Pull Back the Plaid Curtain on Head Women’s Soccer Coach Yon Struble

Get to know head women’s soccer coach Yon Struble in this addition of "Pull Back the Plaid Curtain!"

1. What drew you to being a coach – why the path to intercollegiate athletics?

There are too many factors to list here but I’d have to say the biggest influences were my parents, my soccer background, and degrees in education (undergrad and grad). My mom is a strong, self-made business woman and my dad is a hardworking man that was my coach throughout my younger playing years. They both taught me valuable lessons on commitment, grit, team and the value of going after your dream. Soccer has been a strong influence on everything I’ve done in life. At a young age, I aspired to play professional soccer and while I did so at a very low level (wasn’t buying a yacht with the money if you know what I’m saying) I quickly realized my passion was in coaching which went hand in hand with education.

2. What is your favorite memory during your time at Carnegie Mellon?

There are actually two; the first being in 2012 when the program made the NCAA Tournament for the first time and going all the way to the Elite 8 and of course this year when we made it to the Final Four! 2019 Final Four Coverage Page

3. Who has been the most influential person in your career?

My parents. I’ve had a lot of amazing soccer mentors that I have had an honor to work with in some capacity (Zlatar, Speck, Martelli, Campisi, Strosberg, DeCesare, Bundy, Nardiello, Swanson, Raab, Dorrance) that have taught me so many different things about the game, on and off the field. But, ultimately everything I do for my teams and players I work with is based upon the foundation I was raised upon.

4. What was sports like while you were growing up – how do you think it’s changed?

Growing up, soccer was just starting to become popular in the late 70’s. Trying to watch soccer on TV consisted of watching fuzzy World Cup games or the Bundesliga replays in the afternoons. We had very little access to watch soccer, but I was lucky enough to see the Cosmos play before the NASL fell apart (wish I had appreciated that more). Most coaches were gym teachers or dads (I had both) that learned as they went along. If you were lucky, your coach was from England or Italy and had actually seen a game that wasn’t high school soccer. ODP was huge then and it was a really big deal to be on a State Team. But, it was very difficult to make the team because all training was 5+ hours away from where I lived. I had to leave school early on Wednesday’s to travel the five hours to Long Island to train. In Eastern New York, the best players were coming from New York City where their ethnicity played a huge role in their passion for the game. We “upstaters” were considered “farmers” or “country folk” because we lived in upstate New York. Needless to say, I learned a lot from ODP and the players around me. Club teams were very different. It was almost unheard of for someone to travel outside of their township to play for another club. I went to Niskayuna High School, played for Niskayuna Soccer Club and all of my friends and teammates went to school with one another! It was like that everywhere. Finally, we didn’t travel like the kids do now. We pretty much stayed in state to compete. Spending the night for a tournament was a really big deal! Now, it’s not a tournament if you don’t stay overnight!

5. What is the most memorable athletic event you have witnessed / been a part of outside of Carnegie Mellon Athletics?

Coaching the United States Deaf National Team to a gold medal at the 2013 the Deaflympics in Sofia, Bulgaria. We beat Russia in the championship game for the second time in two years. We had beat Russia the year prior in the World Deaf Football Championships in Ankara, Turkey. Athletics Story

6. What is one thing that no one knows about you?

I collect things.

For other department member responses, visit Pull Back the Plaid Curtain.