Inside Programs on the Rise

[PaulNewman]

Good stuff, NCAC. Really enjoyed reading it.

I came to the school in 2011, and met Coach Coven out on the pitch. The turf was open, practice wasn't scheduled to begin for another few hours, and I - no more than a recreational player myself - was just messing about, taking some free kicks. He and Gabe Margolis came over and asked who I was, and gave me perhaps the best soccer-related compliment that I've ever received, especially considering his pedigree: "you're a very good striker of the ball." Regardless of the compliment, the fact that he just came over and chatted with me - without even knowing who I was - typified the guy who has roamed the sidelines of Waltham for 43 years.

Blooter, I meant to respond to this a while back.

Agree with the sentiments above.  I met Coven very briefly at a high school game where he was watching a couple of kids a couple of years ago.  He remembered details of an email from a couple of years before that.  Very friendly, engaging, genuine, and was obvious that the parents of the potential recruits he was watching liked him a lot.

The players who are playing generally always are pretty happy with their coach.  I'd be curious to know if the kids who don't get to play feel just as positively about Coven.  It's a cliche but in some ways I think that is the test of a great coach who also is a teacher and views coaching as part of the educational mission of the institution, and who is genuinely interested in each kid not just in terms of soccer but in life.  I loved his speech after his 500th win.  He didn't make it about him but about everyone else.

Assume you will be going to the Tufts game this weekend.  Good chance I will make that one.  Maybe we can share offering an extensive game report after that one.

[blooter442]

Blooter, I meant to respond to this a while back.

Agree with the sentiments above.  I met Coven very briefly at a high school game where he was watching a couple of kids a couple of years ago.  He remembered details of an email from a couple of years before that.  Very friendly, engaging, genuine, and was obvious that the parents of the potential recruits he was watching liked him a lot.

The players who are playing generally always are pretty happy with their coach.  I'd be curious to know if the kids who don't get to play feel just as positively about Coven.  It's a cliche but in some ways I think that is the test of a great coach who also is a teacher and views coaching as part of the educational mission of the institution, and who is genuinely interested in each kid not just in terms of soccer but in life.  I loved his speech after his 500th win.  He didn't make it about him but about everyone else.

Assume you will be going to the Tufts game this weekend.  Good chance I will make that one.  Maybe we can share offering an extensive game report after that one.

You bet I will. And I think that would be very interesting to see analyses of a game from a different angle.

That's a great question and a very good point.

Certainly, every player is different, and some might react differently to not playing than others, but on the whole I would say the answer is an emphatic yes. He and Margolis preach the team ethos to the point that even the guys way down the bench feel part of the team - it's very evident in the bench reaction, like from the 2014 win over Tufts. Now, obviously, that was a big win for the Judges, who at the time had a point to prove against the NESCAC, but you don't get people fired up unless they're happy to be part of the team. From what I've seen, a lot of the kids riding the bench recognize that the guys in front of them are very talented players and are starting for a reason, rather than seeing them as adversaries, as is the case with some teams. Last year, in a lopsided game, Coven gave a start to a senior who didn't play much in his four years, and the kid went out and hit the winner (the first goal in a 5-0 win.) The reaction of the players and the bench said it all, and you could tell that he very much felt like part of the team. I think it's very easy for coaches to make only the starters feel valued, but the fact that the second-stringers feel just as much part of the team is a testament to Coven.

Another area where bench players have a lot of respect for Coven is that he gives players who haven't played much the opportunity to prove themselves. I've seen several guys come into the program, sit the bench, seem to be going nowhere, and then get their chance and do an excellent job. Minchoff the GK from 2012 was a classic example - he was "not good" when he first came in (the language used was actually significantly more colorful, in jest of course.) But, Coven gave him a chance, and he ended up backstopping the team to an NCAA appearance and earning UAA Honorable Mention.

And, regardless of whether they're playing or not, he's very much involved in his players' lives, both academically and personally. A few years ago, a freshman came in, didn't play much, wasn't doing well academically, and his mother had cancer. When he told Coven he wanted to transfer, he told the kid to take a deep breath, and that he had the potential to be a very good soccer player and very good student, and asked him to stick around. Sure enough, the player graduated with honors, his mother ended up being OK, and he became "one of [their] best ever players." Obviously, that is an exceptional case, but Coven's care for his bench player was a significant factor in the guy deciding to stay.

