Ryan Sniegoski has been hired to take over as head coach of the Florida Southern College men’s soccer team.
After achieving great success in eight seasons as an assistant at Division I Old Dominion in Norfolk, Virginia, Sniegoski looks to bring his winning mentality to FSC. Sniegoski said his top priority is to change the culture of the program that has accumulated a 41-74-9 record over the past eight seasons.
“We want to build the culture of the program,” Sniegoski said. “I always say that you have to build a foundation before you can build a house. We want to build the foundation this spring and eventually we’ll start adding pieces to the final project.”
Sniegoski, highly motivated in his first head-coaching gig, plans to create a highly competitive environment to teach the players how to win.
“Winning isn’t something that just comes overnight,” Sniegoski said. “We need to learn how to win in everything we do, whether it’s in fitness, lifting or in the classroom.”
Junior midfielder Luke Jenner said that Sniegoski is already pushing the team in a way he has not yet seen in his three years as a Moc.
“We’ve had set times for our lake [Hollingsworth] runs, and he has given us expectations that he wants for all of our physical tests,” Jenner said. “So I definitely feel like he’s pushing us hard.”
With such a stark contrast from Sniegoski’s regime to the one prior, the players will be forced to adapt quickly. Jenner believes the culture shock has the potential to scare some players away.
“Time will tell,” Jenner said. “A few guys might find that it’s not for them, but, like I said, time will tell. The majority of the guys definitely responded well to the test.”
While Jenner acknowledged that some of his teammates might decide that the new, strenuous training regimen is not for them, the Preston, England native is excited about the hard work that lies ahead.
“It’s everything I’ve wanted,” Jenner said. “One of the biggest reasons I came to America was to push myself on and off the field and now I feel like I can do that. I only have one year left and nothing to lose, so I’m going to give it everything.”
Strategically, Sniegoski has not seen enough of the team to decide what kind of formation he wants to run. Jenner said the coach wants to see his players perform before making any strategic decisions.
“He has only talked to us so far and he said that talk is cheap,” Jenner said. “So he wants to see what we can do on the field before he implements any sort of formation.”
Sniegoski agreed that he is currently uncertain of whether or not he will need to change his strategy to cater to the personnel of the team. However, he emphatically stated that one thing will certainly be different in the program.
“We’re going to win,” Sniegoski said. “That’ll be the biggest change.”
