New Shaler girls soccer coach Wilkins thinking outside the box

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, July 12, 2018 | 10:51 PM

Craig Wilkins sees positives as he preps to takes over as the head coach of the Shaler girls soccer team. The makeup of the roster has the first-time varsity head coach excited for the challenge.

“I think this team and this group of girls is ready to take the next step,” Wilkins said. “We have nine seniors coming back. It’s a veteran team.”

Having a team loaded with experience will be important for a program that has struggled to find its footing. Over the past five seasons, the Titans have compiled a 5-49-2 record in section matches. Shaler finished 6-11 last season with a 1-9 mark in section.

Coaching Shaler was the only position Wilkins, a Shaler Township resident, was interested in. He replaced Chris Catanese at the helm.

Looking back isn’t something the Titans are going to engage in.

“You can’t change the past, and we have a tough section,” Wilkins said. “Shaler can be challenged from a numbers perspective sometimes. I feel like we have great quality if we don’t always have the quantity.”

Wilkins, who is 47 and a 1989 Penn-Trafford graduate, was an assistant with the boys program a few seasons and has a son who will be a senior on the boys’ team.

To help with team building, Wilkins encouraged his players to do cross-training this summer. They took boxing fitness classes.

It was an eye-raiser when Wilkins proposed the idea.

“It’s a little bit of a change,” Wilkins said. “At first, I got a few looks like coach what are you thinking? They did the introductory sessions, and the girls had a blast. The workouts are a lot of cardio, along with punching. I wanted the girls to go three days a week and some of them have been going to extra sessions.”

Being creative and trying to think outside the box has been part of Wilkins’ plan.

He wants to try and bring his own perspective to the program and help Shaler make the transition to a WPIAL playoff contender.

“It’s always tough with teenage kids,” Wilkins said. “Those kids need to know you are personally invested in them. They have to know you want to make them into a better player and a better person. When you invest time in them, you have no problem getting maximum effort.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.