North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Springthorpe Debuts Against Old Friend
8/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. – It's hard to beat good references.
But that is exactly what Steve Springthorpe will try to do today in his first game as the new NC State women's soccer coach. On the opposing sideline for the 7 p.m. contest at Dail Soccer Stadium will be veteran Old Dominion coach Joe Pereira, who once coached Springthorpe as a goalie and gave him his first coaching opportunity.
Pereira was goalkeeper coach for the Methodist men's team when Springthorpe was a freshman and sophomore, back in the early 1980s. Shortly thereafter the school started a women's team and hired Pereira as its head coach. When Springthorpe finished his four-year playing career, Pereira brought him on as an assistant.
For the next eight years, the two built Methodist into a Division III power, advancing to the Final Four on three occasions. In 1995, Pereira became the head coach at Old Dominion and Springthorpe embarked on his path to becoming a head coach.
Now, after a stint as an assistant at Florida and a successful head coaching debut at Fresno State, Springthorpe is ready to challenge the guy who has recommended him for every job he has gotten in his career.
"After I finished my playing career, I didn't have a lot of direction," Springthorpe said. "In my final semester at Methodist, I spent a semester working with the women's team. I went home for a while after that, but then Joe brought me to be on staff with him.
"We have stayed in close contact, visited with each other during our annual conventions. He has been really instrumental in my career in getting other jobs. He has always been on my reference list. He has said a lot of good things about me to a lot of people over the years."
That might not be the case when their teams go against each other tonight, of course. But that's all in the name of passionate competitiveness. Both want to win their season openers to kick off a successful 2009 season.
For Springthorpe, this is the springboard for creating an identity for his new program.
For Pereira, a two-time Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year (1998, 2004), this is the opportunity for a successful start for his 15th season with the Lady Monarchs and to improve on last year's 14-4-2 record.
Neither really expected to be going against each other in the regular-season opener. They scheduled this game as an exhibition match not long after Springthorpe took the job in January. But a few months back the NCAA pushed the start of the women's soccer season up a full week, and the two friendly rivals decided to make this their first regular-season contest instead of an exhibition.
"I am glad this game is against him," Springthorpe said. "I have never been on the opposite sidelines as him, so it will be weird. We did play Old Dominion in a spring exhibition when I was an assistant at Florida, but that isn't the same thing.
"This is a game that really matters."
Springthorpe has been pleased with the progress his squad has made during his eight months on the job. He begins the season with experienced squad that features five seniors and six juniors from last year's 8-12 team.
"It's been eye-opening in some areas," Springthorpe said. "There were times when I thought 'Wow, we really need to improve.' But there have also been times when I felt really good about some of the things I saw.
"When a program hasn't been successful for the last couple of years in the ACC, there are obviously some things that need to be changed and improved upon, and our kids have been doing that."
Springthorpe instituted a more rigorous off-season training regimen, hoping to make his team faster and more physical. He's redoubled his efforts on the recruiting trail to attract more talent into the program.
"What I have already seen in preseason practice is that this team has found a new passion for the game," Springthorpe said. "We just have to build on that."
Springthorpe's long-term goal is to make the Wolfpack a more relevant program, the kind he remembers from the 1980s and '90s when he was at Methodist.
"We never, ever beat them," Springthorpe said. "When I was a coach there, this was the kind of program that I aspired to lead one day. What we are doing right now is trying to establish that same kind of identity, to let people who come in here know this is what to expect when you play NC State."
Springthorpe knows that doesn't happen overnight. For now, he's looking for incremental improvements on a daily basis.
"The players have set goals for the program and I want them to be able to accomplish them," he said. 'But, what I am looking for are small successes here and there. I want them to be able to see improvements. Let's get better every game. We will start against ODU, and hope to be better when we play Campbell in our next game."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
