After four successful seasons with former head coach Derek Pittman, Idaho soccer enters a new era this year.
Jeremy Clevenger took control over Vandal soccer in the summer, just weeks before the start of the regular season.
“It’s been a little hectic, but it’s been fun,” Clevenger said. “It’s been great getting to be part of the process and getting to know the team — getting to know how this athletic department works. I am just really blessed to be here.”
The coaching change is not the first obstacle the program faced in recent months. University of Idaho President Chuck Staben announced the plan to resolve the $1 million deficit facing the athletic department — add three low-cost, revenue generating sports or cut three ex- isting programs, including soccer. The State Board of Education passed UI’s plan to chip away at the deficit by adding new sports, saving the women’s soccer program.
After the tumultuous spring, senior defender Kayleigh Frederick said the coaching change gave athletes and their program a clean slate. “Having a new coach is not always easy, but I think it gave everyone a fresh start to compete for different posi- tions,” she said. “Positions they would have never played or posi- tions that they have been playing that they want to win over.”
The coaching transition came as a surprise to the players, who had been coached by Pittman for the entirety of their collegiate career, said sophomore midfielder Taylor Brust.
The team huddled in the Kibbie Dome for a last-minute meeting in late spring, where a choked-up Pittman delivered the news.
The team believed Pittman would lead them in the 2018 fall season, Frederick said. After the uncertainty from the spring, he began looking into other options.
He told the group he received a better offer from another program and made the decision to make the move to the University of Texas San Antonio, she said.
“I just started bawling, it was hard. Derek (Pittman) and I have always had a connection and stuff as a player and coach,” Brust said. “He has made such an impact on us all. Not just him, but his family as well, so it was really hard to lose him.”
Despite the added loop on the roller coaster that has been Idaho soccer through- out the past several months, Frederick said the ups and downs have only strengthened the team and increased their motivation on and off the field.
“We’ve embraced it, because going from our program maybe being cut, to this situation, I think we are just happy to still be here,” Frederick said. “If anything, it has just given us more motivation I feel like, on and off the field.”
Clevenger said he is nothing but pleased with the way the senior-heavy team has taken to the new coaches.
“They have really been open to us as a coaching staff and new concepts,” Clevenger said. “They’ve done an amazing job, especially as a senior-led team. To have a team with their experience but also being willing to be pushed, be willing to new ideas, I’ve been ab- solutely pleased.”
Clevenger came to Idaho with six seasons of experience as head coach — two of which were spent at Northern Iowa and the rest at Western State College.
The program Pittman built and its reputation during his tenure caught Clevenger’s eye, but the athletes and the student-athlete experience he observed on UI’s campus is what sealed the deal, he said.
Now, nearly two months into Clevenger’s time in Moscow and six games into his premier season as the Vandal head coach, the team continues to strengthen their bond with Clevenger on and off the field.
“It’s more than I expected,” Brust said of the team’s chemistry with Clevenger. “We do little things every day just to build that chemistry, little team bonding things or games. We are working on it as much as we can.”
With a fresh coach comes fresh team values, from game plans on the field to core values off the field. Clevenger said the crucial pieces that made the team successful in the past will remain in place, with minor adjustments and tweaks.
“I think there will be a lot of similarities, but going forward, kind of what we’re asking, where we see us being successful will be a little bit different,” Clevenger said.
Clevenger takes over a team with nine seniors looking to make their impact in their final season. The level of experience on the roster is a piece Clevenger looks to take advantage of, while still allowing them to lead their team and work the game out on their own.
“Anytime you have that experience, you want to use it,” Clevenger said. “The best teams I’ve been around are senior and upper classmen led and we have a strong group of seniors who are great leaders.”
Now six games into the season, the team continues to adjust. Despite the many moving pieces, Clevenger has simple goals for the program’s future.
“I just want to get this team to playing the best it can — maximize our roster, our talent,” Clevenger said. “We have the pieces to be successful. My hope is we put those pieces, again, playing the right way, and maximize our talent. If we can do that, I think we will have a lot of success.”
Meredith Spelbring can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @mere0415