By The newest member of the Carroll College community, Austin Shick, believes being a successful collegiate coach is maintaining a good balance between, “success on and off the field.”
Shick was hired as the second Carroll men’s soccer head coach in the history of the program on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Coming from Southern Oregon University as the men’s assistant coach, Shick expressed his excitement for the opportunity to coach at Carroll.
“I’ve only been recruiting for a week now, and students are just begging to be here,” said Shick. “It’s a really unique institution in that sense… there’s just so much potential for this program to be successful.”
Similarly, his players expressed equal enthusiasm at the advantages Shick has already begun to bring to their program in just one week.
“We’re all really excited about the upcoming season and all the plans that he has for us,” said junior business major Ryan Croft, starting goalkeeper for the team.
Shick’s goals for the critical spring season are to get the team organized, fit, and acclimated to his coaching.
“We’ll train five days a week in the spring and six days a week in the fall. It’ll be a lot, but it will be consistent, and it will be regimented for sure,” Shick said.
Caleb Hoxie, a junior engineering major and team captain, says the team welcomes his approach.
“I think he knows what an off-season training regimen looks like and what levels of strength training and conditioning we need to be at to compete at a championship level,” said Hoxie. “I think what he has brought is a structure to this program, where we are committed to bettering ourselves in the weight room, on the field, doing the extra sprints, and doing the extra things that we need to win games.”
Shick has already begun recruiting for the incoming class.
“I think that we have a good core to start with,” said Shick. “If I can bring in a few young men that can really be put in the spine and add to this already good culture that’s here – and I was really surprised how good the team culture was – then we can have a lot of success on and off the field.”
Shick expressed his desire to build the men’s soccer program into what he believes it can be. While many Cascade Collegiate Conference and Frontier Conference Championship trophies decorate Carroll’s Physical Education Center, none have been earned by men’s soccer.
Shick believes this will change.
Not only does he plan to adapt his own philosophies and style of play to their game, but Shick also argued the importance of a constructive team environment.
“I’m just going to bring a positive culture,” said Shick. “I think I’m a little more friendly than most coaches, at least in the CCC, so I’ll have a great relationship with the guys. We’ll do lots of activities and team building, and it’ll be intense … I love seeing the growth of an individual, I love winning soccer games, and I am very competitive. I’m excited to see these guys grow to become men and see how their lives go.”
