“I was looking for a place where I could stabilize and build a program long term” Coach Jeb Booth explains why he chose to coach at Fitchburg State University. Booth has been the head women’s soccer coach here at FSU for five years now and he is coaching his fourth season. Before coming to FSU, he was an assistant coach at Framingham State University, where he noticed many changes in the coaching staff at FSU and it motivated him to come and build a program of his own.
When asked what his favorite part about coaching is he said “Building a relationship with the players” and further explained he and his team “genuinely enjoy each other’s company, have a lot of laughs, and work hard” He also said another one of his favorite parts about coaching is watching his players grow as they go through school and become “strong people”
Coach Booth said if he had to describe his time here at FSU in one word it would be “Grateful”. He went on to say “I am grateful for the experience, grateful for the opportunity, I am grateful for the players, past and present” And that they have allowed him to grow as a person and a coach throughout the years.
Booth also claimed his best advice for student athletes was “to learn how to manage the voice in your head” he added that “we need to learn how to put the voice of our best friend in our heads” he believes this helps players to avoid getting down on themselves over mistakes and staying positive throughout the course of a game.
Last season the FSU women’s soccer team had a 10-7-3 record landing the third seed in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s soccer playoffs. The Falcons eventually made it to the MASCAC championship but fell short to Westfield State.
When asked if their goal is to make it to the championship again he claimed “Our goal is always to win the championship” and went on to say he likes to separate his goals from his aspirations, and that his “aspirations are things we can’t control but we desire” and to reach that aspiration of winning a MASCAC championship the goal must be to “learn to work really hard, persist, overcome obstacles, do the best they can no matter what, and play good soccer” and if they can reach those goals then they will reach their aspirations of winning a MASCAC championship.
The FSU women’s soccer team is currently fourth in the MASCAC standings as they look to make the playoffs again as they seek the MASCAC title. They have 6 games remaining in their regular season with four of those against conference opponents, so the Falcons will look to finish out strong with hopes of bringing a MASCAC title back to Fitchburg this year.
