Colorado State University Athletics
Parker Sees Importance of Timing in Hiring New Soccer Coach
5/7/2021 11:34:00 AM | Women's Soccer, RamWire
Interest has already been expressed for the position
Mike Brohard/RamWire Insider
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The timeline is a crucial aspect, of which Colorado State Director of Athletics Joe Parker is aware, but he will be intentional about finding the right person to put in place to carry the women's soccer program forward.
Parker announced the team would be seeking a new direction Thursday morning when Bill Hempen – the inaugural coach for the eight-year program – was not retained. The Rams are coming off a 2-4-1 mark this season, one where the pandemic forced it into a spring campaign. It will once again become a fall sport in the next school calendar, so hiring a new head coach to start building relationships with the current roster is delicate balancing act.
"You always feel urgency. You've got students who feel a void in leadership," Parker said as he addressed media virtually on Friday. "You want to put someone in place to begin building those relationships and stabilizing the thoughts of the roster.
"We're still at the conclusion of the first week of May. Three weeks would be a pretty expedited effort, not unreachable. Probably 30 days is a more likely timeframe, so I'd say anything within plus-or-minus 30 days by a few days would be where I'd like for us to land."
Parker did address the team Thursday, asking for them to be patient. He does not believe there will be a rush toward the transfer portal, adding their input on the next head coach will be taken into account.
Who Parker is looking for in the next head coach has some variables.
He would prefer someone with head-coaching experience, but it is not a must. Character and integrity will be atop the list, as college athletics is a rules-based space. The ability to build student-athletes on and off the field is a priority, and having someone who was a high-level player collegiately or professionally would be a plus to help players navigate their chances to continue in the sport with the abundance of opportunity post-college.Â
Parker also liked the thought of having a coach in place who is familiar with the western part of the country and who has demonstrated to be a quality recruiter. This state in particular, Parker said, can be a productive recruiting spot for soccer.
Interest in the job has already been expressed, and Parker believes it won't be hard to attract a quality candidate to the position with the intent of sharing the common goal in athletics, to be the preeminent program in the Mountain West.
"I think we have all the pieces here to be a really remarkable program, particularly in our peer group," he said. "Colorado is a highly desirable place to live. We have a university that has all the pieces as it relates to the academy and the research enterprise of it's a high-performance academic institution. I think students in the sport of soccer can really understand the value of having a CSU degree."
Assistant coach Tori Ball will remain as the interim coach, and Parker said she has expressed interest in being part of the search process. She will also guide the program has it steers toward planned camps on campus in the beginning of June.
The program has finally settled into a home at the site of the former football practice facility, and a women's sports complex was in the works for soccer and softball when the pandemic hit. Parker said those plans very much remain in place, but currently on hold.
The project was tied into a larger plan of university capital projects, and money to help fund the project – collected when it was agreed student-fees being used to pay off a prior project at Moby Arena were extended – is still being funneled into an account for the complex.
Parker feels once the university can stabilize finances post-pandemic and decides to move forward with improvements on campus, the project can start moving forward again.
"It is absolutely a university priority. We recognize those are two programs that deserve better facilities," Parker said. "We had a great plan in pace, and I'm confident that some point in the near future – it's hard to define when that will be – we'll have that resurrected and beyond planning and hopefully in construction."
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Parker announced the team would be seeking a new direction Thursday morning when Bill Hempen – the inaugural coach for the eight-year program – was not retained. The Rams are coming off a 2-4-1 mark this season, one where the pandemic forced it into a spring campaign. It will once again become a fall sport in the next school calendar, so hiring a new head coach to start building relationships with the current roster is delicate balancing act.
"You always feel urgency. You've got students who feel a void in leadership," Parker said as he addressed media virtually on Friday. "You want to put someone in place to begin building those relationships and stabilizing the thoughts of the roster.
"We're still at the conclusion of the first week of May. Three weeks would be a pretty expedited effort, not unreachable. Probably 30 days is a more likely timeframe, so I'd say anything within plus-or-minus 30 days by a few days would be where I'd like for us to land."
Parker did address the team Thursday, asking for them to be patient. He does not believe there will be a rush toward the transfer portal, adding their input on the next head coach will be taken into account.
Who Parker is looking for in the next head coach has some variables.
He would prefer someone with head-coaching experience, but it is not a must. Character and integrity will be atop the list, as college athletics is a rules-based space. The ability to build student-athletes on and off the field is a priority, and having someone who was a high-level player collegiately or professionally would be a plus to help players navigate their chances to continue in the sport with the abundance of opportunity post-college.Â
Parker also liked the thought of having a coach in place who is familiar with the western part of the country and who has demonstrated to be a quality recruiter. This state in particular, Parker said, can be a productive recruiting spot for soccer.
Interest in the job has already been expressed, and Parker believes it won't be hard to attract a quality candidate to the position with the intent of sharing the common goal in athletics, to be the preeminent program in the Mountain West.
"I think we have all the pieces here to be a really remarkable program, particularly in our peer group," he said. "Colorado is a highly desirable place to live. We have a university that has all the pieces as it relates to the academy and the research enterprise of it's a high-performance academic institution. I think students in the sport of soccer can really understand the value of having a CSU degree."
Assistant coach Tori Ball will remain as the interim coach, and Parker said she has expressed interest in being part of the search process. She will also guide the program has it steers toward planned camps on campus in the beginning of June.
The program has finally settled into a home at the site of the former football practice facility, and a women's sports complex was in the works for soccer and softball when the pandemic hit. Parker said those plans very much remain in place, but currently on hold.
The project was tied into a larger plan of university capital projects, and money to help fund the project – collected when it was agreed student-fees being used to pay off a prior project at Moby Arena were extended – is still being funneled into an account for the complex.
Parker feels once the university can stabilize finances post-pandemic and decides to move forward with improvements on campus, the project can start moving forward again.
"It is absolutely a university priority. We recognize those are two programs that deserve better facilities," Parker said. "We had a great plan in pace, and I'm confident that some point in the near future – it's hard to define when that will be – we'll have that resurrected and beyond planning and hopefully in construction."
Â
Mike Brohard
RamWire Insider
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