As the MSU men’s soccer team searches for a new goalkeeper for the upcoming season after losing three-year-starter and senior Zach Bennett, the team will do so with a new goalkeeper coach, as Bret Mollon was named the volunteer assistant coach for the upcoming season.
Mollon replaced Paul Gilbert, who left MSU to become the head coach at Lubbock Christian University. Mollon brings with him a life of experience as a goalkeeper, from youth soccer all the way through his collegiate soccer career, where he played at Oakland University his freshman year before transferring to Temple University to finish out his eligibility.
At Temple, Mollon served as a captain his senior year and finished his career with a .80 goals against average – a school record. He ranks second all-time at Temple with 25 career wins, completing 21 shutouts during his Temple career. Mollon also tied the Temple all-time record for shutouts in a season in 2008 when he recorded nine.
Mollon said he was very excited to return to Michigan after a successful stint as an assistant goalkeepers coach at Coastal Carolina University. In 2013, his first season with Coastal Carolina, the team’s goalkeepers set the school and conference record for shutouts in a season with 12, and the team won the Big South Championship in his second season in 2014.
“I kind of always wanted to get back into Michigan,” Mollon said. “This is where my family is from, this is where I grew up and just the Michigan soccer scene is something that I really believe in, with the development and how they develop players to go to the college ranks and then on to the pros. So I just really have a passion for the state of Michigan and soccer in the state.”
Mollon made the preseason team for the United Soccer League’s Harrisburg City Islanders as one of seven goalkeepers the team brought in for the preseason. While Mollon didn’t make the final roster, he said he learned a lot through the process and uses some of the things he learned in his coaching.
MSU head coach Damon Rensing said Mollon’s experience with the goalkeeper position really stuck out to him when searching for a new volunteer assistant coach as the primary responsibility of the position is to train the goalkeepers.
“So you look at the programs (the candidates) come from – Shaun Docking does a good job over (at Coastal Carolina), their program’s done well,” Rensing said. “Second, he has state of Michigan ties, he’s familiar with our program, with our culture – he’s got family that went here. ... Then third, he’s very good at training goalkeepers and that is a specific requirement that we need in the volunteer position. And when I look at his goalkeeping experience and track-record, where he’s from, his knowledge of Michigan State athletics and our program, and then his coaching experience, it was a pretty easy decision.”
MSU sophomore goalkeeper Philip Stair said Mollon has a very different coaching style than their previous coach, which has helped them to become more all-around goalkeepers.
Stair said where Gilbert focused more on technical training of proper form and use of hand, Mollon is more of a fitness-oriented coach, working to make sure the goalkeepers are as quick and prepared as they can be, for any situation.
“Bret is a very, he likes to condition us, which is good,” Stair said. “He’s a very fast-paced goalkeeper coach. He likes to challenge us and work us hard. Whereas Paul was technical, like, work on form, work on hands. Where Bret’s more like a raw goalkeeper coach where he likes to kind of make things a lot more game realistic, which helps.”
Stair is currently competing with fellow sophomore goalkeeper Jimmy Hague and freshman goalkeeper Zach Kovan. Mollon said all three of the goalkeepers have performed well so far this spring and he expects it to be a very competitive competition for the starting position.
Hague said goalkeeper conditioning is much different than that of field players. He said goalkeeper conditioning focuses on preparing the goalie for the 10-second bursts of action when they will be most needed by going through cone quickness drills and getting up quickly after diving to make a save.
Rensing said one thing he has noticed about Mollon thus far is how observant he is. Rensing said Mollon tries to not step on any toes, but when he is asked for his thoughts, Mollon is very insightful and has strong points.
Rensing said the volunteer assistant coach is one that is changed about every two-to-four years as the coaches are offered full-time assistant or even head coaching jobs at other schools. Rensing said as Mollon gets more comfortable with the team, his role will expand.
“I think as he gets more comfortable with how we do things, there will be more roles he can take on,” Rensing said. “Whether it’s in the office, on campus recruiting as he starts to get to know our program - obviously he can’t do off campus recruiting by NCAA rules - but on-campus recruiting I think he can continue to help out with when we do camps and clinics. Video analysis, he can help with that because he’s got a good knowledge.”
Mollon said his time at MSU has been great so far and he is looking forward to bringing his knowledge of the goalkeeper position to MSU and working to find the right goalkeeper to lead MSU into the upcoming season.
Mollon said his experience has really helped him to connect with the goalkeepers at MSU and he hopes his past experiences can help them be even more successful.
“I’ve had a lot more experience than the guys that are playing right now,” Mollon said. “So I can kind of read things a little bit differently, I kind of know what works and what doesn’t. And just going through training I kind of go through all the things I did growing up, with the goalkeepers now.”
