For many, landing a dream job is all about timing.
Duke head coach Robbie Church, in his 11th season with the Blue Devils, knows that better than anyone.
“One of the neat things is this is my dream job, no question about it,” Church said. “I feel like the luckiest person in the world.”
Church’s career, with over 300 victories as a head coach at the college level—over 200 of those in women’s soccer—took many turns along the way. But were it not for some fortuitous timing, Church might have never even kicked a soccer ball.
Growing up in Greensboro, amid the traditional culture of American sports, Church happened to go to a school with soccer goals on the playground. And his soccer background was furthered by the formation of the first recreational soccer program in Greensboro, by none other than the family of his best friend.
“It’s the timing,” Church said. “The elementary school that I went to just happened to play soccer at recess, and…my friend’s mom just happened to start the recreation department in Greensboro, the first soccer ever played in Greensboro.”
Church also grew up with a passion for basketball, but it was soccer that he played growing up and throughout his four years in high school. After starting his collegiate soccer career at Appalachian State, Church transferred to Pfeiffer, a Division-II school in Morrisville, N.C.
It was here that Church realized that professional soccer might be out of reach.
“At that point, like everybody, you want to play professional soccer,” he said. “Somewhere along the line, I realized I was a little bit too slow to do that.”
His passion for the sport forced him to explore other options to remain involved after graduation, leading him to enroll in a national coaching course held at the University of South Carolina.
“I enjoy the game and love the game and I wanted to stay involved in the game and in athletics,” Church said. “My next avenue was to go into coaching.”
Church began his coaching career as an assistant for the men’s team at the South Carolina Upstate, then known as USC-Spartanburg, where his roommate at the coaching course was the head coach. From there, Church moved on to East Carolina as head coach of the men’s team, where he had to work at Pizza Hut to make ends meet. He eventually landed an opportunity to work at Duke as an assistant coach under John Rennie.
After a year, Church left to pursue head coaching duties at Belmont Abbey and was replaced by Bill Hempen, who started the women’s soccer program at Duke two years later.
He later began his career in women’s soccer at the college level at UNC-Charlotte before coaching at Vanderbilt and finally returning to the Blue Devils to succeed Hempen.
Church has no doubt he made the right decision entering women’s soccer, but he did have to adjust to the women’s game.
“The biggest difference... is communication,” Church said. “I think sometimes when you’re addressing the whole team or different players, you have to be really specific in the women’s game. Sometimes in the women’s game when you’re criticizing in general, the women will think, ‘You’re talking to me,’ but in the men’s game they’ll think you’re talking to the next person.”
His players certainly appreciate that approach.
“He’ll tell you exactly what he thinks and why he thinks that,” Carolyn Ford, who played under Church before graduating in 2006, said. “If you’re doing something wrong, he’ll definitely tell you, which helps so much in your development as a player.”
Church, though, places more importance on developing quality people than winning soccer games.
Casey McCluskey, who graduated in 2005, is now an attorney and litigator in New York City. She cites playing under Church as a major influence in her life.
“Robbie specifically is the type of coach who can really push you to be your best,” McCluskey said. “He definitely helped me develop as a person and as a player.”
Ford, now a student at the Fuqua School of Business, also recalls the numerous opportunities to develop her skills playing under Church. She also highlights another important quality of Church, his personal touch.
“He’s incredibly passionate,” Ford said. “He cares so much about the players and his team beyond the soccer field. He wants all his players to do well in life and he’ll do whatever he can to make it happen.”
This year, Church is enjoying one of his most successful seasons. The team is off to the best start in its history at 12-1-1, sitting atop the ACC standings with a No. 4 national ranking.
While his determination, passion and skill have been important during his celebrated career, he knows that much of his life, including the fact he has his dream job today, was shaped by powers beyond his control.
“A lot is about timing in life,” Church said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.