New Era Begins: Florida Soccer Opens Preseason Under Nick Zimmerman
Early Thursday morning, chatter and laughter carried through Donald R. Dizney Stadium as the Florida soccer team walked onto the field for its first official practice of the season.
Players warmed up with a sense of ease and familiarity among them before new Florida coach Nick Zimmerman walked up, ready to start the preparations for the 2026 season.
Zimmerman did not begin the practice with a drill or a huddle. He did not immediately list out his expectations for the day. Instead, he stood in front of the team, and went down the line, shaking every single player’s hand. His coaching staff followed suit.
For the next hour, the team focused on individual drills and then scrimmaged, listening to the coaches carefully. But throughout the session, a common theme was brought up repeatedly.
“Respect your teammate.”
This is something that has been drilled into the team’s head since the spring, when Zimmerman stepped foot on campus. Coming off of a season characterized by inconsistency and the firing of former coach Samantha Bohon, Zimmerman said he wanted the team to focus on two things: trust and identity.
“We pride ourselves in being consistent in our messaging and doing it daily,” Zimmerman said. “[It’s] not just words on a wall or something you talk about in preseason and then you never revisit.”
Zimmerman had to build from the ground up on a team that is made up of several new players and coaches. Florida’s new associate head coach, Jonathan Garber, previously worked with Zimmerman at Mississippi State. Seven players transferred from Mississippi State, and three incoming freshmen switched their commitments to follow Zimmerman and his vision for Florida.
At Mississippi State, Zimmerman led the team to a 12-7-1 overall record in 2025 — his first season as coach. Previously, he worked as an assistant coach for the Bulldogs and helped build the program, playing a key role in securing its SEC Championship title in 2024.
Despite his history with the former Mississippi State players, Zimmerman emphasized that his expectations are the same for everyone on the team.
“Every single person chose to be a part of this, just like we chose them to be a part of it,” Zimmerman said. “When you make that choice, you’re choosing to be a Gator.”
Florida’s focus on building team chemistry was evident throughout the practice. At the end, Garber helped lead the team through an exercise that highlighted the best player of the day. A chain, made up of several links representing each player, is given to the person who embodied the competitive mindset that the staff is trying to nurture. Each person on the team votes for the person that they believe represents that the best.
Midfielder Iori Watanabe received the honors on Thursday. The freshman recently moved to Gainesville from Osaka, Japan, and has been nothing short of focused despite familiarizing herself with a new environment.
The focus on building chemistry and trust in the preseason is something that may give the Gators an edge come August.
“The best teams that we all, as a staff, have been a part of are the ones that would run through a wall for the person to their left and to their right,” Zimmerman said. “Through that, you build trust.”
Florida will play two exhibition games against UM and FIU during the first week of August before kicking off its season at home against UCF on Aug. 13.
Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Soccer
