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Source: McClements to be named SMU men's soccer coach

By GABRIEL CABARROUY / The Dallas Morning News
gcabarrouy@dallasnews.com

Assistant coach Tim McClements will be named the new SMU men's soccer head coach on Wednesday, according to a source close to the SMU athletic department.

The rest of the article can be read here:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... a3f0c.html

As I said in another thread, a comfort level for the new as well as the returning players according to a parent I talked to. Also I assume SO was not willing to lay out the bucks necessary to bring in a highly successful Div. I coach. I understand the club coach who was interviewed was David Hudgel, a director of coaching for the Dallas Texans who has coached many of the current as well as the new players on the team and won numerous national championships. If McClements is the new coach, David might be a good choice as an assistant.

[quote="mustangbill67"]As I said in another thread, a comfort level for the new as well as the returning players according to a parent I talked to. Also I assume SO was not willing to lay out the bucks necessary to bring in a highly successful Div. I coach. I understand the club coach who was interviewed was David Hudgel, a director of coaching for the Dallas Texans who has coached many of the current as well as the new players on the team and won numerous national championships. If McClements is the new coach, David might be a good choice as an assistant.[/quote]

I wouldn't think that to be a realistic option, as it would represent a drastic step-down in salary for DH, coming from club. But you never know. I guess anything is possible.

Congratulations, Coach McClements — VERY much deserved.

(This should have been done the day Coach Hyndman resigned, but at least we got it right)

Don't know that we got it right at all. SMU AGAIN decided to go the cheap route with a successful program. First track, now soccer. Grimes got paid alot of money by Cal to take his name out of the hat, and Hackworth would be a GREAT fit for SMU and Dallas, and I mean PERFECT. Going with a head coach whose most recent bragging rights were going 9-7-2 is not what top 5 programs should be all about. This is a major step backword for SMU and I think it speaks volumes about Orsini's desire to do well in non-revenue sports. Very disappointing. It is the equivalent of the football team going 11-1, playing Sugar bowl, getting a top 5 ranking, and then SMU retaining Dennis McKnight to be the head coach instead of bringing in a big time name coach.

cheesepony wrote:Don't know that we got it right at all. SMU AGAIN decided to go the cheap route with a successful program. First track, now soccer. Grimes got paid alot of money by Cal to take his name out of the hat, and Hackworth would be a GREAT fit for SMU and Dallas, and I mean PERFECT. Going with a head coach whose most recent bragging rights were going 9-7-2 is not what top 5 programs should be all about. This is a major step backword for SMU and I think it speaks volumes about Orsini's desire to do well in non-revenue sports. Very disappointing. It is the equivalent of the football team going 11-1, playing Sugar bowl, getting a top 5 ranking, and then SMU retaining Dennis McKnight to be the head coach instead of bringing in a big time name coach.

You want to give McClements a chance? He was a head coach and it wasn't his fault Vanderbilt dropped soccer. He knows the talent in this area.

The only thing he's going to have do is distance himself from Shellas' legacy. Sure, he should acknowledge it. But he has to mold this program in his own image.

We all loved Shellas, but I can remember many of Novembers where people were fuming mad at him because we flamed out in the NCAA tournament.

I don't think Orsini will let one of the most successful programs in the history of this school suffer if a couple of down seasons follow.

The team Coach McClements inherited at Vanderbilt was terrible, and he built it up to being a solid team in what at the time was a very solid conference (don't know what the MVC is like now, because we're not in it, so it no longer matters). He recruited some stud players to a team that had had little success (see New England Revolution midfielder Joe Germanese, who transferred after the program was dumped), and has had a huge role in recruiting some outstanding players to SMU. It's one thing for Coach Hyndman to hire a guy, but to give his blessing to pursue a head coaching position and then hire him right back as soon as he became available - through circumstances beyond his control - speaks volumes about how Coach McClements is viewed among soccer coaches, including by one of the all-time greats.

Congratulations, Coach - I'll be at your games, cheering for you.

When Vandy was in the MVC, so was SMU, Tulsa, Bradley, St. Louis and Creighton. All very credible and established soccer programs. So, he built the program there. Sure, I would have liked getting a coach with a few more skins under his belt, but McClements knows the players, their parents, and Schellas style of play. If you want continuity, this is the way to do it. Not a WOW hire, but not an irresponsible one either.