Under new leadership, North Hills girls soccer optimistic for success

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, September 19, 2020 | 11:01 AM

Rick Kabbert was leery he’d face some skepticism.

When Kabbert was hired this summer to coach North Hills girls soccer, he became the team’s third head coach in four seasons, all promising to turn around a struggling program. Witnessing yet another coaching change could discourage a roster that won only three games last year. But instead of skepticism, Kabbert met a senior-heavy lineup hungry to make the most of its season.

“These girls, especially the seniors, they’ve had it rough,” he said. “But it’s just been a joy. They’ve been great and they’ve come together as a team. The only challenge has been waiting for the next practice because I’m having so much fun.”

Kabbert, 51, already was familiar with North Hills’ soccer program, both at the interscholastic and club levels. A former instructor and president with the North Hills Soccer Club, he was the district’s middle school boys coach the past two seasons. One son, Will, is a member of the high school boys team, so the names on the girls roster weren’t entirely new to him.

But his close ties also meant he understood the challenge associated with his new job.

The North Hills girls won five section games combined over the previous three seasons. They went 1-11 last fall, 3-9 in 2018 and 1-9 in 2017. Their overall records were 6-12, 5-12-1 and 3-12-1, declining slowly each season.

“I know we’re North Hills and our reputation is not the best in terms of soccer,” Kabbert said. “I talked to them about being the foundation for the future. Let’s create a legacy. So far, I couldn’t ask for more from these girls.”

There are 11 seniors on the 32-player roster. It contains no superstar, he said, but rather forms a solid lineup featuring defenders Sarah McEnroe and Kara Smolensky; midfielders Taylor Chrisenberry, Lydia Ohm and Olivia Yoder; striker Alexa Smolensky; and keeper Hannah Ehrlich. All seven started at times last season.

The roster also has seven juniors, eight sophomores and six freshmen.

“By the time these freshmen are seniors, there’s going to be a foundation,” Kabbert said. “Then, they can help lead the next generation of players.”

Kabbert was hired in June to replace Rachelle Dixon, who coached the team for two seasons. Dixon now coaches at Pine-Richland. Kabbert had never been a head coach for a girls team but decided to apply.

“The job got posted and I thought, ‘Hey, why not, I’ll make the jump,’” he said.

Kabbert worked as an attorney for more than two decades, but said he left the practice to devote more time to soccer. The Forest Hills native played high school soccer at Central Catholic and later one season at Kent State.

Along with coaching North Hills, he’s also a boys coach for FC Pittsburgh, a club soccer team in the region.

“I left (the law practice) a couple of years ago mainly to focus on coaching, even though there’s no money in it,” Kabbert said. “After being in law for over 20 years, I said, at this stage of my life, I want to be home for my kids. I just want to do something I like.”

He said he’s committed to the rebuilding effort at North Hills.

“I’m here until they get rid of me,” he said, “or until I realize I need to get a real job.”

Kabbert hasn’t enacted many major on-field changes from last season, but said he’s made a tweak here or there. He stresses short, quick passes and teamwork. Positions on the field will be fluid. Defensively, he implemented a zone approach.

“A lot of high school soccer in general is man to man,” he said. “I prefer to play zone. That’s been the biggest challenge for them to remember that just because you see someone running doesn’t mean you need to follow them all over the field.”

North Hills shares a six-team Class 4A section with Butler, North Allegheny, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley and Shaler. The section is mostly unchanged from last season except Fox Chapel moved out.

Kabbert wants to win more than three, five or six games, like in recent seasons. But that won’t be his only measure of success.

“It’s more, at the end of the year, if can we sit down and say, ‘Did we give everything we had? Did we have fun?’ If they can say yes, then it’s a success,” he said. “And honestly, in my heart, I believe if we can say ‘yes’ to that, it will translate to more wins.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: North Hills