[FourMoreYears]

And, regardless of whether they're playing or not, he's very much involved in his players' lives, both academically and personally. A few years ago, a freshman came in, didn't play much, wasn't doing well academically, and his mother had cancer. When he told Coven he wanted to transfer, he told the kid to take a deep breath, and that he had the potential to be a very good soccer player and very good student, and asked him to stick around. Sure enough, the player graduated with honors, his mother ended up being OK, and he became "one of [their] best ever players." Obviously, that is an exceptional case, but Coven's care for his bench player was a significant factor in the guy deciding to stay.

That's really cool to hear.  In the end, a coach like Coven will end up impacting the lives of his players far beyond the four years they play for him. Cool.

[PaulNewman]

Thanks Blooter, that's great.

As Mr.Right has sort of alluded to it is not easy to be a coach dealing with close to 30 or more kids/families.  Many of these families are paying 50-60K a year, and for better or worse, the soccer piece played a big role in choosing the school.  While guaranteed nothing I would imagine that most go to a school fully expecting to be in the mix.  I would bet that most coaches can't pull off how Coven operates and instead build a firewall between the program and parents.  I'm also curious about how coaches decide how many kids to bring in for a given year.  Seems that some try to bring in 7-9 every year to keep a balance, and others lose big senior classes and so have to take on a bigger class of recruits.  We've heard that Colby brought in 19.  I imagine that only 7-8 will still be around when they are seniors, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the others will leave the school.  Only a couple out of the 20 frosh that went to Kenyon actually left.  Most of the kids who ended up dropping off the team became big fans of the team and remained part of the "soccer group" socially.  It's tough, though.  If you aren't playing and with each advancing year, the time commitment involved becomes dubious.  And of course a a huge recruiting class ends up impacting the next couple of years.  The year after Kenyon's class of 20 I believe they brought in 8 or 9 kids, and while most of those kids are still at Kenyon, only one kid was/is still on the roster (Barnes) for their last two years.  And no coincidence that after last year's big class graduated they brought in another very large class (13) this year.

[blooter442]

As Mr.Right has sort of alluded to it is not easy to be a coach dealing with close to 30 or more kids/families.  Many of these families are paying 50-60K a year, and for better or worse, the soccer piece played a big role in choosing the school.  While guaranteed nothing I would imagine that most go to a school fully expecting to be in the mix.  I would bet that most coaches can't pull off how Coven operates and instead build a firewall between the program and parents.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that he started coaching in a different era, an era in which I'd have to imagine recruiting was less cutthroat (think about how many "showcases" and U-16 club teams existed in the 80s), as were relationships with parents. However, there is still evidence of that era as exemplified by guys like Coven, Mike Russo, and Jon Anderson, who have been around the game and coaching since the 70s/80s. Russo, for example, used to write personal letters to all of the kids who didn't get into Williams. Apparently, Coven writes handwritten letters too. Those guys started coaching back when soccer, and indeed Division III athletics, was very different in a number of ways, and so that might explain why their relationships with parents are different than that of many coaches who have started their careers in more recent times. Regardless of era, genuine relationships with players and their families isn't something that you can fake, and both Coven and Russo have shown how much they care about their players on numerous occasions over the years. I don't know much about Anderson but he is a class act, too, and he seems to have similar relationships with his players and their families.

I agree that soccer definitely plays a big part in the decision. But I think particularly in more prestigious/selective schools, like those in the NESCAC and UAA - where all of the schools have acceptance rates below 50 percent - kids are generally (not always, but generally) satisfied with their college choice, regardless of how their soccer career turns out, due to the quality of education. A generalization, of course, but a valid one I think. I also agree that the time commitment can be taxing, but I have noticed many similarities to what you said about the Kenyon program at Brandeis (players staying at the school and remaining fans and friends with the players), which is certainly encouraging.

