Horst Malunat was hired as Adna girls soccer coach after a year-long break from coaching. Malunat had previously coached for 25-consecutive years.
After a year-long hiatus from coaching, former longtime Toledo-Winlock United boys soccer coach Horst Malunat is taking over as Adna girls soccer head coach this fall.
Malunat spent 25-consecutive years coaching the prep and college ranks before stepping down from the United boys team following its state championship loss in late May 2019. He is now replacing Juli Aselton at Adna, the mother of Pirates’ star senior Payton Aselton, a Saint Martin’s University signee.
Malunat spent the last 17 years with United boys, culminating in a second-place finish last May after losing to Vashon Island in the 1A state title game, finishing with a 17-1-4 record. His United boys teams also finished fifth and eighth at state in previous years. He also coached the United Toledo-Winlock girls team for 13 years, as well. He was one of the longest-standing soccer coaches in Lewis County.
“A lot of people say, ‘What do you do?’ I said, ‘You have to be somewhere for a while,’” Malunat said. “You have to build a program. There’s no magic wand to wave and everything is instantly good. It takes time.”
He needed a break after coaching soccer every fall and spring since 1997, he said, a pause that allowed him to reflect on himself as a person and a coach.
“It’s going to make me better in both regards, and I’m looking forward to it,” Malunat said. “It’s good to shake the dust off a little bit and move on.”
He spent his new free time watching his son, Andreas Malunat, a Toledo grad, play his freshman season of men’s soccer at South Puget Sound Community College this past fall. Then a couple local athletic directors, Napavine’s Shane Shutz and Adna’s K.C. Johnson, reached out to ask if he was really retired for good and if he’d be interested in taking a coaching position at their respective schools. It planted the seed in Malunat’s mind. He teaches at Toledo, and would have taken the girls job there had it been open.
Malunat had run some team camps in summer 2019 that had Onalaska and Adna girls squads in attendance. He saw firsthand just how powerful the Adna team was, a team that would go on to place third in 2B state after defeating fourth-place Onalaska.
Adna’s lure was that it’s an established program that’s not in a build or rebuild mode. Every program he had previously taken over either was newly started (Skyview High School girls in 1997, Clark College women’s soccer in 2000 and Centralia College women’s soccer in 2016) or needing a rebuild (Toledo-Winlock girls and boys).
“This program at Adna interested me because it’s already doing well,” Malunat said. “I don’t have to do much, just fine-tune some edges and have a different scenario than I’ve ever had. I’m excited for the new challenge.”
But established programs have their own challenges, Malunat said. When a program is new or struggling, it’s a clean slate and the expectations aren’t as high as they are with an entrenched team like Adna.
“If I go in there and the ship sinks, then all the fingers come back on me,” Malunat said. “I think there might be a little more pressure than I’m used to.”
He’s hoping his coaching philosophy, which he’s honed over the past two and a half decades, will translate well in Pirate country. The main takeaways he wants his team and players to leave with are that they felt appreciated and enjoyed their time. And as a byproduct, the team was successful. Winning has always been second-tier to that, Malunat said.
“I’m a teacher of the game, so I’m going to teach the game, versus just being a coach,” Malunat said. I want players to understand the game and understand their role on the team. And also to have fun and feel appreciated. There’s a lot of success that happens outside of some trophy or title.”
He’s looking forward to taking over the helm of a Pirates team that’s the 2B Central League champions, and returns all but six varsity players from last year’s third-place state finish. Two of the top returning players this fall are soon-to-be junior Summer White, a second-team all-league forward, and soon-to-be junior Zarine Walker, an honorable mention forward.
“Just seeing the potential of that team and knowing the talent that’s there excites me and makes me want to improve on where they are at, if I can,” Malunat said. “That new coach can sometimes be a good thing. Juli did a great job and I just hope to continue that and maybe make it better, if I can.”
