19-year-old to coach local varsity soccer team

Alex Zubler is by far the youngest boys’ soccer coach in Centre County.

But at 19 years old, Zubler is excited about the opportunity to help Grace Prep grow.

Zubler was recently on the team himself. He played for the Storm in 2014 and 2015, and in fact, some of the players he’s coaching were once his teammates.

“I know a bit about how the school works, and how they run their soccer program,” Zubler said.

The Storm, 4-3-1 last year, lose a key player in Changjae Chung, but return a couple of key letterwinners — Joshua Mikhail and David Weaver.

Zubler expects Mikhail to be a prime attacking option, while Weaver will use his speed and strength in the middle of the field.

“(Mikhail is) going to be our lead goalscorer, and really most of our offense up front,” the coach said. “David does a really good job controlling the midfield.”

As for expectations, Zubler isn’t hoping his team hits a certain win total, but rather wants to see constant improvement throughout the year.

“I don’t expect to come out and have an undefeated season or anything,” Zubler said. “I just really want the guys to come out and work hard. ... Possess the ball better than we’ve done in the past to control the game more, and I think that alone will give us the upper hand in a lot of games.”

This story was originally published August 29, 2016 at 3:41 PM with the headline "19-year-old to coach local varsity soccer team."