CSM Men's Soccer Preview: "We're Ready!"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 4, 2018

CSM Men's Soccer Preview: "We're Ready!"

The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Men's Soccer Team is ready to excel on the field this season when it kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 5 against Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA). 

The coaching staff is under a new regime, and is excited to get the season started. Head Coach Jake Shelton is familiar to CSM, as he was a former player at CSM for two years, earning captain in his second season as a Hawk. He went on to play at Lake Erie College as a captain. Shelton said that after playing varsity at La Plata High School, CSM, Lake Erie, and coaching at Lake Erie, he knows the winning formula to build a successful program.

A head coach is not successful without his staff, said Shelton, who shared he has assistants with plenty of experience. Assistant Coach Zach Bowman played varsity soccer at La Plata High School, graduating in 2008 and then collegiately at Steven's Institute of Technology (SIT) for four years under Tim O'Donahue, who is currently the head coach at the U.S. Naval Academy. After playing professional soccer and arena soccer, Bowman earned his coaching experience as an assistant at La Plata High School in 2015 and 2016 and was a volunteer assistant at the Naval Academy.

Taylor Ross also joins Shelton's coaching staff at CSM, returning as an alumni turned coach. Another graduate of La Plata High School, Ross played two seasons at CSM, one with Shelton in 2011. After learning under the wing of Shelton, Ross became the Hawks' captain in the 2012 season, leading the Hawks to the National Tournament for the first time in almost 10 years. Ross went on to Houghton College in Upstate New York, returning to the area to start his coaching experience at Waldorf Soccer Club before accepting his first coaching job here at CSM.

With the shared experience of Shelton, Bowman and Ross, CSM has an impressive coaches who say they plan to rebuild the men's soccer program and take it to the next level. 

CSM Hawks have a 20-player roster that has three returning players from last season. One of the goals this year is player development. 

 "That is my number one priority," said Shelton. "My mission is to get as many players to the next level as possible. My vision for that is for players to get into the weight room and practicing outside of practice so they can play 'catch up' to other players who are playing at the next level. My staff were both great players in high school. I'm building my culture of leaders and my view of what it takes to get to the next level. All the guys are buying in and ready to go."

Since there are many freshman on the roster, Shelton said he relied on the leadership with his two sophomores, Hunter Youngblood and Zach McDonough. He was pleased with their leadership efforts in the offseason. 

"Both guys showed up to the first workout and they have shown up since with a positive attitude," said Shelton. "They are also working out outside of the gym and that goes with their positive attitude. That buys into day one and their willingness to talk to the freshman, showing them that this (process) is something they can buy into has really been a game changer."  

Despite the young roster, Shelton said he embraces the challenge of training the team together into one cohesive unit. 

"It allows me to not change a mindset, it allows me to mold from the start," said Shelton. "I want to get them to the mindset of: 'we are here to retain players.' We have a good team (this year) and we want to be a great team (next year); so we need to stay committed to the cause and our vision so we come back next year and go to nationals. This is a process, it's a two-year process. It's the first two years of a four-year process; so by the time they get to their third and fourth year, they are going to be great players.

"My goal is top train the man at day one and in two years send them off to a four year school," added Shelton. "When they play well, it's because they came from a professional program at CSM, a program that cared about them and wanted them to succeed in every arena. Hopefully that formula can get players easy access because the four year schools know where the players are coming from."

Shelton also said he believes that with the right amount of physical preparation, skill development, a positive mindset and the passion to play for the love of the game can be a successful formula at CSM. He hopes all those things translate into wins on day one and throughout the season.