Corbin Sees ‘A Lot of Opportunity’ at K-State

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Colleen Corbin sits inside the office of Kansas State Athletics Director Gene Taylor and dabs the corner of her left eye with a Kleenex. Corbin was announced as the second K-State women's soccer head coach in history on Monday. She comes to Manhattan from Saint Louis University, where she served as associate head coach. So much has happened over the past few days. And so much has happened since she first picked up a soccer ball at age 4.

It's amazing, really, how something so ordinary — a 4-year-old kicking a ball — can turn into something so extraordinary, and so Corbin dabs her eye over the enormity of it all, because this is a dream coming true, and a golden opportunity, and what she has waited for since those days coaching a U-10 team as a junior at Oregon State.

Corbin was the 2022 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year at Wyoming and spent the 2024 season as associate head coach at Saint Louis University.

Now, she is head coach at K-State, a Power 4 school.

Corbin, who is signed to a five-year contract, is a leader, she is a fighter, she is passionate about student-athletes, and she is passionate about winning.

"When everybody counts you out and nobody takes you seriously, I love that," she says. "I'm ready to show up and shock some people."

Now, here she is, preparing for her introductory news conference in the Vanier Family Football Complex.

But before any of that, she sits down at a table in Taylor's office and discusses her journey with K-State Sports Extra's D. Scott Fritchen.

D. Scott Fritchen: When and how did you first hear about the K-State opening and what attracted you to the K-State women's soccer program?

Colleen Corbin: I was contacted by the company that K-State had reached out to run the search and we were in the middle of postseason at Saint Louis University when I received the message, and honestly, I was a little distracted. I wasn't necessarily looking to leave Saint Louis. It's an incredible program, and I had just gotten there in March. I was still trying to bloom where my feet were, but as I continued to go through the process and have conversations, Manhattan, K-State, the athletic department and community — K-State checks a bunch of boxes as a human and as a coach. I love a college town. There's a lot of value for a student-athlete and for a coach. With it being a young program, there's still a lot of excitement and upward momentum that can be had, there are a lot of green flags. There's a lot of opportunity.

Fritchen: You have a proven track record of building and leading a championship program as evidenced by guiding Wyoming to a Mountain West Conference regular-season co-championship. How excited are you for this undertaking at K-State?

Corbin: There's a lot of opportunity, and I think there's resources in a place and a community that supports the program, which is huge, because it takes a village, it's not just me. Our student-athletes have to feel that there are people who want them to be successful, and there are people who are going to have their back when it's hard, because it will be, and it won't be giant rainbows every single day. There are going to be moments that are joyful and fun and exciting and there are others that are going to test us. Having a community within the athletic department and in Manhattan and in the state of Kansas, it's exciting. It's exciting to think about the opportunities we have to grow and be successful.

Fritchen: What are the first few orders of business you've either already addressed or plan to soon address as you take the initial steps as head coach of this K-State program?

Corbin: The first is just saying hi to the girls. There's a lot of anxiety for them when you lose a head coach, and you don't know the person who's being brought in to run your program. That can be scary. Last night, we had a team meeting, ordered some Qdoba and just tried to make it as comfortable and casual as we could. Then reaching out to our recruits, girls who have committed to K-State and trusted us with their future, so making sure I have those conversations, so I should be talking to those girls this weekend. Then other random logistical things that pop into your brain when you're laying down at night. For me, it's really about the people, making sure to meet people in the department, but really just getting my hands on the girls and making sure they know who I am and that they feel comfortable.

Fritchen: What did you learn most during your time as head coach at Wyoming?

Corbin: Wyoming is a pretty unique, special place. It's the only university in the state, so you're definitely representing something that is bigger than yourself. I do think in college athletics, there's a way bigger focus on things that maybe weren't as important five, 10 or 15 years ago. For me, the community and the belief that the Wyoming faithful have in their sports programs, I wanted to continue building something like that here within our fan base. I know how impactful that can be for our young women. It's hard to do, to get buy-in, but the best teams, the best programs understand the value of bringing other people in. I'm excited about that.

Fritchen: What did you learn most during your most recent stint as associate head coach at Saint Louis?

