MSOC Head Coach Search

[Highbeam]

I have heard that 52 applicants have applied for the App St MSOC Head Coaching Position as of the end of last week. Personally, I find that encouraging that there has been that many coaches interested in the position. The AD should also be pleased with the interest shown and they should be able to find some qualified applicants to interview from the group. There could be more applicants that apply before the cut off date the AD set. I can't remember when that date is but, I remember that the AD stated they would like to have someone in the position by the end of February.

[sanderson]

Pretty sure that 52 applicants is a tiny number for a division one program. Any update on the search?

[Highbeam]

Sorry, I have been out of town for the past couple of weeks.

The committee had over 300 inquiries about the position. There were 52 resumes received by December 11th. I do not know how many total resumes were received by the committee before the cut off. Don't judge a program by the number of resumes you receive judge it by the quality of the coaches that are interested in the program. We do have quality in this group.

Earlier this week, five applicants were chosen for an interview. With Jeff Bilyk included, that will make six to be interviewed.

All chosen are current Assistant Head Coaches. No current Head Coaches were chosen out of the group. One AC is from California, one is from the Midwest and the other three are from the East Coast. I was told the names of the group, the colleges where they all coach and the conferences they play in but, I will not give out that info. I will say all five come from highly respected colleges and all have highly respected soccer programs.

They will start the interview process in a couple of weeks when school starts back. They will interview one applicant per week where they will meet with the committee, AD and MSOC team. Then the committee will decide who the winner is. Hopefully, App will have the new MSOC Coach on staff by the end of February or first of March.

I am impressed with the overall process so far. The committee is working together to find the proper candidate that can bring this program back to its glory days. I see that communication, recruiting and knowledge of the game being the top three criteria the committee is looking at in the new coach. Definitely, three things that MSOC has been missing the last few years. I am already looking forward to watching the boys play this spring.

Everyone have a Merry Christmas!

[ASUTodd]

Sounds good!

[DoubleA]

I understand from a very reliable source that the number of resumes received is closer to 100 than 50, and at least one head coach is under consideration.

[asu66]

Pretty sure that 52 applicants is a tiny number for a division one program. Any update on the search?

That "52 count" was the total of inquiries after the vacancy announcement had been posted for only 11 days. That's not too shabby at the less-than-two-weeks mark. The only thing that matters is the number of fully qualified and truly interested candidates who submit a complete application by the deadline. Resume-only submittals will be the first to be screened out.

I'll get excited when the "list" gets screened down to five finalists who have a deep yearning to coach the Mountaineers.

[Highbeam]

I have heard a decision has been reached on the next MSOC Head Coach. The announcement could come as early as tomorrow or later on this week. Stay tuned in.

[Rekdiver]

Ok big Doug! Let's see what you got!

[DoubleA]

just heard Jason O'keefe is our man. Great news!

[AppGrad78]

If, indeed, O'Keefe is our man, here's his bio.

http://www.goheels.com/ViewArticle.dbml ... =209539854

[firemoose]

[Highbeam]

This is an excellent choice. Great coach and is well respected. Excited for App State MSOC. Great job Doug!

[T-Dog]

Loving that resume.

[appst89]

I don't know much about soccer, but this looks like a good resume.

What is the reaction of the soccer aficionados here to this hire?

[DoubleA]

Jason knows the college soccer landscape well, and is a well connected recruiter. A great choice and hope things work out well for him in Boone. One would think he has great potential for success, given resources and support from Admin.

[DoubleA]

word is, Jason was ready to get out of Chapel Hill- after all, why settle for The Hill when you can have The Mountain?

[asu66]

Tremendous hire by Doug Gillin. This answers all of the questions I had about whether Gillin intended to have a strong MSOC program or just maintain the status quo. There's no way O'Keefe would have accepted the position unless he'd been assured a fully-funded squad. By that I mean the NCAA D-I maximum of 9.9 scholarships and the staff, equipment, recruiting and travel budgets to support them.

http://www.scholarshipstats.com/ncaalimits.html

Give 'em Hell, Apps!

[Highbeam]

word is, Jason was ready to get out of Chapel Hill- after all, why settle for The Hill when you can have The Mountain?

If you were an assistant coach under Carlos Somoano, I think you would want to get out of Chapel Hill too. Carlos' personality is drier than a James Bond Martini.

[DoubleA]

The search process seems to have worked well for Doug's first coaching hire. undestand he plans to hold a press conference this afternoon to make A big deal out of this and use this as an opportunity to promote MSOC and ASU athletics. Hope they get a good turnout!

[asu66]

The search process seems to have worked well for Doug's first coaching hire. undestand he plans to hold a press conference this afternoon to make A big deal out of this and use this as an opportunity to promote MSOC and ASU athletics. Hope they get a good turnout!

I believe ASU/TV is going to live-stream it at 2 PM for those who can't make it on the short notice we were given or due to the impending storm.

I'm still pinching myself just a bit that we're hiring a "name" coach who has had unquestionable success in several of the finest men's collegiate soccer programs in the nation.

It reminds me somewhat of the time we hired Hank Steinbrecher to take over for Vaughn Christian. The big difference, of course, is that Coach Christian left the cupboard overflowing with international level talent for Steinbrecher. O'Keefe isn't exactly inheriting national team talent; but I look for him to bring in that sort of talent if we can keep him around for five years. He'll have to do so to compete with Hartwick and Coastal Carolina.