Daniel Worley has spent the last four years preparing Ashworth Middle soccer players for the high school level at Gordon Central.

Now, Worley will get the chance to see what kind of job he did with those players.

Worley was recently named the new Gordon Central boys soccer coach, as he takes over for Sean McDermott.

He comes to Gordon Central from Ashworth where he has taught and coached soccer for four years.

He is a 1999 graduate of Calhoun High School so he knows a lot about the local soccer landscape.

The Calhoun Times recently caught up with Worley to talk about his new gig, how he plans on taking the program to the next level and his coaching philosophies, among other things.

Here’s what he had to say:

CT: What was your immediate interest in the job when you first found out it was coming open?

Worley: One reason I wanted to take it was because I had coached most of those guys before, and we’ve had some really good teams at the middle school level. I’m excited to see how they’ve progressed and looking forward to coaching them again. I’m really excited to be back with those guys. I feel like we needed someone to step up to build a solid program, and between the middle school and high school since I have my hands in both areas, I think it will be a good fit.



CT: What were your first feelings or emotions when you got the word that you had gotten the job?

Worley: Well, (I thought) it’s time to get to work. I immediately put some plans in place, talking to some other coaches I’ve had in the past. I’m just ready to start building a program. We need to build programs, not just teams, and that’s what I’m planning on doing. I want to also provide more opportunities for the youth, elementary school or middle school kids, through clinics and other opportunities for them to learn the sport. Hopefully, they’ll grow to love the sport, which will eventually help build a solid program.

CT: What are some of your coaching philosophies?

Worley: Our principal at the middle school tells us to have high expectations for our students, and I think that carries over to our athletes too. So I have the highest expectations for this program this year and in the future. We might as well start with a goal of a state championship. That’s about as high a goal as you can have so that’s where we’re headed right now.

CT: What do you think it’s going to take to build a strong program with some consistency?

Worley: It’s going to take having the relationship with our feeder schools. Elementary, middle and high school has got to be one solid unit to build a solid program. We don’t just want to have a good team from time to time. We need to work toward being an annual powerhouse in the region. In the past, Gordon Central has had some really good teams, but the whole consistency thing hasn’t been there. We’ve got to start at the elementary schools and keep it going through middle school. Then, by the time they get to high school, it should be a well-oiled machine.

CT: What are your expectations for your first year?

Worley: I’ve already spoken to some of the players, and they’re just as excited as I am to start the year. The team didn’t graduate any seniors last year so it’s an experienced team I’m stepping into. I have very high expectations for this year. We should be a region contender even though we’ve moved up to Class AAA.

CT: What are some things you want your players to know about you as a coach?

Worley: They’ve pretty much all played for me at one point in time so most of them know what to expect. They know I care about them. For example, I really want to work toward getting them some college scholarships. I think that should be one of the main priorities of high school coaches. They know that I care and I’m going to do everything that I can to advance them to the next level, and in turn, I expect them to do everything within their power to get to that next level.