May. 2, 2005
ORLANDO - New head men's soccer coach Brent Erwin was officially introduced to the UCF team when he visited the campus on Monday and took the time to answer questions about his transition and his hopes for the program's future.
What attracted you to the position at UCF? The location and the size of the university and this state, which is such a big soccer state, was the big attraction. Once you get on campus, everybody is optimistic. Everybody is energetic because the athletics program and the campus are undergoing such a big transformation. We're building a new stadium, dorms and academic buildings. Once you come on campus, it goes from being a very alluring position to a very, very exciting position. You can literally go as far as you want to go with it because we are going to get the resources we need to be successful.
We have the opportunity to carry the mantra. We can be the big Florida soccer school. That's where I want us to be. I can use the lessons that I've learned at SMU and other places to transform this program into a national power. I think we can be very successful at the national level.
How will your ties to Florida with your work at the IMG Soccer Academy and the U.S. National Team help you in recruiting? For me to leave SMU, I had to feel comfortable in the place I was going, where there were recruiting connections that I could use to bring in the best players. I have my ties to the IMG Soccer Academy and the U.S. National Team training there, but I am also comfortable in my relationships with coaches at other clubs and programs in the state.
The recruiting demographic is very similar to the one we had at SMU. At SMU, we specialized in Dallas and Texas and brought in a few from Florida. Here we will specialize in Florida and sprinkle a kid in from Texas, Ohio or Alabama.
I want to recruit from Florida first. I want us to be a program that represents Orlando, the Central Florida region and the entire state of Florida. There are so many good players and coaches in this state that I want to recruit those kids first. That way the players will feel a special tie. They are not only representing the university or their team but they are representing hometowns because this is state university.
What is your coaching philosophy? My philosophy is to provide the best professional environment - the best coaching, the best know-how, the best feedback - for the players. When you do that, there is also an expectation on their part. If you are going to treat them like pros, the players are going to have to perform on the field and they have to be good young men off the field.
I just talked to the players this morning and I told them that they only have a few responsibilities. One is to work for the team. The team must be the number one important thing. Two is to be good ambassadors - ambassadors for our team, for our athletic department, our university and our state. Three is to graduate. Parents love to watch their kids play soccer, but what they are really interested in is that their kid is going to graduate. I will make a covenant with those parents: "If you entrust me with your son, he is going to get a degree from UCF that will help him after his soccer career has finished." The last one is that soccer and winning for me is a year-round proposition. The players are going to be training all the time.
Essentially, I provide the environment and the coaching. The players provide effort, attitude and concentration that we are going to need. If those things come together, we'll be good to go.
You said you met with the players this morning. How was the first introduction? It went very well. That is a group of kids that want to be successful. They have been successful at their current level, but this new conference is going to bring it up a notch, a big notch. I think they realize the challenge that is in front of them.
What do you expect from the transition into Conference USA? How much do you know about the teams you'll be facing? The only team I haven't seen is Marshall. SMU played Kentucky, FIU and Tulsa last year. Obviously, I know a bit about SMU. I have not seen East Carolina or South Carolina except on tape. I have also seen UAB and Memphis on tape. I know a lot of these teams.
That was one of the other alluring things about the position. This conference is going to be one of the top two or three conferences in the country. To be able to become a coach at a big public school within the Conference USA was very intriguing. I feel that it does give me a little bit of a leg up because I do know the teams. At the end of the day, though, it all comes down to what we can do on the field.
What can the fans expect when they come out to a UCF soccer game next fall? A good positive playing, energetic team. We are going to play on both sides of the ball. We're going to run, work hard and pass the ball. I am very interested in the team playing good soccer in a style that befits this state. This is not a kick-and-run state. The players in this state have flair, ability and panache. I want to tap into that, while also focusing on discipline. It will be a very fast-paced style. Tactically, we will adapt to what we need to do.
My number one goal is to make this team a team that the people of Orlando and the surrounding community want to come see. We want people to bring their kids out to a game and know that they will be entertained. We're going to be working with the marketing department to do some things and make it as fan friendly as possible.