On Sept. 5, women’s soccer co-head coach Tari St. John reached her 200th career win with a hard-fought 2-1 win over St. Thomas. The first half ended tied 1-1, and in the 86th minute of the match, redshirt sophomore forward Riley Gumm scored the go-ahead goal to secure the win.
Heading into this match, St. John was unaware of the milestone she was close to reaching. However, the players and other coaches knew.
“I was happy about the game already,” St. John said. “I suppose in some ways it’s sort of nice that 200 [wins] is associated with that particular game and this particular team.”
Hitting that milestone offers a point of reflection for St. John. All 200 wins were at Butler; she did not hop around from school to school to acquire them. Instead, St. John has stayed committed to building Butler’s program up to what it is today.
“I am a big fan of reflection,” St. John said. “Being able to think about things like who I was at win number one versus who I am today, and all of the coaches and players that have been a part of those 200 [has] been a nice reflective thing to have over these last few days.”
St. John joined the Butler women’s soccer program as head coach in 2006, after spending two years as an assistant coach with the Bulldogs and one year as an assistant coach with her alma mater, Purdue.
St. John’s four years of experience playing soccer as a midfielder at Purdue are noteworthy. She started in 71 of her 73 appearances and was a two-year captain. In her final year, she assisted the only goal in a 1-0 win over No. 9 Michigan to give the Boilermakers their first win over a top-10 opponent. She also led the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance. She concluded her collegiate career with nine goals and nine assists.
After graduating from Purdue in 2002, St. John pursued a short career as a public accountant. However, working 70 hours a week did not leave any time for coaching, and she missed being on the field.
“It was so crushing not to have that camaraderie,” St. John said. “That [feeling] of someone [being] there to pick you up and me to pick them up [too].”
Her time away from soccer was very short-lived. She joined the Dawgs’ coaching staff in 2003 as an assistant coach, and has continued to coach since then.
St. John’s partner in crime, co-head coach Rob Alman, has many years of coaching experience at all different levels of soccer. Through these experiences, he learned many valuable lessons from players and coaches alike. However, what he learned from St. John is unique.
“She is very intuitive in terms of what the group needs,” Alman said. “Tari is better than any coach that I’ve ever worked with on just reading [the players].”
Heading into practice, the coaching staff has a plan of execution for the day. Once the players get to the field, though, St. John is able to make adjustments and pivot the plan on the spot. She would rather change the plans to suit the team in the moment than stick to what the coaches had previously scheduled.
Being able to read team needs is another reason St. John has found success with the Bulldogs. Focusing on player development helped build a foundation for the squad.
“This program has been steeped in a very, very strong tradition of player development through the years,” Alman said. “Tari just pours right into that box.”
The team is built with the goal of developing players, not looking to sign the highest-ranked high school players, or the biggest names in the transfer portal. They look to recruit girls who are willing to grow as players and people. Junior midfielder Chloe Brecht transferred from Pittsburgh to Butler her sophomore year. The coaching drew her to Butler.
“[The coaches] really emphasized developing players,” Brecht said. “I think that was something that really drew me in because they saw the potential that the players had, rather than just bringing in talent.”
A part of player development for St. John is creating personal connections with her players outside of soccer. She conducts biweekly meetings with the girls where she asks about their academics, personal lives and all things both soccer-related and otherwise.
“She doesn’t just think about players [on a] surface level as soccer players, but rather [as] people overall,” Brecht said. “[The coaches] care about my academics too, and my life after [soccer].”
Brecht emphasized the importance these meetings have on the team’s confidence. Having the opportunity to create deep, personal connections with the coaching staff gives players an outlet to grow and learn. They play with more confidence on the field because they know they can take a risk and learn from it.
“[St. John] points [out things] that are positive,” Brecht said. “I think that’s really important because as athletes, we are very hard on ourselves. So having a coach who will recognize those good things and encourage that [is important]. That’s one of the things that I really like about Coach [St. John]. She [also] talks about our personal lives [and] not just soccer. The good relationship I have with her as a person just helps me perform better.”
The best way to describe St. John is a servant leader. Instead of seeking recognition from the media for her accomplishments, St. John credits everything to her staff and players. Team success is more important than personal success in her eyes.
“I’m serving [the team],” St. John said. “I’m helping them in whatever way I can find for them to be the best version of themselves out on the soccer field.”
The Dawgs are 5-2-1 overall and on a four-game winning streak. St. John now holds 203 wins to her name, but a win record is not the finish line.
“If [200 wins] was something that I was really striving for,” St. John said. “I think I’d miss the point of why I do what I do and have been doing for so many years.”