Ansah joins soccer coaching staff

Gabe Ansah, the newest member of the Montana soccer coaching staff, thought he was going to New York City. Or something that at least resembled it.

Because that's what came to mind when a young man from West Africa pictured the United States: New York City. The lights. The hustle. The people. The energy.

Instead, 18 years ago, as part of a student exchange program from his native Ghana, he landed in Missoula, in a state he'd never heard of, somewhere that wasn't New York City.

"That was the goal. That's every Ghanian's goal. If you come to America, you want to go to New York. That's all we knew," he says.

Instead: Missoula. He got in a car, picked up at the airport by his host family, and they made their way to O'Brien Creek Road, west of town off the Bitterroot River. And they were just getting started.

"We kept driving and driving. You were way up there on top of a mountain. That was a shock in itself," he says. We're almost there, he was told repeatedly. "We got there and I was very depressed.

"I didn't even know this place existed." Most people say that about Missoula with a sense of wonderment, like what kind of hidden gem have I discovered here? Ansah? Not so much. His question was, what have I done?

So he called his mom, the one who had pushed for this, for a better life, for better opportunities. "I was like, this is not New York." Then she said something that changed the trajectory of his life.

It's still better than anything we have here, she said, a dose of tough, tough love from Ghana. "That's all she told me. From then on, I had the motivation to make it work," he says.

Eighteen years later, he's still here, still making it work, now as a member of coach Chris Citowicki's staff, the position of volunteer assistant coach.

His most important role will be one you never knew existed.

You see, when the Grizzlies travel, sometimes for days at a time, a handful of players remain behind. If they're not looked after, coached, guided, encouraged, bad things can happen. Really bad things, things that can fester just below the surface.

"If you're not taking care of everybody, all of a sudden those little things that can happen when you're gone can start to add up," says Citowicki. "Now you have cultural issues."

That's where Ansah, who hasn't had a bad day in his life, by choice, by intention, since embracing his mom's words nearly two decades ago, comes into the picture.

Don't you dare bring any woe is me mentality to his field, to his practice. Feelings of resentment? Feelings of inadequacy? They'll be no match for Ansah's energy, his zest for life, his ability to get the best out of people, to make them feel better than they did when they entered his sphere of influence.

Or bring it, all of it, all of your baggage. He's up for the challenge. His promise: You'll leave without it.

"I just preach staying positive, just enjoy the process," he says. "Just because you showed up to play college soccer doesn't mean automatically you're going to start.

"It's not even about that. It's about the overall team. Everyone is part of the team. Everyone has their role on the team. That's why it's called teamwork. You're still part of the culture.

"Most of us only worry about the prize at the end. I only want to train so I can be a starter. If we can tweak that mindset to I want to train as hard as I can, the prize will be there when you get there."

There is a reason Citowicki won't entrust the position to just anyone. Volunteer assistant is just a title, something that has nothing to with the position's actual value to the program.

"It's a big, pivotal role that we've filled well here over time. I'm looking forward to seeing Gabe do it," says Citowicki. "I feel like he has the perfect personality for it.

"It's physical and mental. You need someone who has the type of energy and presence to uplift them through that time and carry them so when we get back, they can compete and they don't get lost.

"If you're not giving them the care they deserve and need in that moment, then they stop developing and stop becoming the players and people they need to be. All of a sudden they're not part of the team anymore."

It's all Ansah's mom was trying to do all those years ago back in Ghana, trying to get her son to become everything he needed to be, everything he could be. She knew he couldn't do that in his home country.

He'd been turned off an academics from an early age, first, second, third grade, the left-hander swatted by his teachers and called stupid whenever he tried writing in the way that just came naturally.

He taught himself how to write with his right hand and took away another lesson: "Right away I hated school. I knew I was going to get beat every time I went to school," he says.

"From then on, I just never wanted to go to school. I didn't have the motivation to do it because I was just scared. I was very motivated for sports, but we didn't have that."

He still found his way to the sport of soccer, played in some leagues, juniors, semi-pro. But his mom didn't see a bright future for him, not in Ghana.

"I didn't have much going for myself. I didn't know my purpose. I was just living as a kid, so my mom wanted to get me out of Ghana," he says.

"She didn't have to convince me. I wasn't going to be much in Ghana. I just knew I needed something."

