Union Coaching Appointment Feature

AC Lang hasn’t been on a proper soccer pitch in about six months. But the anticipation building as Lang envisions her return is an uplifting feeling following a year of disappointment. The former captain of the Guelph Gryphons’ women’s program is preparing to take on a new and somewhat familiar role – as player/coach of the Guelph Union, League 1 Ontario’s newest team.

The 25-year-old Toronto native has lots of soccer left in her. Being a central figure with the Union will keep her playing career going, while also providing the opportunity to build on coaching skills.

“The words that come to mind right away are ‘grateful’ and ‘excited,’” she says of the chance ahead of her to perform and showcase the leadership that was a definitive trait in leading the Gryphons to an OUA championship back in 2017. “It’s surprisingly hard to find opportunities to play after you’re done university. So just being able to be involved on the playing side, it’s a huge opportunity to not have to hang up the boots. Some of my Gryphon teammates are already retired at this point. So I’m glad to keep playing.

“And I love Guelph. It’s always been a welcoming place that’s had a big impact on my personal development. Being back in this community means a lot to me because I had so many wonderful years here.”

Lang will be in familiar territory when she takes on the dual Union role for what will hopefully be a full League 1 season. She will work beside the new head coach Onkar Dhillon, who arrived at the U of G as an assistant the very season that Lang was a first-year player. They have been part of the same sides for six straight years and both hope to bring a new approach to coaching after having served in the Gryphon program under Shayne Campbell.

Dhillon is thankful for being entrusted with the position and energized about the prospects for the Union.

“One of the things we are looking to do is disrupt the thinking of what makes a normal coaching staff as it pertains to senior women,” says Dhillon, a Mississauga native, who attended York University. “We’re going to have a larger staff and take a much more collaborative approach to remove barriers for these players. There’s not a lot that we’re going to teach them about the game so we will teach them how to play in our team and our system, how we think we can break down opponents.

“Phase one of AC’s task is to take a fresh, new look at coaching staff compositions. We will have a number of interesting positions, like player development, advanced analytics, goalkeeping, advisory positions, special player development projects, and other types of assistance.

“We’re excited to announce more on that in the coming weeks.”

The combination of expertise between Lang and Dillon gives the Union a great foundation. Dhillon admits he wasn’t the best player in his day – “terrible” is how he actually puts it. But he had a coach who was keenly aware of his ability to see the game. Dhillon began coaching at 20 and now has 18 years of touchline experience, including stops at Brock University, Guelph, and the North Mississauga Soccer Club. He and Lang also having some experience together with this concept of sharing the coaching work while also competing on the pitch.

Lang, a fierce and vocal midfielder while captaining the Gryphons, is just beginning her coaching journey. She is young enough to relate to what players are experiencing, suggesting she feels very much aware of what they will need. She notes that she has never had a female coach and is committed to making a difference in her leadership position.

“The fact that I’ve had recent experience playing gives me that good insight,” Lang says. “It’s one of our highest priorities to make sure the coaching staff is representative of the players on the team and in touch with what they need to succeed on and off the field.

“A lot of decisions are made about women’s soccer without any women involved. I’m looking forward to being a woman that can help shape our processes and outcomes.”

Lang has learned much more about the barriers in women’s soccer not only through her own experience seeing her peers leave the game but also working with Guelph Soccer’s general manager Sara Orrell. More girls have dropped out of soccer during the pandemic than boys, in part because they participate for different reasons. She hopes to change both trends.

Lang is also part of the League 1 player advisory group. When it became clear that they couldn’t have a 2020 season because of the pandemic, the focus shifted to off-the-pitch work. Players began a poster campaign to raise money for women in the league to obtain their Pre-C and C coaching licenses. The posters featured Canadian national team stars Kadeisha Buchanan, a four-time winner of the Champions League with French giant Olympic Lyonnais, and midfielder Jessie Fleming, a new signing for Chelsea FC of the FA Women’s Super League.

“The reason we decided to sell posters was a dual purpose,” says Lang. “The posters are up in girls’ rooms and hopefully, we can inspire them by putting some awesome athletes up on their walls. Then the money from those posters is actually going towards getting some role models for them on the field. We were lucky we're able to achieve that goal.

“Now, there's going to be 40 players around the league who are able to take part in that course at no cost, which is really exciting.”

That work to lift the women’s game will continue. For Lang and Dhillon, fortifying the Union will be the main priority in the months ahead. Dhillon says that stylistically, they will take their cues from the time under Coach Campbell at Guelph, especially considering that there will be several Gryphon players in the mix.

“If you’ve watched Guelph matches, the style is very much about adaptability,” says Dhillon. “We will look to produce our goals in a multitude of ways. And we will look to defend together.

“We want to work with players, not only on who they are today, but who they want to be. We want to get in the players’ heads about what kind of footballers they want to become and how we can incorporate that in our tactics. To help the players grow in their game, we’re going to adapt, as well.”

Just the idea of competition after this long year off is exciting for all of the Union staff. Even when Lang was on the field back in September, it was for distance training.

“It's been really hard,” she says. “For a lot of athletes who are used to coping with difficult things with sport, me included, it's been an isolating year, a tough year. So hopefully, we'll be able to get back on the field. Even if there's not a season, we have very ambitious plans to play every week when possible. Even if that's just intra-squad friendlies, that's going to be a really high level of play.

“So we're definitely going to be on the field. And I hope that our presence inspires women and girls in Guelph.”