Columbus North head coach Andy Glover, right, and assistant coach Brayton Thornburg go over the team lineup before a semistate soccer match against Cathedral at Seymour High School in Seymour, Ind., Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. North defeated Cathedral 2-1 to advance to the state finals for the first time in 10 years.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
For the first 27 years of its existence, the Columbus North boys soccer program was led by David Green.
In Green’s first year, 1982, he had a senior by the name of Chris Morlock, who would go on to become head coach at Franklin College.
At Franklin, Morlock coached a player named Andy Glover, who would return to his alma mater to become an assistant coach under Green at North.
Columbus North head coach Andy Glover talks with his team before a semistate soccer match against Cathedral at Seymour High School in Seymour, Ind., Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. North defeated Cathedral 2-1 to advance to the state finals for the first time in 10 years.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Saturday afternoon, Glover will wrap up his 12th season as head coach when he leads the Class 3A No. 4 Bull Dogs against 3A No. 7 Noblesville in the state finals at IUPUI’s Michael Carroll Track and Soccer Stadium. Green and Morlock are two of his assistants.
“We all do it together here,” Glover said. “There’s no ego in any of it. There’s a wealth of soccer experience here and some fresh perspective, as well, which is a nice balanced approach. Everybody’s ideas are heard. We process, we digest and we make decisions and move forward.”
Columbus North assistant coach Adam Pieper watches players warm up before a semistate soccer match against Cathedral at Seymour High School in Seymour, Ind., Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. North defeated Cathedral 2-1 to advance to the state finals for the first time in 10 years.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
That fresh perspective includes three younger coaches, two of which played for North. Adam Pieper, a 2002 graduate, played for Green and Glover and is in his first year with program.
“I’m proud of the boys,” Pieper said. “They come out, and they work hard every day.”
Columbus North head coach Andy Glover, right, talks with assistant coach Adam Pieper before a semistate soccer match against Cathedral at Seymour High School in Seymour, Ind., Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. North defeated Cathedral 2-1 to advance to the state finals for the first time in 10 years.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Brayan Morales, who played at Seymour, is in his third year as an assistant for the Bull Dogs.
“It’s absolutely great that they have this great opportunity to be at state,” Morales said. “They’ve worked really hard day-in-and-day out, so we’re all very proud of them.”
The other assistant, first-year coach Brayton Thornburg, was a sophomore on North’s 2012 state championship team.
“It’s been pretty cool seeing it come full circle,” Thornburg said. “We had the 10-year reunion this year, which was great to be a part of. I’ve gotten loads of texts this week from former teammates that are planning on being there this weekend.”
Thornburg played collegiately at Baldwin-Wallace, where he also walked onto the school’s golf team for a year after his soccer career was over. He lived in Nashville, Tennessee, for a couple of years before returning to Columbus last summer.
“I can’t take too much credit for (the success),” Thornburg said. “They’ve been involved the past three years. I came to the program through high school, so it was a really cool experience in that respect. Just to see the culture back instilled into the Columbus North program that I grew up with has been great.”
Thornburg served as the Bull Dogs’ acting head coach for two games this season while Glover and Morlock were ill.
“It’s a unique staff, but if you add it up, years of experience and all the success — take me out of the equation — it’s one of the better ones in the state,” Glover said. “The team subscribes to what we sell, and we’re all aligned in how we want to approach it. It’s student-athlete centered. We take our passion, translate it and tap into their passion for the game, too, and take kids as they are and move forward.”
Before he took the job as an assistant this year, Thornburg asked Glover if the team was self-led.
“He said they were, and I’ve seen that with the team this year, so that’s been really cool to see,” Thornburg said. “I’m more just trying to be a brotherly figure to them and someone they can look up to and someone that they can ask questions when they have them. It’s been an absolute blast, and I’m really glad I’ve done it.”
Green left North in 2009 to become coach at Hanover College. He spent 10 years there, and now is in his fourth year back with the Bull Dogs.
“We get along well,” Green said. “We can’t agree to disagree because if two people disagree on the same things, one of them is not necessary. We bicker, but we end up loving each other and going out and doing the job for the kids.”
Columbus North assistant coach Chris Morlock walks on the field during team warmups before a semistate soccer match against Cathedral at Seymour High School in Seymour, Ind., Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. North defeated Cathedral 2-1 to advance to the state finals for the first time in 10 years.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Morlock is in his 13th year as an assistant. He was there when North lost on penalty kicks in the 2011 state final, won the Class 2A state title in 2012 and made it to the semistate and were ranked in the top five in the nation in 2013 before falling to another nationally top-ranked team in Avon.
“It’s really rewarding because the thing that I take away from this team is, the seniors of this team, when they were freshman, Columbus North had their first losing record in school history, and to go from that to this in four years is pretty amazing,” Morlock said. “The other teams had pretty sustained success, so in ‘11 and ‘12, we were pretty much like, ‘We’re going to state, and nobody’s going to stop us.’ This team hadn’t even won a sectional yet, do it was kind of a slower process. But I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Columbus North head coach Andy Glover, left, taps Aidan Whitley on his shoulder during team warmups before a semistate soccer match against Cathedral at Seymour High School in Seymour, Ind., Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. North defeated Cathedral 2-1 to advance to the state finals for the first time in 10 years.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Glover, a 1992 North graduate, was a swimmer and water polo player in high school and didn’t play soccer until college. He left North after the 2017 season, but after two years away, returned in 2020.
This season, the Bull Dogs have captured their first sectional and regional titles since 2016 and their first semistate crown since that state championship season of 2012.
“It’s really special,” Glover said. “The game means so much to (the coaches). The team and the community, the soccer family here, they give up a lot of time, a lot of stress. Coach Green is right — sometimes it gets a little chippy — but we all know in the end, we want the same thing. When he says we agree to disagree, it’s to always produce the best solution possible.”
