LOS ANGELES -- After a leading role on Cal State LA's first-ever men's soccer NCAA championship, Michael Erush has experienced quite a whirlwind over the past few weeks.

As part of the coaching staff that led the Golden Eagles on a thrilling championship run in 2021, Erush celebrated a national title after the Golden Eagles beat Charleston (W.V.), 1-0, in Colorado Springs.

Then the fun really started. Shortly after his arrival home, he and his wife, Ally, welcomed their second daughter, Hannah, to join older sister Lea in the Erush household.

A few days later, longtime head coach Chris Chamides announced he was leaving Cal State LA to take over the women's soccer program at Loyola Marymount. Cal State LA executive director of intercollegiate athletics Dr. Daryl Gross reacted quickly and Erush was named the new head coach, taking the reigns of the defending national champions. The Cal State LA coaching staff was named the National Staff of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches and will accept their award later this month.

Erush took a few moments from a busy recruiting schedule to take part in a Q and A with Golden Eagle Athletics:

Q: A national championship, a new baby daughter a new head coaching job, how are you feeling?
A: Surreal, unreal, those thoughts come to mind. Winning a national championship, having a baby and getting a promotion all at once, it was probably the best two weeks of my life!

Q: What have your days been like since you were named the program's new head coach?
A: Busy, of course. I get up at 3 a.m. and from 3-to-7, when I'm on baby duty, I also try to get a lot of recruiting stuff done. The No. 1 goal right now is recruiting. We're also finalizing our (coaching) staff and figuring out how to put everything together. It's like a big puzzle and we have to arrange the pieces. The goal is to get a very consistent roster with talented players from 1-to-30 or whatever number we end up with.

Q: What have been the biggest challenges so far as you embark on this new journey?
A: The biggest challenge after winning a national championship is roster management. Obviously, we had a lot of seniors on the national championship team and some of our returners are considering other options, so there will be a lot of changes.  But fortunately we are blessed with a strong foundation from Chris and had the opportunity to learn so many things from him about creating a winning program.

Q: What was it like experiencing the 2021 national championship run?
A: I tried to take everything all in, every moment from every game. I'll never forget the feeling of missing the first two penalty kicks (in the national semi-final match against Nova Southeastern) and then getting the three big saves. I knew going into the national championship game, we had learned a lot from our experience in 2019, and then we got the early goal and played great defense the whole game.  All this despite the adversity of COVID-19, of being one of the only teams in the country to do nothing on the field for all of 2020 and then coming back for the 2021 season with so many guys who had championship experience, but hadn't played together in so long. It was quite an experience."

Q: How would you describe yourself as a head coach?
A: Committed, detailed, organized, ultra-competitive, passionate. Someone who is very dedicated to our student-athletes and wants to make sure they have the best student-athlete experience possible here at Cal State LA.

Q: What are some of the things you'd like to do with the program to put your stamp on it going forward?
A: The No. 1 thing right now is recruiting. We had a lot of seniors so we have to get busy rebuilding the team and continuing the great success we've had here. I give a lot of credit to Chris, we were very successful and I learned a lot from him and now I have a chance to build upon the great foundation that's in place here.

Q: How have your previous coaching jobs prepared you to become Cal State LA's new head coach?
A: After 17 years of being an assistant, 14 years (at Loyola Marymount with head coach Paul Krumpe) and three years with Chris at Cal State LA, I am ready to lead a program. I am very thankful for all I learned from those two great coaches. I've also had great experiences coaching with US Soccer and at the high school level. I'm ready for this challenge.

Q: What other interests do you have besides soccer?
A: Soccer, soccer and soccer. If I'm not coaching soccer, I'm watching soccer. I enjoy golfing when I have the time. Mountain bike riding. I have a Peloton machine so I like working out. I also greatly enjoy my time with my wife and daughters.

Q: What makes Los Angeles such an exciting play, live and coach?
A: Having been born and raised in Los Angeles, there's no place better. This is a great place for soccer.

Q: What has made Cal State LA's men's soccer program so successful, especially these past few years?
A: The desire to win. The championship culture that Chris instilled here in the program. The leadership of the department. I'm excited to continue to build upon what we've achieved. I'm excited that we are bringing back (assistant coaches) Dallas Jaussi and Michael Haswell, who have both been promoted and will have expanded roles. It's an exciting time for Cal State LA men's soccer.