Q: What is the philosophy behind your program?

A: "Our program requires that the players be fully committed to intercollegiate soccer. They are players who are willing to accept all of the responsibilities that come with being part of our team and fulfill their obligations to the team. In a word, it's about commitment."

Q: What do you, as a coach, expect from your student-athletes?

A: "We expect a lot from our players. We talk a lot in team meetings about doing your soccer homework. If you take a calculus class here at Miami, you're never going to get the level of success you want just by going to class. An hour a day of sitting in calculus class isn't enough to get you that "A." We want all of our players to get "A's" academically, but we also want them to be "A" players on the field. Soccer is really no different than going to class. You can't be an "A" player just by going to practice. You've got to be willing to take on the additional responsibility of going out and working on your own. Spending time on your own working with the ball, time on your own working on your fitness and time on your own studying the game. That's the soccer homework, and our players need to be willing to take on that responsibility in addition to everything else that comes with being part of the Miami soccer program."

Q: What do you look for in a potential Miami Soccer recruit?

A: "From a psychological standpoint, we're looking for tough competitors. They have to be able to compete, but not just be willing to compete - they have to relish competition. They have to understand that competition is the only way to get better, and that means competition with teammates in practice as well as competition with opposing teams.

"From a physical point of view we're looking for speed and strength. Then, of course, we're looking for skill. Our style demands fast, skillful players. Those are the things we look for when we're scouting players. Those are the qualities we really value."

Q: What do you see as the top priority for a student-athlete in your program?

A: "The reason you go to college is to learn about life. Certainly academics are very important, and we stress academics here. Certainly athletics are very important if you're going to be a varsity athlete, and we stress those as well. But it's the type of person you are when you leave Miami University that is of the greatest concern to us. Athletic and intellectual ability can only get you so far in life. If you're not a good person and don't possess a clear set of values and a good idea about what kind of life you want to lead, nothing else will matter. I think Miami soccer, more than anything else, teaches you about life. We judge the success of our program by the type of people we produce."

Q: What does a student-athlete have to do to earn playing time?

A: "One thing I feel very strongly about in this program is that throughout the course of the year every player gets an opportunity to show us what they can do in a game, provided they earn that opportunity in practice. Every time you step on the practice field, you have an opportunity to earn a starting spot. In 1994, when the men's team won the conference championship, we had 26 players on the roster and every kid on that team got a chance to start. You're going to earn your chance to play in a game in practice, but you're going to earn your second chance by being productive in that game."

Q: What is the style of play one can expect from Miami Soccer?

A: "Our style of play would best be described as fast and skillful. We expect our players to fully commit themselves to the game. Not just for the 90 minutes when they're out there, but for the time leading up to the game and in their preparation for the game. We're a very aggressive team defensively, and we go into every game fully prepared to commit ourselves to score goals. The game needs goals, and we're prepared to do what we've got to do to score goals."

Q: What type of scholarships are available through the Miami Soccer program?

A: "We're not yet a fully funded program, but we will be in the very near future. We typically break our scholarships into varying units of aid; some of them are smaller and some of them are full scholarships."

Q: What is a typical Miami Soccer practice like?

A: "Our practices are very intense. We do a lot of technical work and functional training. We try to put our players in a lot of game situations where they repeatedly perform the skills we're working on. We try to simulate realistic situations while making practice very competitive . We play lots of small-sided games, and we keep score of everything."

Q: How committed is Miami to its women's soccer program?

A: "I'm very pleased with the commitment the University has shown to women's soccer. We've got a brand new locker room. There are plans to light the playing field, and there are plans to aggressively market the team within the Oxford community to increase the fan base. I truly believe Miami will be a Top 25 program within the next few years."