Port gets 2-for-1 deal in new coach

Port Washington High School has a new but experienced coach to lead its boys’ and girls’ soccer programs.

Philip Nawrocki takes over both teams after being hired last month. He lives and breathes soccer.

“It’s in my blood,” he said. “My wife jokes that I don’t have any fad addictions or habits except I’m addicted to soccer.”

Nawrocki lives in Glendale but is familiar with Port Washington. He was an assistant coach with the Pirates’ North Shore Conference opponent Nicolet from 2007 to 2014 and again last season.

He has an array of coaching experience. Nawrocki coached with the Shorewood Soccer Club, ran soccer boot camps at Nicolet and coached preseason camps for boys and girls.

He coached boys and girls with the Bavarian Soccer Club from 2012 to 2018 and led fitness training for the club.

Nawrocki has run the Inter Northshore U14 boys, the Olympic Development Program and the first women’s majors team for the Milwaukee Brewers Soccer Club.

Nawrocki, a 2000 graduate of Nicolet, played soccer in high school and at Lake Forest College. He played majors for the Milwaukee Kickers, Mequon United, Bavarian and Palermo soccer clubs.

After Nawrocki tore his ACL in his right knee for the third time, “My wife informed me that I’m not a soccer player anymore,” he said.

That’s how Nawrocki got into coaching.

Besides Port, he is keeping other part-time coaching jobs and said he wants to coach soccer for a living.

“I’ve always been looking to move into full-time soccer,” he said. “I’ll be a busy guy but it’s what you need to do to make it in this profession.”

Being the head of both Port Washington programs, he said, was a good opportunity. Nawrocki gets to set the philosophy for the entire program.

Soccer itself, however, isn’t Nawrocki’s top focus when it comes to coaching.

“I don’t make great soccer players. I make great people who can play soccer,” he said.

Only 5% of high school soccer players will play in college, he said, and 1% play professionally.

“I’m really into teaching life skills. We’re really looking at what’s the next step after soccer in high school,” he said.

His coaching philosophy, he said, will remain consistent.

“I’m the type of coach who will teach our team to play our game and our opponents are going to have to keep up with us. A lot of coaches like to change their style, and I don’t like to do that,” he said.

Nawrocki said he will coach his players to use their heads before the rest of their bodies.

“One thing that I teach my players is, what’s the fastest thing on the soccer field? That’s your brain. What’s the next fastest? The soccer ball,” he said.

He also will pose questions to his teams: Who plays defense? Who plays offense? Who are the playmakers? Several will raise their hands for the first two and just a few for the third.

“The answer is everybody is on defense and everybody is on offense and everybody is a playmaker,” Nawrocki said.

Nawrocki knows Port Washington faces a challenge as one of the smallest schools in the conference and he plans to build the programs.

“I’m on a three-year plan with this school: Build program this year, get better results by next year and be a real contender by third year, and I think that’s realistic,” he said.

Nawrocki said he likes the positive attitude that Port High Athletic Director Thad Gabrielse brings, matching his own perspective.

“I believe in positivity and Thad is the same way,” he said.

Nawrocki is a former police officer in Bayside and has completed marathons, triathlons and trail runs. He and his wife have two daughters, ages 5 and 3.

Nawrocki replaces boys’ coach Sean O’Brien, who was with the program for the last 15 years and head coach for the last six seasons. He retired to spend more time with his family.

“For me, this was not an easy decision. I’m not one to make rash decisions. I thought about it for a long time,” O’Brien said.

Nawrocki replaces girls’ coach Eric Liebergen, who has been the Pirates’ coach since 2017. He coached Ozaukee before that and won four state titles.

“Coaches and players have probably said this phrase hundreds of times: ‘I can’t, I have soccer.’ I’ve said no to a lot of things over the years, and I wanted to start saying yes,” Liebergen said.

Liebergan plans to play adult league soccer, take a spring break trip, kayak and  bike more often and attend Green Bay Packers games.