Leyble braves through "hard tasking" from Nierras as he wins in head coaching debut

Richard Leyble gets a hug from his players after a goal for Laguna. PFL

By Ivan Saldajeno

BINAN--As Ernie Nierras finishes his AFC "A" Coaching Certificate Course this weekend, he temporarily handed the reins of Stallion Laguna for its Saturday game against JPV Marikina to assistant coach Richard Leyble.

But according to Leyble, being Laguna's head coach, at least for a day, was very tough.

"For me, if our coach gives me a tasking, we know that, for me, it's a hard tasking," said Leyble during the post-match press conference at the Alonte Sports Arena.

Still, he trusted the system.

"What I did was to follow his instructions, put input to our players to follow our game plan, and motivate my players to have their 'win-win mentality'," Leyble bared what he did in what would be his head coaching debut at Laguna. "That's what we always talk about in our training--to have that win-win mentality."

Good thing for him, his one-night-only stint concluded in a 3-2 win by the home side at the Binan Football Stadium.

[Related Story: Coach Ernie-less Laguna downs gritty Marikina]

"I'm happy that the boys gave all their best," Leyble remarked on the win.

His brief head coaching stint may have already ended, but his journey will not stop from there.

"I still need to improve," Leyble replied when asked on how he assessed his performance. "Coaches don't stop learning. Even if we won this game, we're still learning."

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