Georgetown coach Brian Wiese spoke with ASN contributor Robert Kehoe III about college soccer's role in America, the NCAA tournament, and Saturday's quarterfinal match against Virginia.

BY Robert L. Kehoe III Posted

December 05, 2014

7:45 PM SHARE THIS STORY



Virginia in an NCAA quarterfinal match. Coaching the Hoyas in his ninth season is Brian Wiese, an Ivy League-educated engineer who hopes to lead one of the most talented teams in the country to its second College Cup. He’d also like to invite U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann to come watch his team practice next spring. Earlier this week he told ASN’s Robert Kehoe why.

When we spoke over the summer you had a lot to say about the college vs. pro debate. Can you share some of your thoughts on that issue?

A lot of people don’t understand college soccer. I mean, I hate to say it, but Jurgen Klinsmann doesn’t understand college soccer. I just heard a quote from Robbie Keane saying that college soccer should be banned from MLS, and if we’re talking about a player like him who’s been a standout professional since he was 17 that would make sense. But that’s confusing the debate. Nobody’s saying that a player like Robbie Keane should be playing college soccer. That’s a choice that’s up to the player. If MLS can offer enough incentive to pass up a free education (at Georgetown that adds up to around $65,000 a year) that’s fine. But the level in college soccer is so good right now, and it’s only getting better, so it isn’t a problem. It’s a part of the solution.

So we have three great institutional pillars: U.S. Soccer, MLS, and college soccer—but it seems like all three are adversarial. Why is that? Why can’t they all work together for the good of the game?

I don’t understand it, and on behalf college soccer I would invite Jurgen or anybody else with the U.S. Soccer or MLS to come spend a week with my program in the spring. Or go see what Bobby Clark does with his guys at Notre Dame—he’ll probably put you up at his house. Come watch the kind of work we put in with our kids. After the naysayers spend seven days observing what we do then I’ll listen to what they have to say. But until then their opinions have very little credibility. Of course now I’ll have to call Bobby and tell him I just invited a lot of people to spend a week at his house...but he’ll be ok with that.

Just as an example, look at Harry Shipp who was one of Bobby’s best players. If Harry wanted to play for the Fire two years ago he could have done that. He chose to stay for his senior year because he wanted to complete his education, and he’s still a successful pro.

That’s a specific example, but how is college soccer a part of the solution in the big picture?

I’m an engineering guy, so I always do the math. We have 205 Division I programs, with an average of 25 kids per team. That’s about 5,000 good players who are playing soccer on a daily basis, at good facilities, with all the support they need to improve. Now of those 5,000, how many of them could or should be pros right now? Let’s say it’s 50, so that would be one percent of 5,000 kids.

Now let’s talk about the other 4,950 other players. I use the word incubation a lot, because the college game is an incubator for the 4,950 players who aren’t ready to be pros right now. If you went back and looked at every World Cup cycle I bet you’d find significant contributors to the U.S. national team who were at one time a part of that group of 4,950.

What do you think about the proposed NCAA season expansion? Good for the game, bad for the game, will it happen, won’t it happen?

I’m not sure if it will happen. Some strongly believe it will, some don’t. I think it’s a very good thing for our players. My hesitation about it is whether or not the state of college athletics can handle it. I would hate to see programs getting cut because a season expansion would put to much stress on their facilities and budgets. But from the point of view of the player, it’s good. Again, my challenge to Klinsmann, U.S. Soccer, and MLS would be to come watch the top programs in the spring because that’s when we do our best work developmentally.

Can you give me an example?

The last thing I want to do is make major changes in season when we have to win games. But we also have the future to think about, and in the spring I can give younger players more opportunities to work in with our upperclassmen and I can try some different things with our core players. Again, that’s where the development really happens. In some ways expanding the college season could compromise that focused teaching period in the spring, but overall spreading out the season is better for the health of the student.

So in the end I’m for it, but I don’t think the system is broken as it is. I have a lot of fun with what we do and how we do it. If things evolve I’m sure I’ll have fun then too.

How would you assess this particular season?

Well, we’re still playing and any team that’s still playing at this point has experienced some metamorphosis, adversity, and luck since reporting back in August. The college season is a grind, so it’s satisfying to see how well our team has worked throughout the year, and it’s especially gratifying to see our seniors be so successful.

They’re also fun to watch, and the only team I can think of that I’ve been more impressed with is Akron in 2009. Am I overstating that, or is this a special group?

