Wilde Promoted to Full-time Coaching Position

 

FC Wisconsin is excited to announce that starting with immediate effect Coach Eric Wilde will now become a full-time staff member within the club. Wilde, who has been coaching with the club for the past year, will primarily work with the U13-18 ECNL and RCP teams. Wilde will also play a significant role in planning and continuing to develop the clubs methodology and curriculum, as well as providing both individual and team video analysis to help player development and performance. He will also play a vital role in continuing to help our players through the college recruitment process.

Wilde is a native of Chicago, Illinois and was a member of the Marquette University Men’s Soccer Program, graduating in 2006 with an engineering degree. Wilde is also currently the Assistant Coach and Performance Analyst for the professional team Forward Madison, who play in the USL League One. Wilde has been with Forward Madison, the highest professional level soccer organization within the state of Wisconsin, since its inaugural season in 2019.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer Eric the opportunity to join the FC Wisconsin staff full-time. He has been with the club for the past year and has shown himself to be one of the best young, up and coming coaches not only in youth soccer, but the professional game. Having Eric as a full-time staff member also enables the FC Wisconsin and our players to have a connection to the highest level of professional soccer within our state. We always lead the state in college commitments, but now we are also working towards that next level of being able to offer our players opportunities to play and train with a professional organization,” said Ben Shepherd, Co-Director of Coaching.

The Forward Madison roster for the 2021 season already has two FC Wisconsin alums within their ranks in goalkeeper Aidan Hogan and attacker Audi Jepson. A group of current FC Wisconsin players were invited in to train with the first team this summer and even participate in an international scrimmage as a result of Eric’s role within the organization.

Coach Wilde shares, “I am extremely excited to continue to work at FC Wisconsin and take on my new role. From my first conversations with Ben and Billy before joining the club last season, I knew FC Wisconsin had the type of environment that I wanted to be a part of. The focus on developing each individual player is something that's unique about the club and the number of players that have gone on to play in college shows the strength of the player development model. I'm thrilled to now have the opportunity to work in an expanded role with the club and look forward to working more closely with our players to help them reach their goals!”

“We could not be more ecstatic about Eric becoming full-time coach within the club. As an assistant with the professional team Forward Madison, he is yet another impactful, super knowledgeable coach on our staff. Seeing Eric work first hand with our teams at ECNL playoffs made it very clear, he is brilliant at reading the game, in game adjustments, teaching with patience, yet clear concise messaging to improve and develop. He is calm, enthusiastic, has a brilliant soccer mind, and has a great delivery which players respond to. We couldn’t be more thrilled for such a positive hire,” added Billy Solberg, Co-Director of Coaching.