University of Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski has done as much as any other college coach during the past 5 years, winning two national championships and churning out a number of MLS prospects along the way.
Cirovski loves the college game, and sat down with L.E. Eisenmenger to discuss why he hasn't made the jump to Major League Soccer himself.
“Is the timing right? Are the terms right?” Cirovski said. “Are the pieces there to do it the way you want to do it? For a college coach there’s quite a bit of control in the way your team looks, feels, plays, and is put together, and that’s something important for a successful college coach going into a pro environment."
"Those are things constantly being evaluated by clubs and they want to make the decisions. And in college you don’t make changes to your team halfway through the year - you don’t release players and you don’t get players halfway through the year.”
Understanding the American mindset is key to success because 70-80% of MLS players come through the college or American youth soccer system. Although Cirovski admits dealing with the international star or Latin American player has “a bit of a learning curve,” the college system also brings in internationals and the NCAA is relaxing restrictions to allow more.
“The psychological player management and control of your locker room is very important in the pros,” he said, “because you’re dealing with even greater egos and people’s livelihoods. The greatest challenge of a pro coach is to make sure you have the integrity of your locker room and the integrity with the players.”
http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/ussoccerplayers/2009/12/maryland-coach-cirovski-understands-move-to-pros.html
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