You would have thought a new HC with no college experience would have wanted to hire someone with a little more than 2 years under his belt to be an AHC.
UVU's first schedule looks like a decent one. In the nonconference portion they host UMass, Gonzaga and Denver, are at DePaul and Loyola Chicago and play UC Riverside and UC Irvine in Las Vegas: http://www.wolverinegreen.com/sports/m-soccer/sched/utva-m-soccer-sched.html
Great scheudle! Cant wait to be there to see the games. Here is a recent clip of Lucas playing against Davis.
Here is the opfficial link to the game. Saturday at 730 Mountain 930 eastern. http://www.nscaatv.com/083014--utah-valley-vs--umass
Article on college players who could impact the pros. One of them is Karson Payton, who plays for... UVU. http://americansoccernow.com/articles/eight-college-stars-who-could-impact-the-pros
BYU is in the WCC now, where I'd assume they'd pretty much have to play. If being in a almost-fully played soccer conference (7 of other 9 schools) can't convince them, I doubt adding a rival non-conference school is. UVU's decision won't effect BYU's decision much. BYU sponsors a PDL team. If anything, a very successful UVU men's soccer team might make BYU more reluctant to try it, because of the limited amount of available entertainment and sponsorship dollars in Utah Valley that are already being gobbled up. In Utah Valley, there is BYU football and basketball, and then within an hour in Salt Lake valley there is the Jazz and RSL and Univ of Utah football and basketball. UVU will definitely have an easier time that they will not have to compete with a BYU D-1 men's soccer team. UVU has a large student body but its mostly a commuter school and does not have a well established sports tradition in the community as compared to BYU.
I am not so sure about the UVU program just yet. It appears they spend more time marketing the program then coaching. Essentially hired a career youth coach with no D1 coaching experience. Only scheduled one real pre season game against a D2 school and lost. With a brand new program and players who have not played one college level game together, you would have thought that at least two exhibition games against other college teams would have been a much better evaluation tool for the coaching staff. Inexperience showing already....I wouldn't be expecting much this year, but the marketing plan looks solid!
Can't imagine anyone is sure about the UVU program yet, but regardless of how they prepare, the coming year is going to be a baptism by fire. Hopefully, their kids come through it with a great experience.
One more thing.....the roster really only has two legit DA recruits. Everyone else is untested at a high level of youth soccer.....ODP is no where near the level of a USSDA team. I don't count the summer time program with RSL as a real DA program experience. I am sure that there are a handful of D1 caliber players in Utah, but they are not all going to UVU. So I find it hard to believe they will be very competitive right away, even in the WAC. Maybe the Coach is a soccer genius, but I am very skeptical. UMASS is a mediocre at best A10 team and will probably give there inexperienced back line and goalie fits with experienced attacking players. We will really see what kind of team the staff has assembled in Chicago next week when they play Bog East Depaul and up and coming Loyola. A good thumping might bring the coaching staff back to reality.
I will say that right upfront I have a bias because my son is on the team. Yes when you are building someting new you have to get out there and market the program and I give UVU a real A+ in that department. It will be an uphill battle to get wins this year as would be expected because you are going up against teams and programs that have players that have been together for a few years. Dont read to much into the loss to idaho thought UVU played 30 players to give everyone that was recruited a chance and now the minutes will be giving to the top players . I expect by mid season this team can be pretty good but it will take time to create the chemistry. I beleive the recruited talent stacks up very well aginst the WAC conference. I know my son and some of his teamates were recruited by various top colleges. Having said that even with a top recruiting class it will take time for the team to develope. I for one think it is long past due to have a division 1 mens soccer program here in Utah. They will only get better and it gives all the local Utah talent somewhere to develope at the next level. Also of note is that about 14 players have been training the past year down at UVU together. Many of these players are a little older and will form the core of the team this year with the new 18 year old Freshman trying to break into the lineup much like a program that has a junior or senior core. When yoiu see the starting line up on Saturday it will be heavy on older transfer players.
Some more great news for Utah soccer growth: Dell Loy Hansen confirms RSL having a team in USLPro next year. They will play next year at Rio Tinto, then hopefully in 2016 have their own small stadium at the state fairgrounds. http://www.kutv.com/sports/features/talkin-sports/stories/vid_1810.shtml
I know next to nothing about the program, but a lot of good players did not play in DA programs. Go look at some of the all-freshman teams from last year.
We will see this evening. You are right that the team is not as young as it looks. But the team has essentially played one game against a college level opponent. I don't count the team scrimmage, nothing more than a practice and not a very effective evaluation tool. Essentially, the coaching staff is now going to have to use games that count to evaluate players and allow players to adjust to the real speed and physicality of the college game. Umass played two exhibitions against quality D1 opponents in addition to their internal team scrimmages. Their staff is already two steps ahead of UVU in setting a solid starting lineup. UVU may appear more mature, but the reality is that most of the mature freshman and upperclass transfers have not played a real competitive game in at least one year. Some coming back from missions at least two years. Hence, the missed opportunity in scheduling a quality pre season. The comment about other college freshman on the college freshman team last year. Yes, you are correct that their are always non DA players that make a big impact. But by in large the percentage of DA players is greater. I just think that the coaching staff needs to be a bit more humble and realistic in their expectations. The hype and over the top marketing is setting the team up for something that is probably not achieve able this year. Look at Incarnate Word, who joined the WAC this year after spending last year as an independent. They jumped to D1 last year after a long period as a solidly ranked d2 program. They had a mediocre first season with a solid core of veterans and new recruits. By the way, I think they just might be a contender this year in the WAC. So You can't expect this team to take the WAC by storm, it is simply unrealistic. The focus should be on building team values, team work ethic, and a disciplined tactical system that lays the foundation for future success. If we see a bunch of individuals that are unorganized and playing for themselves tonight, then that is an indication that the coaching staff has a long way to go to even be competitive right away in the WAC.
<a href="http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads...s-soccer-in-2014.1976232/page-2#post-31012882">Utah Valley University to add men's soccer in 2014</a> I agree this season will be a baptism by fire for the team members. The experience they have positive and negative will not be measured in wins and losses. The experience will be in how they grow as a team. That experience is shaped and moulded by the coaching staff. A great book about the "experience" ,When the Game Stands Tall, provides a real life story about a head coach and a staff that focus on building that "experience" for the team. A lot to learn in that book and it would not be a bad weekend read for the UVU coaching staff.
As I mentioned in another thread, congratulations are in order for a dominant opening night. @Toddsoccerdad must be over the moon right now.
I came away impressed with UVU after watching the stream. I'm not ready to concede the NCAA championship, but they are organized; have a few talented players. Congrats to the team and the school. Good luck.
Uvu looked very dangerous going forward all night. Umass had no answer for uvu's speed and precision passing. Umass was abysmal in the attack barely able to connect any passes in the final third. Some of that can be attributed to solid defense, but some also to just a very poor umass outing. I don't think the script could have gone any better for Uvu. They should see two better teams in Chicago next week, which will help them continue to grow as a team. Well done Uvu!
Speechless this morning about how well the team played and Lucas scoring a goal is his first NCAA game. Plus Lucas played all but the last 60 seconds. I will add more thoughts later as I am off to attend church this morning . Well done Lucas and UVU!!
Wonderful start. Great win, great crowd. It will be interesting how their upcoming games will go. They have several talented players and some size. Add altitude for their training and home games, they should be pretty competitive - especially in the WAC. Long term, given all the LDS missions, there is a good chance they will be recruiting kids from all over the world.