Philosophy

Relationship building

 
 

Motivate, lead & interact through positive relationships.  

Building honest relationships with players, staff administration, field crew and everyone involved with the program to create an environment that everyone that wants to be a part of.

You can be very demanding of your players when they see how much you care about them more than just players that can help you win games, this is how trust is built.

5 keys to building healthy relationships:

  • Honest and open communication

  • Positive reinforcement 

  • Genuine interest 

  • Availability

  • Trust

Control the controllable

 
 

There are things you can control and things you can’t control.

You can control your attitude, work ethic, competitive nature and discipline ways. Make sure you only worry about what you can control and put everything into it in order to be successful.

Win the day

  • Every day is an opportunity to win, just like in competition.

  • Find a way to get better by learning to make an impact within your job, family or friends.

  • No one goes undefeated. You will lose a day – learn from it and win the next day. The key is to stive to win every day.

  • Before you go to bed at night make sure that tomorrow is organized so you are prepared to win the next day 

Attitude

 
 

Positivity is the expectation by all in the program.

Constantly remind players of their unbelievable opportunity to get an education and play soccer. The goal is to help them grow and have the ability to handle and overcome adversity when it arises. 

 

This image of a pit crew sums up my philosophy and culture for my program. Every single person involved in our program has a role to play. No matter how big or small your role is you have to be able to perform at your best. Players will perform when they feel valued – it’s my job as the leader to make sure that everyone knows their value and how that directly impacts how successful we are on and off the field!

 

Recruiting

 
 

Academics and character will form the non-negotiable bookends of sports specific skills. 

In order to be successful, we will need people who can meet the academic and athletic challenges of their student athlete experience.

Recruiting will focus on five key characteristics:

  • Character

  • Academics

  • Physical 

  • Technical 

  • Tactical (soccer IQ)

 

Professional Goalkeepers Developed/Mentored

  • Jeff Attinella, Portland Timbers, USF (College)

  • Josh Lambo, U17 National Team

  • Zach MacMath, Real Salt Lake, U17 National Team

  • Andrew Wolverton, LA Galaxy, Penn State University

  • Diego Restrepo, San Antonio FC, U17 National Team, USF

  • Akira Fitzgerald, Richmond Kickers, Wake Forest University  

Recruiting

 
 

Compliance
First and foremost, my staff and I will recruit with honesty and integrity through the guidelines of the NCAA.

Relationships
It’s not a program unless we build and mold players in every aspect of their college careers on and off the field. We must take an interest in their lives. This begins during the recruiting process.

Work ethic 
My coaching staff will be relentless in recruiting the top players in country and the world because it is the lifeblood of any program. 

Regional and domestic recruiting 
We need to dominate the South region in recruiting and make sure that all the top players in the Southern region think of South Carolina as a top choice.

Having played professionally in South Carolina  (Charleston Battery) & Atlanta (Atlanta Silverbacks) & having been an assistant at Wake Forest and USF, I have strong connections in the Southern Region to be able to recruit the best players out of the top academies in the South.

Working with US Soccer as a youth national team scout, U15 US National Team and U17 National Teams has allowed me to develop deep relationships with every MLS Next academies in the US.

International recruiting 
We will ensure international recruits are special. They will come to South Carolina and be difference makers.

International recruiting has become a big part of college soccer over the last 5-10 years. Having been able to recruit internationally at each school that I’ve coached gives me confidence that I will continue to do so for South Carolina.

 

Let’s build this together.