Monday, July 28, 2008

Tim McClements named SMU men’s soccer head coach

By Pegasus News wire

Tim McClements has been named head coach of the SMU men's soccer program, Director of Athletics Steve Orsini announced July 23, 2008. McClements becomes the third head coach in the history of one of the most successful programs in the nation.

McClements takes over the program he has served for seven years during two stints as an assistant coach. Before returning to SMU in 2006, he was head coach at Vanderbilt University for four seasons, earning Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2005.

smu.edu

Tim McClements

"Coach McClements has all of the qualifications we were looking for in a leader for our nationally-ranked men's soccer program," Orsini said. "He has NCAA Division I head coaching experience and has recruited and developed student-athletes that have been successful both on and off the field, with several advancing to the pro ranks. He has helped shape our men's soccer program into the perennial power that it is today and will help us reach our fullest potential both now and in the future."

McClements has an extensive background that includes playing professionally and at the highest levels of college soccer. He also has played for former Indiana head coach Jerry Yeagley and coached under former SMU head coach Schellas Hyndman.

"SMU has a long tradition as a great academic institution and one of the elite soccer programs in the nation," McClements said. "This school has set a standard that breeds high expectations, and to be chosen to carry on that tradition is both flattering and an honor."

In addition to his tenure at Vanderbilt, McClements also has served as the head coach at Eastern Illinois and Baker (Kan.) University, and has been instrumental in recruiting top players to each school, including Ugo Ihemelu and Duke Hashimoto to SMU and Joe Germanese to Vanderbilt - each of whom ended up playing professionally in Major League Soccer.

"Tim is a great coach" said Ihemelu, now a defender with Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids. "He obviously has a lot of soccer knowledge, and he relates to players very well, so he's a great teacher. The thing I remember the most is how hard players play for him. When he coached us, and when he coached against us at Vanderbilt, his teams were very well organized and passionate, and that's exactly how he is."

"The thing I remember most about him is that he is a player's coach," said Germanese, who now plays for Major League Soccer's New England Revolution. "He has the ability to really challenge players to improve and get better on the field, but at the same time off the field he really cares about his players and how they're doing regarding school and family. He helped me get better on an individual level and really challenged me to take care of all the little aspects of the game that get overlooked.

"Additionally, he is without a doubt one of the best recruiters in the country. He has the ability to recruit nationally, and at Vanderbilt, he was able to find `diamond in the rough' players who he was able to model into our system and culture. Players at Vanderbilt came in as freshmen at one level and by the time they were juniors and seniors, they were at a whole different, much higher level because of Coach's ability to develop players. His recruiting ability and commitment to player development, paired with SMU's resources and soccer tradition, bode well for the future of the program. I look forward to watching Coach and SMU soccer's continued success in the future."

"I was an assistant coach with Tim on the SMU men's team staff, and I'm thrilled he is taking over as the head coach here," SMU women's head coach Brent Erwin said. "He's a wonderful person, and he's a great coach who will continue the winning tradition of SMU soccer. Nobody is more deserving of the honor of taking over the SMU men's program than Tim McClements."

McClements played two years in the National Professional Soccer League, in 1989 with the Dayton Dynamo and in 1990 with the Chicago Power. In 1988, he played with New Jersey in the American Professional Soccer League. As a collegiate player, he played two seasons at Indiana, where he was a redshirt on the Hoosiers' 1983 national champion team and played the following season when IU finished as the NCAA runner-up. He completed his college career at Wheaton College, where he made two appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament.

McClements carries a United States Soccer Federation "A" License and has received a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Premier Diploma. He and his wife, Karen, have two children: Paige and Ian.

Source: SMU

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