Current and former players hail McClements as a player's coach and great recruiter (photo by SMU athletics).

When he was announced Wednesday as the third men’s soccer coach in SMU history, Tim McClements showed a number of emotions: gratitude to athletic director Steve Orsini and the selection committee that chose him, euphoria that he landed a job he desperately wanted, acknowledgement of the work ahead as he gets ready for a season that kicks off Aug. 13 with high expectations for the Ponies … and even a little disbelief.

“When I was at Eastern Illinois, I knew I wanted to get back into coaching in a top-10 atmosphere,” he said. “But I didn’t believe it would be at SMU. I'm grateful for this chance, and thrilled that I'm getting it at SMU.”

McClements replaces the man who hired him twice as an assistant coach at SMU, Schellas Hyndman, who resigned after 24 seasons at SMU to coach FC Dallas. McClements admitted at his press conference that following Hyndman is a daunting task, but insisted he’s ready to take on the job.

“Coach (Hyndman) is a great friend and has been a great mentor to me, and he has helped prepare me for this,” McClements said. “This is a great program, and the foundation is there.

“The other great thing is that we have two things here this year, the Conference USA Tournament (which will be held at SMU’s Westcott Field) and the NCAA College Cup (at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco), and certainly we hope to be playing in those.”

It’s one thing for a new coach to offer a tip of the hat to his mentor, as McClements did Wednesday in his remarks about Hyndman. But it’s another thing altogether when someone’s predecessor hails the selection of his own replacement.

“I think Tim being named head soccer coach at SMU is a fantastic choice,” Hyndman said Wednesday. “Tim’s been my assistant twice, and he’s a great assistant, very knowledgeable, and he will be able to keep the SMU ptogram going in the right direction and contending for a national championship.”

Former players also lauded the selection, and reiterated the idea that McClements is a perfect fit for the Ponies.

“Tim is a great coach,” said former SMU star Ugo Ihemelu, now a defender for 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.”

New England Revolution midfielder Joe Germanese was recruited by McClements to Vanderbilt, and he also cited McClements’ ability to relate to players as a reason the Mustangs will thrive under their new coach.

“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,” Germanese said. “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.”

McClements was named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2005 at Vanderbilt (photo by Webmaster).

McClements takes over a team loaded with returning talent and welcoming one of the best freshman classes in school history. More than a dozen players turned out Wednesday for their new coach’s press conference, literally cheering Orsini’s announcement of their new coach.

“Tim’s a player’s coach — he’s exactly what this team needs,” said defender Ryan Mirsky, who will be a senior this season. “We’re so close-knit — we’re like brothers. Tim is great about that. He makes us work hard, but he’s also cracking jokes with us … he’s just very easy to get along with. He’s a very easy-going, down-to-earth, normal guy who’s very easy to get along with.”

A former defender as a collegiate and professional player, McClements brings a defensive expertise and attitude Mirsky said will benefit the Mustangs on the defensive end.

“He’s a great defensive coach,” Mirsky said. “Me, being a defender — it’s perfect. He loves hard-nosed players, and as a defender, we love that.”

One of the things that made the SMU vacancy so attractive to such a wide array of coaches is the fact that the Ponies are the only Div. I team in the entire state of Texas, which is renowned as a hotbed of elite youth soccer talent.

“He’s been a big part of our success at SMU by being able to go and recruit some of the best players in not just Dallas and around Texas, but also the better players in other regions of the country,” Hyndman said. “He also understands the financial aid dilemma that we deal with, and we’ve been able to put a lot of players on the roster without scholarship money, but with financial aid money.

“I think the program is going to be very successful. Tim knows the players, he’s been involved in recruiting the players, he understands the strengths and weaknesses of the team, and I think this is going to be an outstanding season for him and for SMU, and I wish nothing but the best for him.”

For McClements, landing the head coaching job means more than assuming the helm of one of the nation’s elite programs.

“It’s my home,” he said. “When I left in 2000-01, we had been to the College Cup, we had gone 21-1, been No. 1 in the country and had one of our best seasons ever. Then, when I came back, I sat in the same chair, had the same telephone number and the same e-mail address.

“I’m ready to continue where we left off.”