The Brock Badgers will hit the pitch this fall with fresh leadership guiding the University’s soccer teams.

Zack Wilson and Jordan Cardinale have been named the new head coaches of the Brock women’s and men’s soccer teams, respectively.

“Having Zack and Jordan at the helm of our soccer program is a pivotal moment for Brock,” said Courtney Smith, Associate Director, Brock Sports. “They both come with unique skill sets that will complement each other and provide our student-athletes the best possible development and experience as varsity athletes.”

Both coaches have experience leading high-performance programs and expertise in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference, understanding what it takes to be successful at the collegiate level.

Cardinale has been the high performance manager for the Oakville Soccer Club for the past two seasons, while Wilson recently served as the associate sporting director for the League1 Ontario Simcoe County Rovers Football Club.

Wilson’s previous role as assistant coach of the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks women’s soccer team has led him to see the importance of building relationships with the community.

“There is no stone that will go unturned,” he said. “If the community feels invested, they’ll come out to our games, support our players and maybe even become future Badgers themselves.”

Wilson was integral in building strong networks with Durham region community clubs, running training sessions and creating an invite-only prospect game that showcased the best the area had to offer.

Cardinale spent last season as assistant coach with the Brock men’s soccer team, learning and developing the program’s emphasis on mental resilience and composure in key moments.

“My coaching philosophy was profoundly influenced by Aleks Balta, last year’s Brock’s men’s soccer coach,” Cardinale said. “I want to continue his emphasis on instilling a strong mindset in players and highlighting the need to ‘win’ in the moments between moments, focusing on consistency and not letting brief lapses dictate outcomes.”

Both Cardinale and Wilson have rooted their coaching philosophies in developing the whole athlete.

“I’ve learned that the most impactful coaching is built when environments of trust, empathy and care meet opportunity,” Cardinale said. “Rather than narrowly defining ‘high performance’ by results or elite outcomes, we focus on understanding each player’s unique journey and creating processes and pathways that respect where they are at both on and off the pitch.”

Wilson agrees, adding their focus as coaches will be on “developing not only skilled and competitive athletes but also well-rounded individuals.”

“Brock University delivers a complete student-athlete experience — combining academic excellence, high-performance athletics and comprehensive support systems, and we want do our part in contributing to that,” he said.