That Akron team Caleb Porter put together was a trailblazing team, and they changed the perception of what a college soccer team was capable of doing. But when you look at our last match against Syracuse, they were as talented and as well-coached a team as we’ve played. I certainly think we have some wonderful players, but there are a lot of good teams out there.

You get a lot of MLS academy players, some of whom are in the “homegrown” system. What do you as a coach think about that relationship?

It’s complicated. The homegrown system is good in a lot of ways, but we shouldn’t forget that it’s primarily good for the club, and it handicaps the kids because, for all intents and purposes, they’re owned by the club. So the players don’t have much negotiating power, and the really top players might not even want to be homegrown for that very reason.

Still, it’s a great opportunity for most of the players who are in the system and minimizes the financial burden of playing for a top youth club. The downside for college players is that it can create a double mindedness where kid are always wondering if they should stay or go. Some of those forget to enjoy the experience they’re having in the here and now.

Brandon Allen and Joshua Yaro have received a lot of attention this year. Who are the players that have gone under the radar?

I think maybe the biggest one is our holding midfielder, Tyler Rudy. He does everything for us in that spot, from protecting the back four to building the attack and providing leadership in tough spots. His growth over four years has been tremendous. Bakie Goodman is another one. He’s a midfielder who can get out of almost anything. Cole Seiler who gets overlooked sometimes because he plays next to Josh Yaro, but he’s been a huge part of our success and Josh would be the first person to point that out.

Yaro certainly appears to be a modest guy who hasn’t let the attention go to his head.

No question. Josh is one of the most humble kids you’ll ever come across. If it was better for the team for him to sit out and watch he’d sit out and watch. He wouldn’t think twice about it.

Has the attention he’s received this year and the possibility of going pro been a distraction for him or the rest of the team?

I don’t think so. That’s something we’ve talked about at length and he really doesn’t want to deal with it until the season is over. It’s very clear that he wants to be a pro, but he also wants to do other things while he’s a pro, or after he’s a pro, which is where his education comes in. In that sense, it’s actually easier for him if he goes overseas because he could spend time on campus in the summer. But he’ll make the right decision for when the time comes, and overall he and the team haven’t let it be a distraction.

How versatile do you think he can be at the next level?

Well he’s very coachable, so my question is how good a coach are you? He has good feet, he has a high soccer IQ, he’s fiercely competitive, and he’s one of the fastest people you’ll see on a soccer field. I think his natural inclination is to be a defender, and teams may want to use his pace as an outside back where he could get into the attack a bit more. I also think he could play as a central midfielder in the right environment. He doesn’t have the natural finishing acumen of a Brandon Allen, but his pace alone he’d cause problems up front, so if the right coach could teach him he could do it.

Have you talked with him about his national commitments? Is he Ghana to the core, or would he consider a path to citizenship in the U.S. if a chance with the national team presented itself?

We haven’t talked about that. I know he’s very proud of his Ghanaian heritage so that might be a hard decision if he had to make it. But to my knowledge nobody’s brought that up as of yet.

How do you think Brandon Allen’s game will translate at the next level?

He’s obviously a goal scorer, and he thrives in an environment where other players are threatening. If you give him opportunities he scores them. You just have to give him opportunities. In a pro environment where he can get good service, around other good attacking players, it’s going to be pretty exciting.

He’s also really strong and can fend off tackles pretty well.

Yeah, he’s as tough as nails and he doesn’t dive, so when he hits the ground you know somebody really gave him a whack. He’s great under pressure, with his back to goal and out of the air.

What are your thoughts about the match against Virginia?

They’re extremely talented, but George Gelnovatch also does a terrific job coaching each game with a different approach. He isn’t stubborn about playing one style or a specific system. They’ve had a very good run this tournament, and I think we’ve already sold out our stadium, so the atmosphere should be electric.

Not to get too ahead of the match in front of you, but what would it mean for you and Georgetown to win a national championship?

It obviously the ultimate mark of competitive success, so we’d love to do it. But with that said, looking at the 48 teams in this tournament, if we played the tournament 10 times I think we’d have 10 different champions. And I think you could argue that there are teams like New Mexico who didn’t make the tournament you could put in that mix as well.

There’s so much luck involved, and your team has to persevere so much to get to this point, it’s hard to measure success by winning the College Cup. To reference Bobby Clark again, he’s been the best in the business for decades and just won his first national championship last year, so you have to appreciate how hard it is to do. So if we win it we won’t take it for granted, and maybe I’ll get a tattoo or something, but for now our mantra has been, “Just earn another week.” That’s what we’re trying to do, just earn another week.