‘Our Team Word Has Been Trust’: Inside Florida Soccer’s New Identity

One word has defined Florida Gators soccer this preseason: trust.

The Gators entered a new era this offseason after the departure of former coach Samantha Bohon and the hiring of Nick Zimmerman from Mississippi State in December.

Zimmerman arrived in Gainesville alongside seven transfers and three incoming freshmen who flipped their commitments from Starkville, creating a roster split practically in half between players returning to Florida and those who followed Zimmerman.

Following a long offseason of change, the Gators are ready to put their new identity on display Thursday when it opens exhibition play against Miami at Donald R. Dizney Stadium, before beginning the regular season later this month.

“It was like two separate teams coming together in one. Coach Nick and Coach John did a good job of going across the room and saying, ‘We’re all one together now,'” Senior attacking midfielder Emma Duval said. “I feel like we’ve really embraced that. Off the field, we’re one, which carries onto the field.

“Our team word has been trust. Just doing those things on and off the field to really build trust together.”

Duval and Mississippi State transfer Zoe Main said the team’s chemistry doesn’t end when practice does. The team eats every meal together at the dining hall, at the same table at the same time. They’ve celebrated birthdays, hosted steak dinners and turned the smallest parts of their routine into time spent together.

“We always want to be together. When we’re out here, no one’s ever taking anything personal,” Main said. “We’ll get after it, and then when we go off the field into the locker room, everyone’s going to be dancing.”

Zimmerman has noticed similar growth in the team chemistry.

“We talked about it in the spring, the trust component and the connectivity,” Zimmerman said. “We challenged them with the mentality to commit to fail. Having the courage to fail, having the courage to make mistakes.”

For Zimmerman, mistakes aren’t setbacks if players are fully committed to their goals. His mindset on failure has become a major part of Florida’s new culture, and Main, who played with Zimmerman at Mississippi for three seasons before following him to Florida, notices his consistent methodology regardless of the environment.

“He has his core identity, his culture—that’s what everything revolves around,” Main said. “He brought that here. It’s been really cool to see other people learn the culture and learn more about it myself. No matter where he is, his big thing is culture.”

Now, he’s emphasizing the need to shift from a culture of trust to one of competition as the Gators prepare for the season. Florida faces a demanding SEC schedule ahead that includes three teams (Vanderbilt, Georgia and LSU) selected in the preseason to finish among the SEC’s top five teams. The team will travel Sept. 18 to Starkville for an anticipated matchup.

However, the SEC is familiar territory for Zimmerman, who led Mississippi State to a 12-7-1 record in 2025 in his first year as coach, one year after helping the Bulldogs earn an SEC Championship title in 2024 as assistant.

“Every single opponent is going to present new challenges and the opportunity to grow,” Zimmerman said.

For Duval and Main, one opponent stands above the rest. When asked which game they’re most excited for, both smiled.

“I’ll keep that one close to the chest,” Main said.

Added Duval: “If you know, you know.”

Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Soccer