In 2011, after coaching at the Atlanta Youth Soccer Association (now Inter Atlanta FC), Zach Walldorff joined the coaching staff of the Grady girls varsity soccer team at the request of head coach Rodney Thomas. Walldorff coached only the goalkeepers then, but after a two-year break, he is now back as the new assistant coach.

“I’ve stayed involved with the program as much as I can over the past years, but last year I  had to take a year off,” Walldorff said.

Walldorff began playing soccer around age five, and his love for the game has grown ever since. After playing football his first two years of high school at Chamblee, Walldorff eventually returned to soccer.

Walldorff continued to play soccer after high school at Georgia State and began coaching in order to make money during college. As a goalkeeper, Walldorff had knowledge many coaches and teams lacked. After working with a few teams at AYSA, he began coaching one team full time.

Walldorff rejoined the coaching staff at a pivotal time. In recent years, the team has lost experienced goalkeepers. While new and active players have joined the team, their limited field experience is one challenge the team is hoping to overcome.

“We’re always trying to develop players,” Walldorff said. “High school sports is a great opportunity for everyone from beginner to intermediate to advanced players to come together to compete for their school, learn from their coaches.”

The varsity team’s two goalies are Ann Poznyak and Rheanna Robinson. While Poznyak began playing goalie last season, Robinson is new to the team.

“He’s teaching them the technique and important things to remember in a game and just positioning as a goalie,” senior captain Erin Ferris said. “We still have a lot to work on with the goalies, but I think it’s improved.”

Walldorff sees the battle to teach  fairly new goalkeepers in two lights. While he wants to develop the girls as players, he also hopes to help them develop as people.

“Losing veterans is always tough, but it just creates opportunities for others to step up and learn and compete at their best,” Walldorff said.

Other issues the team is trying to overcome, is working the ball wide and training center midfielders. Limited field space has not helped solve these problems. The team’s 3-1 scrimmage loss to Creekview Feb. 5 helped identify the issues.

“It was a great opportunity to see the team out on a full field and working with a large space,” Walldorff said. “That also creates issues that we could see as coaching staff … We weren’t used to such a big field, so that really translated in the field as, ‘We have all this space now, we don’t know how to use it.’”

Walldorff has adjusted his coaching to meet these needs.

“In the beginning, Zach was really helping us on our fitness, and he did a really good job,” Ferris said. “All of us went into the season really fit, but now he’s focusing on defense and our goalies and helping us with our formation in the back four.”

Freshmen and new players on team also appreciate his support and optimism.

“He’s nice, and he’s really encouraging,” freshman varsity player Lena Brown said.  “When we’re doing something hard, he’s not like ‘suck it up,’ he’s like, ‘you got it!’”

Walldorff’s positive outlook has transcended the field, and he has seen the effect of this on his own life.

“I think [soccer] has made me a more driven person,” Walldorff said. “It takes a lot of determination to go home, get your work done, then go outside, maybe when it’s cold, or dark, or raining and go dribble or kick a ball around for 30 minutes a day.”

This has translated into a dynamic career path. Walldorff began working in politics during his senior year of high school. During that campaign, he drove the candidate around the constituency. During his senior year of college at Georgia State, where Walldorff majored in political science, he began working on his next full-time campaign. After that, Walldorff worked on many campaigns. His last job in politics was as the Deputy Press Secretary and then the Trip Director for the Michelle Nunn senate campaign in Georgia in 2014.

“Then I quit,” Walldorff said. “Politics wasn’t for me.”

In part because of his time with the game, Walldorff was able to adapt to change following this decision.

“I totally changed career directions,” he said. “I found a company that’s really given me the opportunity to shine in a managerial role.”

Now Walldorff works as an assistant project manager for Segar’s Group, a construction firm specializing in healthcare. The firm works on projects ranging from small-scale renovations to new buildings costing up to $10 million in and around the Atlanta area. This work allows Walldorff to use skills he gained on the field.

“I’ve always chosen the hard routes of career choices that really took me going out and proving myself,” Walldorff said.

Along with being able to work hard, Walldorff believes soccer has made other parts of his life easier as he is able to empathize with others.

“You never know what it takes to do something until you step in someone’s shoes,’’ he said. “I think that’s especially true for student athletes who are really working everyday both on and off the field to make sure that they’re getting their stuff done, so that they can compete at their best.”