There is an undeniable irony to the recent post-secondary soccer coaching “switcharoo” in northern Ontario.

With opportunities opening up with the men’s programs at two of the three OUA settings in northern Ontario, it would be the Nipissing Lakers in North Bay who would latch on to Toronto native / Sudbury (12 year) resident Evan Phillips to fill their void while the Laurentian Voyageurs opted to go with well travelled Irishman Brendan Teeling, who will be making the move cross-country from his current home in British Columbia.

There are certainly some clear-cut similarities between the pair of new hires.

Both gentlemen are in their thirties, both are ultra-passionate about soccer and both, as far as we can tell, wear their emotions on their sleeves when it comes to the Beautiful Game.

The year was 2014 when Evan Phillips decided to transfer from Wilfrid Laurier University, heading to Cambrian College with a chance to play and study within the paramedics program.

Named team MVP that fall, Phillips would dip his toes in the coaching ranks as early as the following summer, assisting keepers within the GSSC (Greater Sudbury Soccer Club). In 2018, he was named as head coach of the Impact U21 men’s team, continuing along this avenue while heading up the women’s team at his old alma-mater (2021-2024) and assisting with the Sudbury Cyclones.

At the age of 31, Phillips is hardly a finished product when it comes to the coach he wants to be – but he is unequivically different than the young former keeper who cut his teeth guiding athletes less than ten years his junior.

“You get a lot of experience from playing the game – and the same with coaching,” said Phillips.

“I feel that I see the game differently now. I’m a little more patient with things, which is great – and I also understand people a little bit better. I like to pride myself on being a people person first. As you go on in life and you see different experiences with different players, they help you understand how to deal with the next complicated situation.”

“I feel much better with that now, understanding people and what drives them and what gets them to buy-in, joining your journey with you. That’s where I have evolved the most.”

With far more years of coaching ahead than behind him, Phillips has already garnered the wisdom to understand that this evolution, on so many levels, will be perpetual.

“On the technical side, the game is always evoling,” he noted. “Those things are constant learning. But I am also a passionate person, so I am constantly trying to improve on ways that I can manage myself in games. I think that is something that I will always be working on.”

“As I mature and get older, I try to use those experiences that maybe I didn’t handle as well to handle them better in the future,” he added. “I can’t say that I am perfect, by any means, but I would like to think that I am better than I was – and I will try and improve constantly to get there.”

If Phillips speaks with a done of wonderfully grounded perspective, it is also apparent in his approach to the athletes that will be entrusted with mentoring, shaping and guiding.

“These are student athletes,” said Phillips. “The point of post-secondary is getting an education, bettering yourself as an athlete and bettering yourself as a person. If we can focus on those three things, results will come, on and off the field.”