Coaching Carousel

[Another Mom]

Why would a NESCAC coach be interested in the Tufts job? It might be a half step up, but isn't it only a half step? I would think an assistant somewhere (D1) makes more sense.

[Ejay]

And speaking of Singleton, if there was any chance I could get him I would.

What makes Tufts any more desirable than W&L? Personally, I would take W&L over just about any other D3 job.  Beautiful school, incredible academics, gorgeous part of the country, and I'm guessing the support of the administration. One can certainly create a cozy little life.

[jknezek]

And speaking of Singleton, if there was any chance I could get him I would.

What makes Tufts any more desirable than W&L? Personally, I would take W&L over just about any other D3 job.  Beautiful school, incredible academics, gorgeous part of the country, and I'm guessing the support of the administration. One can certainly create a cozy little life.

Agreed. If you have a family W&L would be an attractive proposition. Without a spouse? Tough place to be. Further, it's a lifetime type job. If you are happy with the D3 life, coaching at W&L is fantastic. If you have ambitions for more? Head to Tufts if you can. Shapiro just showed why. W&L is a program in great shape. National contender? Sure, they can knock anyone off right now in a one off. But National Tournament winner? Still a few players away and very much the underdog against the elite.

[PaulNewman]

And speaking of Singleton, if there was any chance I could get him I would.

What makes Tufts any more desirable than W&L? Personally, I would take W&L over just about any other D3 job.  Beautiful school, incredible academics, gorgeous part of the country, and I'm guessing the support of the administration. One can certainly create a cozy little life.

I thought of Singleton as a good example of what I think Tufts (or any other top NESCAC or top academic/athletic D3) would be looking for.  I wasn't necessarily thinking of him as an actual serious candidate, but once I thought of him my next thought was that he would at least be worth a call.  W&L is a fantastic spot and I would think he would stay but I don't know any details about how deep his Massachusetts/New England ties are beyond spending a bunch of years up here (Head State Coach for Mass Youth Soccer and MIT coach).  I know he went to Penn but I don't know where his original ties are or where he might have family.  And as the W&L alum suggested, there are huge differences between living in Boston or Boston area and Lexington, VA, and what we do know is that he left the Boston area for W&L which had to be a pretty big move so I would guess that's where he stays at least for now.

My other question about NESCAC coaches moving was just a question.  I'm not aware of NESCAC coaches moving around within the conference but my knowledge base only goes back 10 or so years.  Tufts I'm sure looks very attractive, but as I noted already, the expectations for performance will be sky-high.  I personally think the current Tufts opening (again, assuming true and I have no independent verification) may carry more risk than the Harvard job.

[OldNed]

It's official now - Shapiro to Harvard:

https://www.gocrimson.com/sports/msoc/2019-20/releases/20200113hh9bqj

[blooter442]

Understanding that (many of us) desire to move up the ladder in whatever we do professionally, most coaches seem to want to go from D3 to D1. Even so, and even hearing Shapiro make a comment after the first title in 2014 about being bemused at reaching the peak professionally at the D3 level at that point, my gut was that he would stay at Tufts based on what I had heard of him being tired of the D1 grind. I thought he might try to build the next Messiah in terms of titles won (would have taken a few more years, but he was already well on his way).

That being said, with four national titles in six years, he's done about as much as he can at the Division III level, and with an exceptional opportunity arising (one that doesn't require a move!), it'd be hard to turn down. Plus, someone who knows the difficulties of recruiting in a competitive conference athletically and academically, and it seems like a good fit.

Best of luck to him. It'll probably take some time, as it did with Tufts, but I think with his tactical nous and the buy-in he gets from players that he'll be very successful at Harvard. Will be keeping an eye on Harvard's results this fall.

[Gregory Sager]

It's official now - Shapiro to Harvard:

https://www.gocrimson.com/sports/msoc/2019-20/releases/20200113hh9bqj

Does the fact that the donor who endowed the fund that provides for Shapiro's salary graduated from Harvard a year before the donor whose endowed fund provides for the Harvard AD's:

Josh Shapiro has been named The Virginia B. and James O. Welch Jr. '52 Head Coach for Harvard Men's Soccer, Bob Scalise, The John D. Nichols '53 Family Director of Athletics, announced this morning.