[PaulNewman]

Thanks again, Blooter.  I can't speak globally, but among the coaches we had contact with from schools not chosen the most gracious and personal in his responses was Wheeler at Wesleyan.

[lastguyoffthebench]

Haverford comes to mind when I think of a program on the rise...

Consistently playing the best possible schedule and have improved year in year out.  Wouldn't shock me to see them make it to the Elite 8 in the next few seasons.

Could it happen this year?  My magic 8 ball says, YES.

[lastguyoffthebench]

Haverford comes to mind when I think of a program on the rise...

Consistently playing the best possible schedule and have improved year in year out.  Wouldn't shock me to see them make it to the Elite 8 in the next few seasons.

Could it happen this year?  My magic 8 ball says, YES.

I think Oneonta St will be too much for Haverford.   These two teams are on fire right now and will make for a great one...

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

After this season I would say Lycoming can be considered a program on the rise. The blurb below is something I read after Lycoming's loss to Amherst this past weekend.

"In three years as head coach, Nate Gibboney has now led the Warriors to two MAC Commonwealth championships, two NCAA Division III Championship appearances, one appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship sectionals, all while the team has racked up a 44-13-7 (.742) record with 36 shutouts."

If this trend keeps up, and they keep prevailing over Messiah, I think Lycoming will become a common NCAA team year in and year out.

I also think Endicott and Cabrini and are two other programs to keep an eye on over the next few seasons. Cabrini finally cracked through in conference playoffs and punched their ticket to the dance. They have been knocking on the door the past few seasons and finally succeeded. I think if they can get a nice recruiting class they can keep winning the CSAC consistently and start making progress come tournament time. As for Endicott they had a great year and from what I hear have some great recruits lined up for the next 2 years. Something to keep an eye on. Any thoughts of other schools making a climb onto the national scene? 

[Shooter McGavin]

After this season I would say Lycoming can be considered a program on the rise. The blurb below is something I read after Lycoming's loss to Amherst this past weekend.

"In three years as head coach, Nate Gibboney has now led the Warriors to two MAC Commonwealth championships, two NCAA Division III Championship appearances, one appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship sectionals, all while the team has racked up a 44-13-7 (.742) record with 36 shutouts."

If this trend keeps up, and they keep prevailing over Messiah, I think Lycoming will become a common NCAA team year in and year out.

I also think Endicott and Cabrini and are two other programs to keep an eye on over the next few seasons. Cabrini finally cracked through in conference playoffs and punched their ticket to the dance. They have been knocking on the door the past few seasons and finally succeeded. I think if they can get a nice recruiting class they can keep winning the CSAC consistently and start making progress come tournament time. As for Endicott they had a great year and from what I hear have some great recruits lined up for the next 2 years. Something to keep an eye on. Any thoughts of other schools making a climb onto the national scene?

Yes Eastern too!

[NEsoccerfan20]

Mid Atlantic fan-

Agree with Endicott, have had two great seasons and return their goalkeeper and back 4 next season. What have you heard about their recruits coming in??? Coach Calabrese has done a great job with that program since he arrived but it will be interesting to see where they will find goals next season. They have had their fair share of transfers that have made huge impacts like the goalkeeper Weinstein, forward Maillo. Still have a ways to go to catch Gordon, but agreed that they are building very quickly and have a great defense to rely on.

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

Mid Atlantic fan-

Agree with Endicott, have had two great seasons and return their goalkeeper and back 4 next season. What have you heard about their recruits coming in??? Coach Calabrese has done a great job with that program since he arrived but it will be interesting to see where they will find goals next season. They have had their fair share of transfers that have made huge impacts like the goalkeeper Weinstein, forward Maillo. Still have a ways to go to catch Gordon, but agreed that they are building very quickly and have a great defense to rely on.

All rumors through the grapevine of course but I have heard that they are actively recruiting a DCM, CB, and OM that can really play. 2 current juniors and a senior so you won't see the other 2 until 2017(if the land them) but seems like they are looking ahead. I also heard that the 2 juniors are also considering good D1 schools and a couple solid D3 schools. Should be a good recruiting battle. Time will tell.