OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! Would someone anyone, please start a GW thread. NO ONE CARES ABOUT THAT Program, NO ONE! UMKC To hire mens assistant.
Hilltopsoccer created a GW thread. How about a moderator/admin moving the GW posts to the new thread.
Cal State Bakersfield have taken the interim tag off of Melissa Phillips. Youngest head coach in DI, I think.
Graduated in 2009, two years of assistant coaching experience and a National 'C' License and she is ready to lead a D1 program? I hope for this young lady she doesn't tank the program and damage her career, or interest in being a coach. I think we had this discussion here previously, but A.D.'s are doing a disservice to young coaches like this, (male or female). I think the biggest challenge to a young coach at this level is their ability to recruit. How is she supposed to sit in front of a recruit and their family at what, 24, 25 years of age and show them she can keep up with these other coaches? Seriously, two years out of college and this individual knows enough about coaching? Sorry, I don't think so.
I agree, give her an interim tag for the year first. She's never managed a season before and only has 2/3 years of assistant experience. Not sure that's a D1 resume, but AD's know what they want out of a program and a coach, not fans. I do think being young would help recruiting in a way. She can emphasize being able to relate. The parents may want someone older, but the kids may like having a coach who is pretty much in their age bracket. Or parents may like a coach who is enthusiastic, which Phillips will definitely bring with her age and new position. Remember, the pool of players she's recruiting from is along the lines of the Big West and WAC rather than the WCC and Pac-12, so I think she should be able to hold her own. She's not brand new to the business; I'm sure she's made contacts as an assistant. The key is the support staff she hires.
What help the AD gives her may be key to her success. But taking the interim tag off is the only way she will be able to recruit this year. She may only have a one year contract, don't forget, and next time around the administration would probably have more time to find a replacement. If she succeeds, great.
Her bio is pretty impressive as a player (I have watched a lot of D2 and D1, not that much different at the highest levels of D2) so I'm willing to give her a chance although D1 is a big challenge. And I actually agree that a younger coach actually sometimes has an edge in recruiting ... IF they are personable with the recruits AND communicative with the parents.
Ok guys - I'm not a parent/fan USCUE, I'm a coach at a different level. I enjoy this forum for the debates. I would love to be wrong here as well, as the research shows female coaches are in decline. I would hate to see one leave because she had a bad experience as a HC due to the fact she was put in a no-win situation. Who is the last female coach on the women's side at the D1 level to succeed in her mid 20's as a HC? Competitive players, who would be the realistic athletes trying to make it on a D1 roster, want to find a coach who can make them a better player. Young coach who can relate, sure, I buy that. I'm still relatively young (older than her by quite a bit) and I think I benefit from that as well when recruiting. For some recruits this is a great selling point. However, not the good one's she will need to succeed in my opinion. The next tier down that want to feel wanted by a coach because they were told they weren't good enough for her rivals, sure. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'll be looking to see what other coaches have succeeded as a HC in their 20's from you guys. The other part that can make up for a lack of coaching is recruiting ability and scholarship $. If the program is funded and she can flat out offer more money, than she can have a chance. No idea what their funding is. Anyone know?
"AD's know what they want out of a program and a coach, not fans." I thought you were referring to me on this one - sorry if I took it out of context. Also, A.D.'s may know what they want, but can't achieve it or make the wrong hire. Just like coaches know the recruits they want but can't get them or can't coach them. There are a lot of bad A.D.'s.
Ah. I just looked back at the posts again and see where that may have come across. My comment about the AD's wasn't related to yours. Speaking of AD's, Bakersfield's AD has been on the job for 3 months. He's new not only to the campus (as of January 8) but to the state of California. Coming from a D2 school, it's his first D1 overall director job, although he was an associate at SMU as well. As a person who made a name for himself as a great fundraiser, maybe he decided to stick with Phillips also as a good faith sign to the community - someone who is already attached to the program - as they begin their first year of D1 soccer. Or she could have a good work ethic. I don't know. I still think an interim tag is the way to go, but Cliveworshipper made a good point of 1) how can you recruit long-term with an interim tag and 2) we don't know what the contract was for. Could be a one-year deal, could be five-years. Definitely has to be a bargain salary, which is good for a D2-to-D1 transitioning program.
Not sure about the last one, but the most successful one of all time falls in that category. Anson was 28 when he started Petruchelli was 29 Jerry Smith was 25
Landscape of women's college soccer has changed drastically in the last 25 years....hard to compare....then & now!
OK, recent Female example: Tara Ericson graduated from UW in 1996. I guess that made her 21-22. UO doesn't list her age. In 2001, after being an assistant at UW for one year, she took over a horrid (zero win) Portland State program and went 13-5-2 her first year. She would have been 25?-26? She stayed another year or two always being successful. In her last year her team got a share of the Big Sky title. Then after the 2003 season she went to U of O and took a pretty bad UO team and took them to winning seasons in a couple of years beating UCLA and USC ( and getting robbed of a tournament berth) And she would still be "20 something" when she did it.
Tough to find women's ages. Angela Kelly graduated from UNC in 1994 and took over at Tennessee in 2000. In 2001, Tennessee got it's first national ranking ever. Her record is listed at 127-59-16
For comparison, UW - Superior (D3) claims that Joe Mooney (27) is the youngest men's coach in the NCAA.
University of South Florida's Dennise Schilte-Brown graduated from UMBC in 1997 and started coaching at USF in 2006.
The men's coach at USF, George Kiefer, also started young. 1993 graduate of SCSU, started coaching at USF in 2003. Close enough.
TAMU coach g. guerrieri graduated from Tulsa in 1985 Coached Hardin-Simmons and Richland to national rankings between 1987 and 1992, then went to TAMU where he has been ever since.