Corbin: It's an incredibly competitive program. Katie Shields, the head coach, is a very impactful leader. She's very intentional and thoughtful with how she approaches her culture, how she approaches her environment, and it's one of the things I admired about her the most from afar, so to be able to be in it and experience it, it was really eye-opening for me to feel like there are going to be opportunities where I'm going to have to trust my gut, and if we've built it culturally, we need to lean into that and press on it when things get hard, and to never shy away from the competitiveness. There needs to be a fearlessness and relentlessness to pursue winning, and that was one of the coolest parts of being in that program — we weren't afraid of anybody. We were ready to go up against whoever it was, and obviously, that was shown in our Round of 32 match against USC. We went up against a No. 1 seed on the road and took them head-to-head, 3-3 going into overtime, and then went down on a penalty kick. It was the most impressive performance I've seen from a group of young women just in terms of the belief that they had that they were going to walk out with a result. It was a really special experience.

Fritchen: Flip the page and now you're at K-State and these girls are really hungry to experience something like that. What are some thoughts you shared with them over Qdoba?

Corbin: We'll have those intense conversations about expectations, culture and mentality in the spring when we start back up in January. Last night was just about letting them know that I'm also a human. I like being outside, I have dogs, I didn't want it to feel like I'm just here to coach soccer and win games. To me, it's so much more about people, and I want them to know I'm just another person that wants to win. It was really me wanting to get to know them and I genuinely believe we're not going to be able to have success or compete at the highest level if as humans they don't feel like they're reaching their full potential. We're going to get the best performance from them as athletes if they feel that they're the best version of themselves as a human. So, that was last night.

DAY 1 @KStateSOC 💜⚽️#GoCats #EMAW pic.twitter.com/TJOEgoM72T
— Colleen Corbin (@colleen__corbin) December 5, 2024

Fritchen: What is your coaching philosophy?

Corbin: I want to create a space where our young women are being challenged. I don't think you grow unless you experience adversity. Things should be had. Things should be challenging and uncomfortable, but it should feel safe at the same time, you know? I want them to be decision makers, I want them to be creative, I want them to receive information on the field and make decisions. It shouldn't feel like I have to constantly spoon-feed information, and that comes down to our training environment. We as a staff have to create an environment where there's context. It's not just Point A to Point B. Then there's the mentality. We have to focus on being competitive and gritty and blue-collared because we're underdogs, whether we like it or not, we're going to be underdogs, so to show up every day and play that way is tough. Really pouring into the mentality is going to be huge for us.

Fritchen: Are you excited about the role of being the underdog?

Corbin: I love it. I love it. I played at Oregon State, and we were always the underdog in the Pac-12. When I was there, we ended up making three NCAA Tournament appearances and they haven't been back since. It was pretty unprecedented for our program to be in that position. Being able to be competitive in a space like that — at Wyoming, it was the same vibe, and Saint Louis is different because now they're a perennial powerhouse and win all the time — you've got nothing to lose as an underdog. When everybody counts you out and nobody takes you seriously, I love that. I'm ready to show up and shock some people.

Fritchen: Someone comes up to you and says, 'Get me a soccer player.' What are the characteristics you look for in a soccer player?

Corbin: It's a lot of the intangible things. Everyone, especially at this level, coaches go out and can pick out the best athlete. Everybody says, 'Wow, she's really fast,' or 'Wow, she's really strong,' or 'Wow, she can jump really high.' I try to place myself strategically when I'm watching games closer to the bench because I want to hear how they're interacting with their coaches and teammates. When things are hard, what does your body language look like? When you get substituted on the field, what does that interaction look like? It's about more than just soccer. It's more than being a good athlete. You have to have a mentality and belief in yourself but also in something bigger than yourself. That's hard to do. It's hard to get it right every time, but finding a human who's going to run through a brick wall and slide tackle to keep the ball out of the net, they're to leave their feet to make sure the ball goes in the goal, whatever it is, those are the pieces that are going to win us games in big moments.

Fritchen: How would you describe yourself as a soccer player during your playing days?

