Forster lifted Granville girls soccer program to unprecedented heights
GRANVILLE ― Scott Forster hit the ground running when he took over the Granville girls soccer program, and it hasn't slowed down since.
In just his second season as head coach, the Blue Aces reached the Division II state finals for the first time in 2013. They went on to make it two more times (2015, 2020) and had six state semifinal appearances overall.
One of the longest-tenured girls (or boys) soccer coaches in Central Ohio is finally stepping aside after 12 seasons. With an 80% winning mark (177-45-28), many of the losses coming against Division I teams, Forster leaves a legacy that will be hard to top but is likely to continue.
He made up his mind early on this season.
"I knew going into the year it was kind of that time," he said. "My kids are now 8 and 10, and they're starting to play. I still coach and do soccer full time. Between club (Legends) and training kids to play, it's pretty demanding."
He is a K-8 gym teacher at Granville Christian Academy, where he is also a Bible teacher for grades 11-12.
Forster did not tell his team until the Monday following the 2-1 Division II district final loss to Bloom-Carroll, coached by good friend Mark Casperson, who started at B-C one year before he took over at Granville.
"That Monday, we had a meeting, and I took my grill to school and cooked for them," Forster said. "They had no idea. I didn't tell my AD until the start of the tournament. I got choked up, and I was happy this was the group that I got to go out with."
Senior All-Ohioan Ava Labocki, like many of the Blue Aces' standout players, will continue her career in college (at Division I Belmont). Classmate and fellow All-Ohioan Lyndy Van Horn is headed to Fairmont State, while older sister Karah is at Mercyhurst.
Like he did for many, Forster started training Labocki at a young age.
"Six or seven years, and I give him credit," said Labocki, who scored the last goal of her career against Bloom-Carroll. "He has a high soccer IQ. Knowing what the next play is, first touch and reading of plays. Looking for the next run, and move when you're not on the ball. We do a lot of one-on-one in practice, and you learn to use both feet."
She said Forster found a good balance between soccer development and how he treated the players.
"He's a coach you don't normally find, with how he cares about the players," Labocki said. "He knew how to take it down a notch, if the vibe was not right at practice."
Natalie Pireu is a 2018 grad who played on the 2015 state runner-up team and went on to play at NCAA Division III West Virginia Wesleyan, helping them reach the Sweet 16. She has been a volunteer assistant with the Blue Aces for the past two seasons.
"I love Scott, the program, and these girls," she said. "When I came back from college, it was a great atmosphere, the girls welcomed me with open arms and I think they enjoyed having me there. I was able to get out there and play with them, and it scratched that itch for me."
Pireu started group training with Forster in seventh grade, and later did private and group training with him.
"Soccer is his life, and he's still very calm," she said. "A frazzled Scott is really not frazzled. He's easy to be around in that environment, and he does not yell when he gets upset. He did not just say what the standard at Granville was, he set the standard, and you know what he expects as an individual and as a team."
Forster said he's always been a glass-is-half-full type of coach and person.
"I'm pretty optimistic about everything," he said. "When I started, I set the bar for them as wanting to do more than just make a district final and that we should always aim higher. After we reached that first state final, that was the expectation, every year. But you never know what's going to happen. You can have a great year, then one bad game and it's over. I guess it's always been more about the journey than the destination for me."
Forster has especially enjoyed training a lot of the players since they were little and seeing them develop and grow up. Perhaps the best example is probably his best player, Nikki Cox, who played on two state runner-up teams and went on to star at Bowling Green along with her younger sister, Katie. Ella Rogers has played on back-to-back NCAA tournament teams at Xavier.
"My sister and I both started with him when we were little, and he started at Granville my freshman year," Nikki Cox said. "He's always known me and enabled me to keep my autonomy for the game. He was really open and allowed me to be creative and taught me all of those moves. He teaches you to do things you've never done, which makes you a better player. He's a great coach. He cares about the success of the team, but it's also about the individual, and he understands that."
Cox said Granville girls remain passionate about the game. She plays for the Columbus Eagles of the Women's Premier Soccer League, the top amateur league in the country, as does Katie, who is also considering playing overseas.
Forster has also inspired Granville boys head soccer coach Sam Thompson, his former assistant with the Blue Aces, and current assistant Zeke Hegenberger was just named Central District Assistant Coach of the Year.
"He gave me my start in coaching, and I had five years with him," Thompson said. "He and I approached it sincerely, and we jelled so fast. We had very good conversations and shared the same philosophy about what we hoped to accomplish, and how."
Thompson said Forster has the ability to connect to his players while still being very competent on the X's and O's.
"He has that blend to build players both on and off the field on their journey, and has always cared about his players," Thompson said. "He's one of the best, if not the best coach in the state on the girls side, and maybe the boys. A lot of players and coaches have been impacted for good."
Forster, who last year guided his Legends U-17 team to national runner-up honors, hopes to have a say in his replacement.
"I know virtually every club, college and high school coach in the state," he said. "My club still feeds the program, and the cupboards are still full. There's still a lot of talent."
He has made Granville a prime destination, Thompson said.
"I think it's an incredibly attractive job," he said. "But they should know that they're going into a program with not only a high standard of excellence, but one that still honors the past. Scott truly built this program, and it will reap the benefits long after him."
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Forster lifted Granville girls soccer program to unprecedented heights
