Current Release: September 11th, 2007 | Vol. XXIV Iss. 10

Photo By Eric Zitz

McFarland in, Travis out

BY Lindsey williams

ljwilliams@vwc.edu

There is a noticeable difference in the makeup of the 2007 men s soccer team: the head coach. Mike McFarland fills this position in place of Sonny Travis, who is now the head coach for Emory University s men s soccer team.

After graduating from VWC in 1996, McFarland became an assistant coach for Roanoke College for one year and has been the assistant coach at VWC for the past two.

Now that coach McFarland is in charge, he has instituted new philosophies and is excited to see how they play out.

 I m just excited about the opportunity to work with the guys, he said.  We have a good core of returners, we just need to tweak a couple of things and keep disciplined.

Coach McFarland, referred to by many as Mac, has two assistants to help keep his players in line: Chris Mills, a 2006 VWC graduate and former player, and Dan Ruch, a graduate of Lynchburg College s class of 2005 who focuses on goalkeeping.

Mills and Ruch, along with Mac, have already guided the team to a perfect 4-0 record.

More comfortable after two weekends of play, coach Mac says he won t feel as nervous as he did at the season s start, because it always helps to win. And those wins have come with the help of a solid class of eight freshmen.

 Two or three get good minutes, Mac said.  They are a good group to work with and the whole transition has been pretty smooth.

Not only does the men s team have a good group of freshmen, but the strong group of returners includes senior captain Travis Cober, who, aside from initial reservations, is just as excited with the change.

 At first it was surprising because I was recruited and played for three years for coach Travis, Cober said.  But I was excited to play for Mac. He s been a winner at every level and brings such a needed energy to the program.

Not only has Mac brought a new kind of energy, but some of his philosophies include making his players more accountable.

 I have faith in them, he said.  I want to instill in them that we re a group no longer guys here and guys over there.

Cober sees the difference.

 The team s mentality has changed, he said.  Now we are looking to go at teams and want to put them away. In the past we would change our style of play to match up with teams, but now we are forcing them to adjust to us.

This has shown effective thus far in the team s record and statistics. And because coach Mac hopes the team will love coming out to practice and games to compete and work hard, it s been that much easier.

Sonny Travis was a mentor for coach Mac during his years as a player and an assistant coach.

 I ve learned a lot from Sonny, he said.  But also things I don t want to do.

Cober thinks these new ways have been effective.

 It has created confidence that every time we step out on the field we have what it takes to win.

And that confidence has proved successful.