Margueritte Aozasa | UCLA Women's Soccer Head Coach | "If you're not being transparent with your players, then you can't expect them to trust you."

Today's conversation is with Margueritte Aozasa, head coach of the UCLA Women’s Soccer program and one of the brightest minds in collegiate coaching today.

In just her first year as a head coach, Aozasa led the Bruins to a national championship, which made her the first rookie head coach and the first woman of color to win an NCAA Division I title in women’s soccer history. Before her time at UCLA, she spent seven seasons as an assistant at Stanford, where she helped guide the Cardinal to two national championships and four College Cup appearances.

During the interview, we explore the emotional weight of being a head coach, the importance of transparency in building trust, how to model emotional regulation for players, and why joy and perspective are cornerstones of her leadership philosophy. Coach Aozasa also opens up about how she’s grown in vulnerability, how she supports her staff, and what she’s still learning about today’s generation of athletes.

Here's some notable highlights from our conversation:

[09:24] — Transparency and Honesty

[24:44] — Managing Emotions as a Coach

[30:59] — Opportunities to Teach and Educate

[35:02] — Being Compassionate and Maintaining Perspective

[43:43] — Being Vulnerable and Admitting Being Wrong

[47:20] — Questions I'm Still Pondering as a Leader

[52:45] — Getting Feedback as a Coach

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