That's how he ended up in Missoula, how he ended up graduating from Big Sky High, how he was accepted to the University of Montana, how he met his wife, how he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in February 2017, how he became a father of two boys, ages 8 and 4.

He had the opportunity he wanted when he first landed in the U.S. It wasn't to his expectation or liking, but that was a decision, not the circumstance. The mind is powerful like that, able to take a person from high to low when nothing's changed except an attitude.

His mom set him straight. And nothing's been the same since.

That's why he's the perfect person to shepherd players who might be feeling their own disappointment at a situation in which they find themselves, when their teammates have hit the road and they've remained behind.

Feeling down? That's a decision you made. It doesn't have to be that way.

"That's what I want to bring to help these ladies achieve," he says. "It shows on the field when your mindset is in the right place and you know you're playing for a reason and a whole team, not just yourself.

"Just because you're not traveling doesn't mean you're not good enough. Just because you're not traveling doesn't mean you're any less than anyone else.

"In my sessions, we work on our minds and we work on our skills. We talk about staying positive and staying on top of it and channeling that into your sport. You keep it fun and train hard, the results will come at the end of the day."

Again, he knows of which he speaks.

He played soccer at Big Sky High, "as a way to fit in and ease into the cultural shock that I was in." He played intramurals at Montana, he went to a semi-pro tryout. He was told he was a good player, everything they were looking for, but he was too small.

He didn't give up. Instead, he remade himself. See that picture atop the page? Yeah, he didn't always look like that.

"I came back to Missoula and joined a gym. That's the first time I ever worked out. I'd never touched weights in my life. I fell in love with it," he says. "I just fell in love with the process. I saw what hard work can do for you. One year later I was able to make that team."

That's what Montana is getting. Told by someone else you're not quite there, not quite good enough yet? Then do something about it. "I figured I could use myself as an example for everybody else," he says.

That's why he's become a magnet for Griz athletes and not just soccer, though there have been those over the years, from Rita Lang to Alexa Coyle to Taylor Hansen.

All three went on to play professional soccer, in no small part because of the benefits they received from working with Ansah on the side.

He's become an in-demand personal trainer, working out of Peak Health and Wellness, with kids from middle-school age to his 406 AM Crew followers, all of them drawn to the Pied Piper with the chiseled pipes.

He earned a degree in management information systems, then learned after just one internship it wasn't for him. Gabe Ansah has to be on the move, not sitting down at a desk.

That's why he was coaching locally for FC Missoula for a number of years, then Missoula Strikers for a number more, and now Missoula Surf. He's the director of player development for the club and the coach of its U9 team, the best way to be around his oldest son.

"I kept missing all his games. This way I don't have to miss any of his games and I'll be more present with him," Ansah says.

If he has a kindred spirit in Missoula, it arrived in the summer of 2018, when Citowicki was hired to coach the Grizzlies.

"Before I met Chris, I was told I was going to like him. He's just like you. You guys are always happy, you are very positive. I met him and it was easy. We just clicked," says Ansah.

"Life is too short. Why sit here and feel sorry for yourself and not enjoy it? He said, I totally agree, so we bonded over that."

It could very well be their backgrounds have made them more than simpatico. Citowicki was born in Poland, raised in Italy, South Africa and Australia before landing in the U.S. as a college freshman.

He became a U.S. citizen in the fall of 2019 and started taking advantage of everything his new home country had to offer well before that.

"When you're from a different country or you've moved around, you find an appreciation for life and everything we have here," Ansah says.

"The first time I took a shower, I turned the knob and it was hot water. It blew my mind. We didn't have hot water. My dad didn't have his first car until I was a junior in high school. I moved here and every single high school kid had a car. Man, that's crazy."

There have been sacrifices. His parents, because of their age and because of the 32-hour, one-way trip, have never visited their son in Montana.

He convinced his sister and her family to join him in Missoula five years ago. His other sister lives in Germany. His brother is back in Ghana after living abroad.

"They just wanted their kids to succeed. That's a great lesson my mom taught me. Now I just want to do everything for my kids here," he says.

He means his two boys, but he could just as well mean anyone who needs his help. Life is too short, right? Gabe Ansah is going to fill it making a difference wherever he finds a need.

"Stay positive and just keep working on the thing you're passionate about. If you do, the sky is the limit for you. That's what I want to bring to this team and help preach to these kids," he says.

"If I can help one person or a whole team, I want to do it."

University of Montana Athletics

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