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New Regis coach still learning own team
The men’s soccer teams from Regis University and the University of Denver will meet at 6 p.m. Sunday at Englewood High School in a fundraiser for the schools.
Recently, DU coach Bobby Muuss spent some time with me going through his probable lineup for the match and discussing his players one by one.
For Regis coach Tony McCall, however, doing the same for his team would be a little more difficult.
He started the job April 1.
“I think I’ve been here, I think I started April 1,” McCall said. “I’ve had a good opportunity to work with guys in training, but I haven’t seen them play other than another springtime game.”
The match McCall is referring to was a game against some of the Regis University alumni. All of the Rangers’ other spring matches have been snowed out. Even this match, originally scheduled for Friday, was snowed out. But at least it got postponed, not completely canceled.
Nonetheless, Sunday’s meeting with the Pioneers will be Regis’ first true test with McCall on the bench.
“It will be a good opportunity for me to see these guys in a competitive environment,” he said. “I’m looking for good performance, seeing if they’re picking up what we’re learning in practice. They’re a smart bunch of young men and very coachable.”
McCall said Wally Fink would start in goal and would have Tyler Waggoner, Gary Cole, Keegan Bast and Ryan Brennan in front of him.
McCall said the Rangers will go with James Copeland, Pat Freeman, Donnie Montoya and Nathan Kafer ”in the middle of the park.” (I just liked that phrase, so I quoted him.)
Up front, Sterling Copeland and Kyle Emge will start.
But outside of that, McCall is still learning his team.
“I probably know more about DU than I do about Regis; I’ve watched them play a few games,” McCall said, joking about his time on the job. “They’ve brought in a bunch of good players. Coach Muuss has done a good job with the program.”
McCall’s dilemma is simply that he hasn’t had much time, yet, to spend with his players.
Keith Tiemeyer left Regis in late January to become an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin. Regis began a search and announced its selection of McCall in late March.
And since McCall took over, April showers simply have not cooperated.
“Sunday is our last day of being able to get on the field and practice with the kids,” McCall said.
Regis found McCall working at Sports Source, helping student-athletes and their parents make decisions about the college search. Before that, McCall was the technical director for the Colorado Storm from 2005-07.
He sits on the board of directors for the National Soccer Coaches Association, which has nearly 20,000 members and is the largest coaches organization, regardless of sport, in the world. He has been on the board since 2003.
McCall was an assistant coach at Metropolitan State College for two seasons (2002-03) and was responsible for recruiting.
Before moving to Denver, McCall was the head coach at Stetson University in Deland, Fla., from 1993-98. McCall won 34 games in five seasons at Stetson, including an 11-8-1 record in 1997. McCall got his first coaching position at South Alabama, where he was the assistant coach from 1987-93.
“I’m from Northern Ireland,” McCall said. “The current World Cup coach from Northern Ireland (Nigel Worthington) is a good friend. He has them on the brink of qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa. We grew up together and played for local club, and he went on to England. And I came here. I got a bad knee injury, and I wasn’t going to be a player at a higher level.”
In 1980, McCall was chosen as the Northern Ireland Young Player of the Year by the Northern Ireland professional players and by the country’s sports writers. Worthington received the same award the following year.
McCall represented Northern Ireland at the U-15 and U-18 levels, spent time on trial at Liverpool and played for Everton as a young player.
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