SimpleCoach D3 Soccer YouTube Channel

[Kuiper]

Another great interview, this time with Reid Ayers of Baldwin Wallace University.  Has a ton of knowledge about the game and about coaching.  Was a thrill to have spoken to him.  Last time I saw him was when I played against him in 1989.

Reid Ayers of Baldwin Wallace University

I wasn't able to listen to the whole interview (Coach Ayers' sound was really spotty and not always synced with the video), but a couple of quick reactions to what I did hear and to BW in general:

1. I also played in Finnie Stadium back when it was basically a larger version of those old fake grass welcome mats laid out on the concrete front stoop of your grandmother's house. Still have a scar on my leg from a long-ago slide tackle.

2. No wonder he decided that coaching was fun after his first job coaching the Bay Village HS team with Brad Friedel. I used to play against his team at the North Olmsted tournament when he was playing a couple of age groups up and he was what kids today call a cheat code - as a field player.

3. I was curious about how Baldwin Wallace was doing these days and I checked out their website. They had a really rough season last year (winless in conference) and then looked at their roster. I don't know if you discussed this, but how many D3 teams have three GKs that are each 6'6"?!  Talk about having a type! And what attracts those kids to Baldwin Wallace? Is this a two-for-one deal with the basketball team? I'm actually not a huge fan of Uber tall GKs unless they've had very specific GK training as a youth to handle the limitations of being that tall, but it's not like there are dozens of guys like that in northeastern Ohio who play soccer anyway. Does BW have some kind of reputation for developing tall GKs?

[jknezek]

2. No wonder he decided that coaching was fun after his first job coaching the Bay Village HS team with Brad Friedel. I used to play against his team at the North Olmsted tournament when he was playing a couple of age groups up and he was what kids today call a cheat code - as a field player.

This is how I felt playing against Tim Howard. I used to be relieved when I saw him in goal because there was much less damage he could do from the goal than on the field. The guy was a ridiculous midfielder/forward, first team all-state in NJ his junior and senior seasons at least, and he usually played there in high school. The story went he cut a deal with his h.s. coach that he would stay on the team so long as he wasn't goalie since he played goalie for club and ODP.

My senior year we knocked his h.s. team out of the state tournament in penalty kicks, but he was playing on the field. My freshman year we knocked his club team out of the state tournament while he was in goal. I think I faced him 5 or 6 times between 11 and 14 playing club with him sometimes in goal and sometimes on the field and it didn't matter since he was the best player on the field either way.

[SimpleCoach]

3. I was curious about how Baldwin Wallace was doing these days and I checked out their website. They had a really rough season last year (winless in conference) and then looked at their roster. I don't know if you discussed this, but how many D3 teams have three GKs that are each 6'6"?!  Talk about having a type! And what attracts those kids to Baldwin Wallace? Is this a two-for-one deal with the basketball team? I'm actually not a huge fan of Uber tall GKs unless they've had very specific GK training as a youth to handle the limitations of being that tall, but it's not like there are dozens of guys like that in northeastern Ohio who play soccer anyway. Does BW have some kind of reputation for developing tall GKs?

Sorry about the audio gents.  Sounded fine when we were talking but the file came back like that and no matter what I did, I couldnt improve it.  That was a great interview and he has a ton of knowledge.  Could have kept going but .... this dang job I have requires me to work sometimes ...

I don't know if it is something about tall keepers that many fawn over.  I think they end up with a ton of technical deficiencies that you trade one poison for another.  I would take a 6'0 keeper over a 6'5" keeper if the shorter one was technically sound and understood the game.  Crosses in the box don't happen that much where a Keeper's height will matter that much.  Just my observation.

Thanks for watching @Kuiper and @JKnezek.  And as always, appreciate the support... Oh, and a preview, will be doing another one for a 2022 preview discussion with one of the coaches I already interviewed.  Very excited about it....

SC.

[SimpleCoach]

So close to the fall, thought it would be good to start asking about it.  Here is Reuben Burk talking about  the upcoming season.

Reuben Burk, Head Men's Coach at Connecticut College

[SimpleCoach]

2022 Season Preview with Washington and Lee Head Coach Mike Singleton

[Another Mom]

@simplecoach thank you! Reuben Burke and Mike Singleton are two of my favorite coaches. I just finished listening to Coach Singleton.  He made an interesting point about the lack of overtime resulting in (possibly) a lot of tied games.

I cannot wait for the season to start now!

