Men's program is starting to move

Looking over portlandpilots.com the past couple months, it appears the new men's soccer coach has hit the ground running. He's hired a great assistant coach, picked up some nice recruits, and the team's had a couple of encouraging spring games. Like the new energy I'm seeing so far. I don't have access to what people are saying on campus, but what's the word on the street on how things have been going thus far? What do the returning players think of the transition?

When you're able recruit a student-athlete from Orlando to Portland, you must be making a very good argument for being a Pilot.

Congratulations to Coach Carlin-Voigt for bringing in five (so far) very impressive recruits for this coming season.

http://portlandpilots.com/news/2016/3/29/msoc_BenjiMichel.aspx

Pilots Recruiting Class Ranked 17th in the Nation by Top Drawer Soccer....with more recruits still to be announced.

http://www.portlandpilots.com/news/2016/4/12/msoc_recruits_17th.aspx

This is an amazing accomplishment... congratulations to the new coaching staff! The ability to improve the recruiting so quickly is amazing! It will be good to have the MSOC program return to its rightful position of prominence.

I also like his comment on Soccer City USA... any leverage UP can use in selling to recruits is great. The Timbers, T2, Thorns, Pilot Men and Pilot Women all can rise together and leverage each other's influence & successes.

Wow.....and the beat goes on:

Coach Nick Carlin-Voigt has added a junior defender, Kris Reaves, via transfer for the 2016 season....and he's immediately eligible.

Reaves started the past two seasons for Wake Forest, which won the ACC regular-season championship and made it to the NCAA Elite Eight while ranked No. 1 in the nation.

http://portlandpilots.com/news/2016/4/15/msoc_adds_KrisReaves.aspx

Yes, this is an amazing get for the Pilots but two obvious questions occur to me. Why did he leave such a successful program and how can he be eligible right away?

Well, you'll have to ask Kris Reaves why he decided to leave Wake Forest....but it's not always about the success of the program, but the "fit" of the program or school for the student-athlete.

(I'm also guessing that Coach Carlin-Voigt recruited Reaves when the coach was at UCLA, so they have a prior acquaintance through the various camps and tournaments they've each been involved with).

As far as being immediately eligible (and Geezer will have to back me up on this), it is only in basketball, football, baseball, and ice hockey that a student-athlete is required to sit a year after transferring via the one-time transfer exception rule if they have the original school's permission to transfer.  

UP's compliance office most likely sent a "tracer" to Wake Forest for a release signature.......and bingo!

DoubleDipper wrote:
As far as being immediately eligible (and Geezer will have to back me up on this), it is only in basketball, football, baseball, and ice hockey that a student-athlete is required to sit a year after transferring via the one-time transfer exception rule if they have the original school's permission to transfer

That is true. Generally, you can get a transfer for the next year without penalty under the one time exception if the school grants the waiver,  but you have to complete your current letter of intent year/ scholarship year.

There is a caveat. Some conferences add penalties for transferring out ( the pac12 still has a no waiver rule, but exceptions are routinely granted) , transferring to another school, and transferring in. The ACC, as an example, says if you transfer in conference, you sit a year and lose a year of eligibility in all sports. In addition, with rare exceptions, you can't get financial aid during the year you sit.

So realistically, he couldn't have transferred to another ACC school, and I'm sure the conference is happy he's about as far away as he can get.

And there is an obscure rule that if he transfers for purely academic reasons, he can be granted a waiver even if the school doesn't grant it. if he decides to change major to something Wake doesn't offer, that rule would kick in. Maybe he's entering the Catholic studies program to enter the priesthood.

http://college.up.edu/catholicstudies/

ejjqb wrote:Yes, this is an amazing get for the Pilots but two obvious questions occur to me.  Why did he leave such a successful program and how can he be eligible right away?

I think the "how" question has been answered, the answer to the "why" question is, he did not particularly like Winston-Salem and he was less than happy with the training/medical staff at Wake Forest after missing spring practice this year.

The Wake Forest coach is not at all happy to lose him, but his boss signed the release.  The release was sent to a number of schools, and UP's Coach Carlin-Voigt jumped on it immediately and had Reaves out to Portland the next day.  The day after that, he signed.

Dang, what is this magic power that Coach Nick Carlin-Voight possesses???

Today he signed New Jersey Devil MLS Academy player and transfer from Virginia, Malcolm Dixon.  Just like Reaves, he will be eligible immediately and will be a sophomore in the fall.

Dixon is the 5th MLS Academy player Carlin-Voight has signed, and he's able to do it by bringing in very bright guys with high academic credentials who qualify for academic scholarships to supplement their athletic scholarships.

Coach is obviously selling the vision to these young men....

http://www.portlandpilots.com/news/2016/4/21/msoc_adds_MalcolmDixon.aspx

I've only heard positive so far -- higher expectations for training, better fitness, better citizenship, and no one is guaranteed a spot. Everyone has to earn it.

With the number of talented new players coming in, the current guys will have to work hard to stay on the active roster and get playing time.

Anybody have the fall schedule yet?

Loud & Proud wrote:Anybody have the fall schedule yet?

Haven't seen a preview, but I'm told the schedule is one the current staff inherited.

Going forward, beyond this year, Coach Carlin-Voigt is making it goal to schedule at least 10 home-games per year.

Another signing announced today by Coach Carlin-Voigt.....this time it is Eric de Graaf (Surrey, B.C./Burnaby Central Secondary School), a starter for the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy U-18 team.

The Pilots incoming class now includes six freshmen (all from MLS Academy teams) and a pair of transfers.  I wouldn't be surprised if this recruiting class is now close to the top-10 in D-1 recruiting classes.  

I think most know that D-1 women's soccer can offer 12 scholarships, but men's soccer is limited to 9.9 scholarships, so you know that Coach Carlin-Voigt is getting young men who are qualified for academic scholarships while selling the dream for the future when a combination of scholarships might amount to a "full ride."

(The “.9” limit indicates that the scholarships don’t have to be fully dedicated to specific players. Instead, the coaches can split up the funds at their discretion.)

http://portlandpilots.com/news/2016/5/3/msoc_adds_deGraaf.aspx?path=msoc

I think most know that D-1 women's soccer can offer 12 scholarships

Actually, Women's soccer in D1 is 14 scholarships.

NAIA top division is 12 scholarships.


http://www.athleticscholarships.net/soccerscholarships.htm

And I'm not sure you can say the men's team is getting any better scholars than the women's team. The difference in the number of academic awards the two teams have gotten over the years suggests otherwise.

But if he is getting better students, it's a win on two counts that he was hired.