Drawing on Swedish upbringing, first-year coach Kocdemir has put his mark on Peninsula soccer

The 2022 season has been a year of great success and renewal for the Peninsula High School boys soccer team.

For the first time in 15 years, they were crowned league champions of the 3A South Sound Conference. Currently, the Seahawks’ record is 12-3-2, the most wins they’ve had since 2019 when they went 11-5-2. Coincidentally, that was the last time they were in the state tournament.

This year’s squad is playing with confidence and hoping to notch the program’s first state tournament win since 2006.

The bulk of the credit, of course, goes to the players. But the person pulling the strings deserves some, too. First-year head coach Ozer Kocdemir has quickly put his mark on the program.

“I wanted to coach a high school team because I felt that I could come in, create a culture, be in charge of a program, and manage their performance levels,” he said. “So, becoming more of a manager [of the program]. I heard rumors about Peninsula needing a coach, so I approached (athletic director) Ross Filkins and we had an interview.”

Kocdemir’s journey to the Pacific Northwest was a bit unorthodox. Hailing from Sweden, where he played soccer for the majority of his life, Kocdemir moved to the United States in 2013, settling in the Atlanta area.

That’s where his foray into coaching began. Wanting to stay close to the sport he grew up playing, Kocdemir volunteered to coach a youth girls team. It quickly became a passion, even though it never crossed his mind before.

Kocdemir wanted to pass on his knowledge of the game to the young players. From there, he became involved with the soccer scene in Atlanta. Whether it was coaching, working for a startup that provided portable soccer fields, or just consuming soccer, Kocdemir had his hand in it.

“I remember when I was at the airport in Sweden moving to the US, I said that I was going to make soccer big in the South,” he said. “Now, there are so many people encouraging Atlanta to grow its soccer scene. I feel like I may not necessarily be the key person, but I do think I had some impact in the grassroots all around the city.”

After several years in Atlanta, Kocdemir moved to Tacoma in 2019, after his wife took a job in the area. Knowing no one, he had to restart his soccer life in the Pacific Northwest.

After volunteering to do analysis for the Tacoma Defiance, Kocdemir worked for free for Washington Premier as a coach. That was enough to get his foot in the door. Even through 2020, Kocdemir was studying the game of soccer and working on how he can improve his coaching.

He interviewed with several clubs, but none offered him a coaching position. Then Peninsula came into the picture, and Kocdemir has revitalized the program.

“It was exciting to come to an environment where I can implement my ideas. The biggest thing is that I would be able to get the resources to implement my football ideas,” Kocdemir said. “I was very excited to get going building a program, a system, and a routine. It was exciting to actually know that I would get the tools to have my stamp and help the players learn more about the game.”

Communication is Kocdemir’s strength when it comes to collaborating with his players. He believes that when a player is confident, they’ll play at an elevated level. In order to get those players to a confident place, coaches have to get to know their players.

“It’s key for the coach to get to know his players, understand the players and create that emotional bond with them,” Kocdemir said. “That has come very natural for me and this group of players. They listen, they react, and they understand. This group has played with each other before for a long time as well. I don’t have to worry too much about dynamics or cliques. They are already good friends with each other. It’s been relatively easy to work with them.”

Practices are focused on things dribbling the ball, one player versus one player, playing in tight spaces, controlling the ball. Kocdemir feels lucky to step into a situation where his new players took to his philosophy so quickly.

“It started first off with the tryouts we had. There was a clear criterion of what type of players we were looking for,” he said. “Quickly, once we identified which players were going to be on varsity, we started to go to work… I didn’t expect success in such a short period of time but that was a combination of the players, coaches, and school.”

It’s safe to say Kocdemir delivered on his promise to Filkins that the boys would have fun on the pitch.

Players like senior Riley Leahy scored 15 goals this season, earning first-team all-league honors. Senior captain Cory Burbridge had 18 assists in the year and was named the SSC’s Most Valuable Player. It all comes back to Kocdemir’s coaching and getting the best out of his squad. His efforts have earned him the honor of being named the SSC’s Coach of the Year as well.

“I promised the boys that I want them to play [soccer] and have fun at the same time,” he said. “What’s fun to me is to play for a team that has a lot of ball possession and controls the game. All while creating lots of chances at scoring goals, working really hard, and a very passionate style of play. That idea of play and for the players being capable of executing it has been the key for us to have success in such a short period of time.”

And now that they are in the state championship tournament, Peninsula is hoping for something incredible to happen.

Kocdemir and the Seahawks will begin their quest for a state championship against North Central. Their match up will take place this Friday. The time and location are TBD.