[SimpleCoach]

2022 Season Preview with Ohio Wesleyan University Head Men's Coach Jay Martin

[PaulNewman]

2022 Season Preview with Ohio Wesleyan University Head Men's Coach Jay Martin

Believe me when I tell you that I'm even more annoyed by my weakness and predictability than you are, but like at least a few  other participants here I am seemingly incapable of letting a perceived slight go unanswered.  The ongoing battle and fluctuations between narcissistic injury and narcissistic equilibrium explain so much of our time here on Earth.

First off, great stuff.  Martin truly is one of the legends of all collegiate sports, all divisions included, and he is deserving of any and all accolades that he gets.  Moreover, he looks like he conservatively can lead the Battling Bishops for another 10-15 years.  He no doubt will surpass the 50 year mark which I would guess (if hasn't already) will put him in a category unmatched by any coach at any collegiate level and higher (and which will be a record that may stand for another 100 years). 

But no rivals?  Or just no conference rivals?  No teams ever circled on the schedule?  Maybe just a bit disingenuous?

As I often say both professionally and personally, you can learn as much or more by paying attention to what a person doesn't say or name compared to what he/she does say. 

In my view, OWU has had more than a handful of legit rivals on a historical basis, but especially over the past decade, there have been two chief rivals.....Calvin... and another unnamed school.  The rivalry with the unnamed school is easily one of the top 3-4 rivalries in all of D3 men's soccer and OWU-Calvin is easily in the top 7-8 nationwide.  Just comparing these two rivalries, the OWU-Calvin one pales in comparison given their mutual admiration society element versus one where the mutual lack of fondness is on par with Williams vs Amherst or Tufts vs Amherst.  The energy that goes into Martin avoiding saying (or heaven forbid, tipping his cap to) the other school is palpable....so, instead, yeah, let's go with a friendlier alum-guided foe...Denison.  It would be closer to the truth to say that OWU would be fortunate to consider themselves a rival for this other school...especially since they are 1-8-4 and 0-7-3 versus the unnamed school since 2014 and 2015, respectively...and since the other school has won the past six regular season conference titles.  Not a fluky season or two...six straight.  But yeah, I'm sure he has no clue whether he is playing this other non-rivalry team as their first conference game or later or home or away. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy_DASt7hDs

[Ejay]

But no rivals?  Or just no conference rivals?  No teams ever circled on the schedule?  Maybe just a bit disingenuous?

I honestly don't think Jay cares all that much about the result vs Kenyon.  Going 0-7-3 won't define him or his program. He expects to make the tournament every year and has a goal of winning it, and the 1, 2 or 3 loses each year along the road are just part of the journey.  Would he like to win? Of course, because he expects his team to play to a certain level which more often than not will lead to a positive result.  But if you asked him if he would be happy with a win vs. Kenyon in which they were outplayed, outshot, outpossessed, etc, I would put money on it that he would say no - unless is was the National Championship.   

[Kuiper]

2022 Season Preview with Ohio Wesleyan University Head Men's Coach Jay Martin

Believe me when I tell you that I'm even more annoyed by my weakness and predictability than you are, but like at least a few  other participants here I am seemingly incapable of letting a perceived slight go unanswered.  The ongoing battle and fluctuations between narcissistic injury and narcissistic equilibrium explain so much of our time here on Earth.

First off, great stuff.  Martin truly is one of the legends of all collegiate sports, all divisions included, and he is deserving of any and all accolades that he gets.  Moreover, he looks like he conservatively can lead the Battling Bishops for another 10-15 years.  He no doubt will surpass the 50 year mark which I would guess (if hasn't already) will put him in a category unmatched by any coach at any collegiate level and higher (and which will be a record that may stand for another 100 years). 

But no rivals?  Or just no conference rivals?  No teams ever circled on the schedule?  Maybe just a bit disingenuous?

As I often say both professionally and personally, you can learn as much or more by paying attention to what a person doesn't say or name compared to what he/she does say. 

In my view, OWU has had more than a handful of legit rivals on a historical basis, but especially over the past decade, there have been two chief rivals.....Calvin... and another unnamed school.  The rivalry with the unnamed school is easily one of the top 3-4 rivalries in all of D3 men's soccer and OWU-Calvin is easily in the top 7-8 nationwide.  Just comparing these two rivalries, the OWU-Calvin one pales in comparison given their mutual admiration society element versus one where the mutual lack of fondness is on par with Williams vs Amherst or Tufts vs Amherst.  The energy that goes into Martin avoiding saying (or heaven forbid, tipping his cap to) the other school is palpable....so, instead, yeah, let's go with a friendlier alum-guided foe...Denison.  It would be closer to the truth to say that OWU would be fortunate to consider themselves a rival for this other school...especially since they are 1-8-4 and 0-7-3 versus the unnamed school since 2014 and 2015, respectively...and since the other school has won the past six regular season conference titles.  Not a fluky season or two...six straight.  But yeah, I'm sure he has no clue whether he is playing this other non-rivalry team as their first conference game or later or home or away. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy_DASt7hDs