Corbin: It's funny thinking about it now being in a coaching role. I wasn't the most polished or developed player when I got to college. I hadn't had a really normal recruiting experience, and hadn't trained at a high level consistently, but I knew I was going to out-work everybody. I knew I was going to do the things nobody wanted to do, and show up early and stay late, and I probably ended up being better than I should've been because I was willing to do stuff other people weren't willing to do. I played goalkeeper and people talk about goalkeeper fitness and how goalkeepers maybe don't have to run as much as everybody else. That was one area I knew I could control as a goalkeeper, so I made it my mission to be the fittest one out there. I feel like I did a really good job controlling what I could control. I approached every game with gratitude because I knew it was going to be short-lived.

Fritchen: Growing up in La Canada, California, was soccer your first love growing up?

Corbin: Yes. I come from a basketball family. My dad played basketball at USC, my grandfather coached basketball at USC. Me having height, people thought that was my trajectory, but my parents will tell you that they put me in soccer because I had a lot of energy, and they thought me running around with my friends for an hour was a good idea. It worked out. I stuck with it. I started when I was 4 and here we are. I played a couple other sports, but basketball was one I didn't touch, which is pretty funny. I fell in love with soccer very early on.

Fritchen: You obviously had a great career at Oregon State and went on to play professionally for two years. At what point did you first think about becoming a coach and what drew you to this coaching profession?

Corbin: I actually started coaching my junior year in college. I was majoring in education at the time and the more I thought about leaving the sport the less excited I was. My junior year, I started coaching a local U-10 team in Corvallis and had an absolute blast. Some of those kids are married and have kids now, which is crazy. It was so fun for me to have space to pull from all my experiences and the people who'd impacted me and create a new space for young women who wanted to be competitive. I knew early on that I wanted to get into coaching as soon as my playing days were done. I was fortunate after I finished my last pro season, Keith West at Cal State Northridge took a chance on me. I cold called him from Baton Rouge, where I was living at the time. I saw he needed an assistant. I was 24 and gave him my background. Without an interview, he said, 'Why don't you come on down. It sounds like you'd be a great fit.' I moved to California and started coaching. I was very fortunate to have some impactful mentors who've helped me along the way.

Fritchen: You went on this journey and now you're here. Describe the last few days.

Corbin: Chaos is the word that comes to mind, making sure I'm intentional about wrapping up loose ends at Saint Louis. I want to make sure that's taken care of. You lay your head down at night and all of the sudden there are all these things that come flooding into your brain, like, 'What does the 2025 schedule look like?' and 'What does this part of the budget look like?' It's been awesome. I told our staff this morning that today is so special. These opportunities don't come around all the time. I'm very conscious of the fact that this is a very unique, incredible opportunity, and today I wanted to be really intentional about just being receptive, thoughtful, excited and grateful, and to just enjoy it, because I'm so happy to be here, and I don't want to look back next week and be like, 'Man, you just blew through those first couple days.' I'm just trying to be intentional about taking it all in.

Fritchen: From that first time you picked up a soccer ball to now, what have you learned most about yourself during your journey?

Corbin: (with tears in her eyes) It's not always easy, you know, and in coaching, there are so many coaches out there, and we want so badly that the young people that we're investing in to see in themselves what we see in them. To just have the opportunity to have worked with so many incredible leaders, teachers and mentors, and to have met so many incredible women who are strong, powerful, capable bad asses, that's why I do what I do. I try to give myself the same kind of grace that we give our student-athletes, because nobody expects perfection. People expect growth, and they expect you to show up every day and grind. That's what is so cool about life, but athletics in general, you have so many opportunities to pick yourself up and go again. The great ones who've accomplished some of the most impressive things to date, they'll tell you it hasn't been an easy road. There is always someone who didn't believe in them. I think the coolest part of athletics is you get to choose how you show up, what energy you're giving off, what energy you tolerate, and for me, having all these experiences I've had, I'm just grateful for the people who've impacted me, I'm grateful for my husband — Nick Corbin is one of one, he is special. You have to have people you can fall back on when things are hard and believe in yourself enough to go again.

Kansas State University Athletics

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