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6/8/06 - "Kickin' It" with Scott Wiercinski
 This week, D3kicks was �Kickin� It� in the Windy City with the University of Chicago�s new men�s coach, Scott Wiercinski. Wiercinski has spent the past five years as an assistant men's soccer coach at Brown University. During that time, Brown compiled a 41-31-13 overall record, won three Ivy League Championships, and made two NCAA division one postseason appearances. Before his days at Brown, Wiercinski was the assistant men�s coach at Bowdoin, where he helped lead the team to a 15-2-1 record, the best in the school�s history. A 1999 graduate of Middlebury College, Wiercinski was a four year letterwinner, two time First-Team All Conference, and one time All New-England player. During his four years at Middlebury, he helped lead the Panthers to four straight NCAA tournament appearances. Wiercinski, a native of Brunswick, Maine, holds an NSCAA National Diploma as well as a USSF B License.
D3Kicks: First of all, I just want to say thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions. Also, congratulations on being named the new head men's soccer coach at the University of Chicago.
D3K: As assistant coach at Brown University for the past five seasons, are you looking forward to taking the reigns of your own team at University of Chicago?
Scott Wiercinski: I am really excited to begin at U of C. Through my time at Brown I have had a great education working with Coach Noonan learning every day. I want to try lots of things and do new things, and ultimately be responsible for how those things work out. I can't wait to get started.
D3K: What difficulties do you foresee in the transition from assistant
to head coach?
SW: Lots of sleepless nights! As an assistant coach you have the ability to make suggestions and see where it goes without ultimate responsibility of how those suggestions pan out. As a result you fret a little less about each decision you need to make. When you are the head coach, the buck stops with you so you are frequently more cautious and deliberate with the decision making process. The second guessing on one's mind when those work out, or don't work out can keep you up at night!
D3K: Coming into such a storied program, do you feel pressure to continue the winning ways at Chicago?
SW: I think there is always pressure when standards have been high and success has been attained. The pressure I feel is from the older members of the team who are looking at the last year or years of their careers. I want the success to continue so the good memories of their time with Chicago soccer don't end before they move on.
D3K: What steps do you plan on taking to ensure the continuation of a successful program?
SW: The biggest steps I have taken to ensure success is to follow a great coach who left a program in very very strong health. John O'Connor left me a program competing at the top level in the country, with a great team culture, and talented players. There is nothing we can do as coaches to guarantee success, but I am comfortable that the experiences I have had as a player and coach will provide a framework of winning which will be a good combination for the healthy program that already exists. Winning after winning is always much more difficult then winning after losing.
D3K: Do you feel that the transition the division one level to the division three level is going to be a difficult one?
SW: Ultimately, I don't think so. There is so much overlap of talent between good division one players and good division three players that will make it feel very familiar. Certainly there are differences between expectations of time commitments in and out of the season, priorities, and expectations, but I think those are relatively small adjustments to make. Ultimately I have spent just as much time in Chicago as I did at Brown ,so I think it will feel "just right" from the beginning.
D3K: As a coach, how do you feel about the United States' chances in Germany?
SW: I think we have a very difficult task ahead of us with such quality opponents in the group, but I believe we will advance.
D3K: As a division three coach and former division three player, are you excited about the launching of D3kicks?
SW: It sounds like a great avenue to promote a huge population of college soccer players and programs that are often under-publicized outside of our own websites, school newspapers, campuses, and spheres of influence. I look forward to checking it out in the future.
D3K: Thanks again, and good luck with your upcoming season!
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