I don't know things from OWU's perspective, but I can verify that Kenyon certainly has viewed OWU as a chief rival long before the last decade.  My (much older) brother played for Kenyon back in the late 1970s when Jay Martin was just a new coach. One game, my brother was very sick, but didn't tell my parents or anyone on the team and decided to tough it out and play anyway.  He apparently collapsed on the field late in the game and ended up in the hospital. Turns out he had mono and I think he may have come close to rupturing his spleen.  When my Mom confronted on him on why he played despite feeling so crummy, he responded, "I had to!  We were playing against Ohio Wesleyan!"

[PaulNewman]

Ejay, come on, man.  You seriously don't think he considers his chief rival a rivalry?  That was the question...not whether or how much he cares.  And I never suggested the more recent record reflects any blight on his legendary history with OWU.  That said, he does care, and he cares about the regular season game, the NCAC tourney game if there is one, or a 2nd round or Sweet 16 NCAA game.  The regular season game for instance often determines who wins the regular season and gets home field for the conference tourney.  It is a very intense rivalry..including for Dr. Martin, and as a very fierce competitor I have no doubt he considers the Kenyon game the biggest one on his schedule.  And I will put money on what you said...any win vs Kenyon is a good win for Martin...same for Calvin.

@Kuiper, that is a great story.  I had mono my frosh year at Davidson and was in the school infirmary for 5-6 days.  Yes, OWU always has been a rival for Kenyon, and overall historically one among a handful of OWU rivals, but that has intensified over the past decade to become #1 for both sides.  There was a period in the mid to late 90s when Kenyon also matched or exceeded OWU, including 1996 I believe when Kenyon lost the national title game played in Gambier to TCNJ in four overtimes before Martin snagged his first title in 1998. 

[Ejay]

I honestly think he simply looks at it as another game against a quality opponent that will help prepare his team for a run in the NCAA Tournament. He's not sleepless the night before, nor loses sleep if they lose. However, I believe the players think of it differently and will treat the game differently and I'm sure have that game circled on their calendars.

[PaulNewman]

I honestly think he simply looks at it as another game against a quality opponent that will help prepare his team for a run in the NCAA Tournament. He's not sleepless the night before, nor loses sleep if they lose. However, I believe the players think of it differently and will treat the game differently and I'm sure have that game circled on their calendars.

Do you know him?

Again, you're skirting the issue.  Do you truly believe he doesn't view anyone including Kenyon as a rival?  And why does he consistently avoid referring to Kenyon by name or give a nod to their success?  Where did I suggest sleepless?

[SimpleCoach]

Just my impression but, will say, every team they play has a target on OWU's back.  Every game, all games, every season.  Would suspect after awhile, rivalries don't seem like much since every game is big.  This one didn't get me curious as much as his ideas around warm ups and building player confidence... so no 5v5 before games.  Starting Keeper does not take shots.  I thought that was very interesting.

Thanks all for watching. 

As an FYI.  I have asked the coach of the team that shall not be named (assuming that this means the school that starts with K and n at the end, and Enya twin brother in the middle)... multiple times.  But have never heard back.

SC.

[Ejay]

I honestly think he simply looks at it as another game against a quality opponent that will help prepare his team for a run in the NCAA Tournament. He's not sleepless the night before, nor loses sleep if they lose. However, I believe the players think of it differently and will treat the game differently and I'm sure have that game circled on their calendars.

Do you know him?

Again, you're skirting the issue.  Do you truly believe he doesn't view anyone including Kenyon as a rival?  And why does he consistently avoid referring to Kenyon by name or give a nod to their success?  Where did I suggest sleepless?

Where did I suggest that you said sleepless?  Those are my words. 

But again, I don't think he views any one team as any different from the rest. So in that regard, they are all rivals. He doesn't look at games the way you do. As a player, there was always the one team you wanted to beat, and when I first started coaching 25+ years ago I carried that feeling with me.  But as I continued on my coaching journey, the individual games/opponents became less important and the end product was my focus. Was my "Kenyon" a game I circled on my calendar? In the beginning, yes. Later on, no.  Do other teams consider my team their rival? Perhaps, but I don't treat that team/game any differently than all my others.

Agree to disagree?