William Allgeier said he has been inspired by the words of Marcelo Bielsa: “A man with new ideas is a madman, until his ideas triumph.”
Allgeier, hired in May to become only the fourth person to take over the Sunny Hills girls soccer program, said he first heard of this statement eight years ago. He was watching “Take Us Home,” an Amazon Prime series about England’s Leeds Football Club, and it featured Bielsa, a widely known professional football manager.
Since that moment in 2016 when he worked as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Brea Olinda High School, he said he has adopted this saying into his own coaching style to stay motivated when his approach as a leader is questioned or criticized.
“As a coach, you’re going to have ideas that people don’t believe in, or maybe they think differently,” the head coach said. “And you’re going to look like a crazy person at first, but to really sell your concepts and principles to people, you have to work for results.”
And for Allgeier, those results have spanned 10 years of coaching experience in boys soccer and girls club soccer, reaching the CIF Division 3 regional final in 2023 as an assistant at El Dorado High School in Placentia and ending the season with an overall 21-4-3 record.
As head coach of the Strikers FC North club team, he guided the boys squad to a 7-1 record in the 2023-2024 season.
Though Allgeier’s only experience coaching girls soccer was when he did a two-month stint as a coach’s sub for 17- to 18-year-olds in Placentia for Strikers North FC – now known as SC Blues – his overall success was what impressed athletic director Paul Jones when he was reviewing applications for the job, left vacant when AJ Arenas announced his decision to step down.
“Allgeier coached [as an assistant] at El Dorado High School, which is a very good program,” Jones said. “Our boys team has had many great battles against [El Dorado] in the past as coach Allgeier was a part of their staff.”
ALLGEIER AND HIS ALL-FOR-ONE FAMILY APPROACH
Another key factor to the coach’s philosophy concerns his focus on the culture he has built in the programs he’s overseen or worked as an assistant.
“I prioritize creating a culture that is not just a winning culture, but it’s essentially a caring and a fun culture to where all the girls feel included,” Allgeier said. “We don’t have guidelines where [players] have to be best friends, but they need to be respectful to one another because we are one big family.”
That perspective is something that co-captain senior Gwen Hennessy, a center back, has seen develop from summer practices to now.
“It’s definitely getting to a point where I can say we are [family],” said Hennessy, who joined the Lady Lancers as a freshman. “Everyone simply gets along so well with each other; we all care about one another and have each other’s backs.”
That unity came to the forefront in a Dec. 3 road game against Woodbridge High School in Irvine. Down 2-0 in the first 15 minutes of the first half, the Lady Lancers stormed back and ended the non-league matchup in a 3-3 tie.
“We tell each other to keep our heads up [even when losing]. … We use the saying, ‘Let it go,’ if a goal was given up,” said junior Madison Balkus, another of the captains who plays center mid/back.
In keeping with such a positive culture, Allgeier said he also sees himself as the kind of coach who gives constructive criticism to his players.
“I don’t like to be too negative but at times I like to be negative and positive,” said the head coach, who started playing soccer in Kindergarten and held the title of varsity captain for two years for Brea Olinda’s boys soccer team before moving on to captain the Whittier College team in his junior and senior years. “That way, it’s a bit more constructive and not just all negative, which can really hurt a player’s demeanor and confidence; whereas, we want them to be confident.”
Hennessy said she characterizes Allgeier as deeply understanding.
“He was a soccer player once, too, so he knows what the team is experiencing,” she said. “He is willing to make difficult decisions, but it is all for the betterment of the team.”
FROM COACHING BOYS TO GIRLS
In more than half a year’s time that Allgeier has worked here, he said he has learned to adapt to developing an all-female squad.
“There’s pros and cons between [coaching both boys and girls], but I genuinely think there’s more pros to coaching girls than there are boys,” the new coach said. “[Girls] are far better listeners as to where I’m finding myself not having to win an argument with a male player; whereas, I’m explaining different things in various ways to females.”
Nevertheless, he doesn’t discount the similarities of both genders on the field.
“Both genders’ emotions get involved for sure when the competitiveness takes over,” Allgeier said. “People naturally want to win and succeed.”
Another way to adjust to coaching an all-girls squad has been through his reaching out to the second person to coach the Lady Lancers, social science teacher and last year’s CIF Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Gordon.
“I probably talk to him daily in person; if not, I text him once or twice a week. … I don’t know if it helps that we’re both Brea Olinda [graduates], but he has definitely looked out for me even prior to my hiring,” Allgeier said. “Mr. Gordon is a fountain of knowledge, and he’s always willing to offer his help.
“I aspire to be a coach that has his success and work ethic.”
The Lady Lancers’ new leader was referring to Gordon’s record in his 32 years of guiding the girls soccer program and leading teams to three CIF-Southern Section championship titles, 19 Freeway League championships and 22 tournament titles.
As the Lady Lancers will enter a new conference this season because of CIF’s releaguing, Allgeier said he hopes to establish a new legacy with this change.
“I want to win a certain amount of league titles and CIF championships,” he said. “My goal is to win at least three to four CIFs and hopefully double-digit league titles by the time I’m done here at Sunny Hills.”
So far in his rookie season as head coach, Allgeier’s first squad is on its way toward the kind of success he’s shooting for. As of Friday, Dec. 6, the Lady Lancers remain undefeated with two wins and a tie in non-league play with their first league game on the road on Thursday, Jan. 2, against Foothill High School in Tustin.
Hennessy said she’s been impressed with her teammates’ performance on the field.
“I think it’s an amazing start so far since this is a brand new team with more newcomers than returners, and we have a whole new coaching staff,” she said. “Coach [Allgeiers] is doing an amazing job in my opinion, especially since we haven’t lost yet.”
A third co-captain, senior Lauren Won, agrees.
“I think our record is a good start to [leading us] to the league and CIF [titles],” said Won, a winger and attacking midfielder. “What caused us these results is our chemistry and grit to work together and come back when we are down.”
Jones said he has seen that Allgeier is adjusting well.
“You never know how a coach will adjust, going from coaching boys primarily to girls, but he has done a great job of building the team, bringing a positive culture and getting the girls to play well together,” he said. “He has adjusted very well to being a Lancer and coming to the Hills every day to work and be the best that he can be.”
SEEING COACHING AS A PRIVILEGE
Being only the fourth head coach of the girls soccer program in 43 years has also caused Allgeier to see his role here as a privilege.
“It’s not a job that is taken lightly by any means, but it comes with a prestigious honor to be the head coach here,” he said.
Under the pressure of following the footsteps of the previous head coaches who have shaped this team into what it is today, Allgeier said he tries to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
“I try not to necessarily feel pressure,” he said. “I’m a teacher and a coach here at Sunny Hills; life could be far worse, and I could be struggling to feed my family.”
Consequently, Allgeier lives by one personal philosophy: to never give up.
“It can be very difficult to stay motivated [as a coach] if you have been working for like 20 years without winning any title or some sort of trophy, but you have to stay pushing,” he said.