... mean that Shapiro outranks the AD by seniority?

[jknezek]

It's official now - Shapiro to Harvard:

https://www.gocrimson.com/sports/msoc/2019-20/releases/20200113hh9bqj

Does the fact that the donor who endowed the fund that provides for Shapiro's salary graduated from Harvard a year before the donor whose endowed fund provides for the Harvard AD's:

Josh Shapiro has been named The Virginia B. and James O. Welch Jr. '52 Head Coach for Harvard Men's Soccer, Bob Scalise, The John D. Nichols '53 Family Director of Athletics, announced this morning.

... mean that Shapiro outranks the AD by seniority?

It's almost unreadable when schools include that crap in their press releases. I get that its nice for the donor and family, but I've seen paragraphs that mention 4 or 5 endowed positions this way and it makes me want to claw my eyes out.

[blue_jays]

It's official now - Shapiro to Harvard:

https://www.gocrimson.com/sports/msoc/2019-20/releases/20200113hh9bqj

Does the fact that the donor who endowed the fund that provides for Shapiro's salary graduated from Harvard a year before the donor whose endowed fund provides for the Harvard AD's:

Josh Shapiro has been named The Virginia B. and James O. Welch Jr. '52 Head Coach for Harvard Men's Soccer, Bob Scalise, The John D. Nichols '53 Family Director of Athletics, announced this morning.

... mean that Shapiro outranks the AD by seniority?

It's almost unreadable when schools include that crap in their press releases. I get that its nice for the donor and family, but I've seen paragraphs that mention 4 or 5 endowed positions this way and it makes me want to claw my eyes out.

CO-SIGN

[blooter442]

My 2¢: You're doing it wrong if the additional words used to denote an endowed position is more than 10% of that paragraph's total word count. (The first paragraph was 42%.)

[Ejay]

The least he could have done was include the Welch's in his thanks... :-)

"I am very grateful to Virginia B. and James O. Welch Jr. '52 for the opportunity to become the next head coach of the Harvard men's soccer program," said Shapiro. "I feel the position represents a wonderful, new challenge and I look forward to leading the student-athletes of Harvard soccer moving forward on the field, in the classroom and in the community.  I want to thank the members of the search committee, Erin West, Chris Hamblin, Duane Reeves and Athletic Director Bob Scalise, for giving me the opportunity to lead the program into the future."

[Gregory Sager]

The inclusion of the graduation year of James O. Welch in that missed opportunity of a thank-you would've been a particularly nice touch.

[Dubuquer]

Loras announced that Dan Rothert has stepped down as coach and assistant AD.  The stated reason was that Rothert wanted to spend more time with his family and that the stress of trying to replicate the success of a few seasons back wasn't good for him or his family.

Given the past success of the soccer program and the current success of the athletic department as a whole (women's b'ball, both indoor track teams, and wrestling all currently ranked in top 10; outdoor track coming off national championship) this would have to be a pretty desirable job and it will be interesting to see who they choose to take the helm.

[diamondJOEY]

What an unbelievable career for Rothert. 5 Final Fours and a 2nd place finish for a small private school in Dubuque, IA. Who knows how many conference championships..? Created a completely new/unique style that was extremely effective at the college level. Had a super tight alumni base that showed support at every Final Four. Great coach and an even better family man.
Really hoping they bring in someone that the alumni can get behind and create something off of many successful years.

[PaulNewman]

Really sorry to hear about Rothert although hopefully the change is good for him and his family.

Loras was super-hot when I started paying attention around 2010/2011.  Tremendous success and almost like Tufts for a handful of years minus the final, final breakthrough (while noting that Loras played some monster squads in their Final Four losses and had a bit of bad luck like against Camden in 2013). 

Loved me some Kevin Cavers back in the day.