LG: What do you enjoy most about your job?

ZL: I really enjoy working with the student-athletes. Helping and supporting them as soccer players, but also as students and people, and helping them develop.

LG: Are there differences between coaching the women’s team and the men’s team?

ZL: There are some differences. I think the main difference is the dynamics and personalities that are on the team. But they are very similar in a lot of ways as well. And by the way, I am only the men’s coach now. I was both, but for this upcoming season, I am only going to be the men’s coach.

LG: How has recruiting for the men’s soccer team been going?

ZL: The recruiting has been going really well. I am very excited about the team that we have coming into this next season. We have about half the team returning and then half of the team will be new players. We have players coming in from all over Chicagoland, and we even have six players coming from other countries in other parts of the world.

LG: Wow, that’s awesome. What countries?

ZL: We have players coming in from England, New Zealand and Chile. It’s pretty cool. 

LG: How did you recruit those players?

ZL: We actually have some contacts and people that we know in those countries, and they work for organizations that identify players who want to come study and play in the United States. So these players came from those agencies that identify players who want to come here. That’s how we made the connections. So we recruit them that way, meeting them and being able to watch them play via video. 

LG: What are you looking forward to most for the upcoming season?

ZL: I am most looking forward to seeing all the new players and how they come together. I think we’re going to be a much stronger team than we’ve been in the past. So I’m really looking forward to seeing how everyone works together and improves upon the past few seasons.

LG: What has been your proudest moment in coaching?

ZL: It’s hard for me to choose one moment. I think the moments that make me most proud as a coach are when I see players make big improvements. So whether that be on the field, and they really start to understand something and improve a skill, or even just as people when they really start to develop and grow and mature. Any of those times when the student-athletes learn and improve, and if I’ve been able to make an impact or influence them on that, those are really the moments that are most meaningful to me.

LG: Who has had the biggest impact on you either personally or professionally?

ZL: My parents have had the biggest impact on me. My dad coached me when I was a kid for a significant number of years. He played soccer so that’s part of the reason why soccer became the main sport that I played and now coach. Both of my parents have been very supportive of me throughout my growing up and even as a professional, they have been able to teach me a lot. I’ve been able to learn from them, and they’ve been able to help me along in my career as well. 

LG: What has been a highlight of your summer?

ZL: The highlight of my summer is spending time with my kids and being able to have some downtime and go on vacation with them. 

LG: What is your favorite sport after soccer?

ZL: That’s a tough one. I really don’t play or watch a lot of sports other than soccer. Maybe tennis. I like watching tennis on TV, and I played tennis in high school also.

LG: What is your idea of the perfect day?

ZL: Outside of coaching soccer, I really love spending time with family. So being able to spend some time with my kids and having fun with them is really the perfect day for me. 

LG: What one word best describes you?

ZL: Gosh, I’ve not thought about that before. I would say passionate. I try to do things that I’m really passionate about and that I enjoy doing, and I try to bring a lot of enthusiasm to the things that I do. 

LG: Thank you for doing this!

ZL: Thank you so much, Lily. It was my pleasure!