2008 Woodie Awards
International recruiting pays dividends for soccer teams
By Travis Pickens
Issue date: 10/7/05 Section: Sports
It's not always that easy, or cost affordable, for a Division II school to find the resources to recruit athletes from international lands.
It helps, however, when the coach has ties to a part of the world that emphasizes their sport.
That's the advantage the Slippery Rock University men's and women's soccer teams have over some of the competition.
"I'm lucky because I get to go home at Christmas and visit my family, so I'm already there," men's soccer coach Matt Thompson said.
Thompson hails from England, where he played semi-pro soccer.
"It's easier for me to do it (recruit) because I'm back home at Christmas," Thompson said.
Women's soccer coach Noreen Herlihy said she approaches the situation the same way in her home country.
"When I go back home to visit my family in Ireland, I always go to see some games," Herlihy said.
Herlihy was a member of the Irish national team from 1985-88.
"I try to stay in touch with the clubs at home," Herlihy said. "I guess coming from there, you have an advantage in the sense that you can use your contacts."
Both coaches said it's common for European players to contact SRU about playing.
"I went through the Internet," freshman midfielder Shaun Reid said. "Coach Thompson came to England to watch me play. We had a talk about some stuff and he convinced me to come here."
Sophomore forward Gary Saunders took a different approach.
"I went through an agency," Saunders said. "I think Shaun did as well."
Herlihy, in her 10th year as coach of the Rock, said one of the first international players the program actively recruited is current sophomore defender Jaimi Wilson.
"We went to England to see her play," Herlihy said. "Then her friend (Danielle Cooper) came over this year as a freshman. A lot of it is word of mouth, contacts at home, things like that."
Both Reid, 20, and Saunders, 21, start for the men's soccer team, which currently sits in first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. For men's soccer, there are no divisions.
It helps, however, when the coach has ties to a part of the world that emphasizes their sport.
That's the advantage the Slippery Rock University men's and women's soccer teams have over some of the competition.
"I'm lucky because I get to go home at Christmas and visit my family, so I'm already there," men's soccer coach Matt Thompson said.
Thompson hails from England, where he played semi-pro soccer.
"It's easier for me to do it (recruit) because I'm back home at Christmas," Thompson said.
Women's soccer coach Noreen Herlihy said she approaches the situation the same way in her home country.
"When I go back home to visit my family in Ireland, I always go to see some games," Herlihy said.
Herlihy was a member of the Irish national team from 1985-88.
"I try to stay in touch with the clubs at home," Herlihy said. "I guess coming from there, you have an advantage in the sense that you can use your contacts."
Both coaches said it's common for European players to contact SRU about playing.
"I went through the Internet," freshman midfielder Shaun Reid said. "Coach Thompson came to England to watch me play. We had a talk about some stuff and he convinced me to come here."
Sophomore forward Gary Saunders took a different approach.
"I went through an agency," Saunders said. "I think Shaun did as well."
Herlihy, in her 10th year as coach of the Rock, said one of the first international players the program actively recruited is current sophomore defender Jaimi Wilson.
"We went to England to see her play," Herlihy said. "Then her friend (Danielle Cooper) came over this year as a freshman. A lot of it is word of mouth, contacts at home, things like that."
Both Reid, 20, and Saunders, 21, start for the men's soccer team, which currently sits in first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. For men's soccer, there are no divisions.
