Photo by: Jeff Sochko - DavidsonPhotos.com
Q&A with Men's Soccer Head Coach Mike Babst
2/13/2020 1:24:00 PM | Men's Soccer, DAF
What inspired you to join the coaching staff at Davidson College? I have always regarded Davidson as one of the best places in college soccer. I can't imagine a better place for a scholar-athlete to develop his or her passions and talents and to establish a platform for an especially impactful and successful life. This is a place where you are going to develop and learn through being really engaged with the people around you. But my draw to Davidson was competitive, too. Soccer has been and should be important on this campus. You don't feel that at a lot of schools, but you feel it here. I think there is a real path to Davidson being a big, nationally relevant soccer school.
With a new job comes new expectations and goals. With your first year now behind you, how have your expectations and goals changed?
Building a program is a process, and the thing that can't ever change is the belief you have for where that process can take the program. Even though my first season as head coach was tough in some ways, there were some really positive moments that came from the team's willingness to keep fighting. And that's something we carry with us into this offseason. It is an exciting time. We are finalizing our first recruiting class, and it is a group that will add a lot to our team. The expectations and goals are the same as they were a year ago. The challenge is to see next fall how we move toward what I know our program is capable of.
Following a longtime head coach and Davidson alumnus presents its own challenges. What sets you apart and what will bring this program to the next level?
Former Head Coaches Matt Spear '93 and Charlie Slagle '74 were two of the first people to call me when I took the job. The Davidson soccer community is in such a great place because of how much they each put into the program as players and coaches. Having experiences at schools like Davidson, but not having any history here, my perspective is certainly a little different. And the belief I carry into the Davidson program comes so much from ideas that have worked at UChicago or Northwestern or South Carolina and knowing that I can find a way to successfully apply them in some form here. Ideally, I want to bring those new perspectives and ambitions and continue to grow the amazingly strong community that has been established over the past few decades by Matt and Charlie.
We talk about "doing athletics right." How do you see that in action in your daily work?
I think a scholar-athlete who is attracted to Davidson is drawn here because he or she doesn't want to compromise. As students, they want to be constantly challenged, and as athletes, they want to be held to the highest competitive standard in college athletics. It is a balance that is completely ingrained in the culture of the school. Every day, we have some conversation with our players about an internship, an interview, a class or a lab. So much of being a coach at Davidson is about appreciating all the other things our players are pursuing and finding solutions where they aren't compromising either their own or the team's competitive ambitions. Having to always find that balance creates a mindset for both the players and coaches to focus on how each pursuit serves an education and development that is uncompromisingly ambitious.
What is the best coaching advice you've ever received?
I don't know if I can narrow it down to one piece of advice, but more of an example of the type of influence I want to have on players. I had an assistant coach in high school who made every player, regardless of actual soccer talent, feel like he saw the good in you. And he wouldn't miss pointing out something you did that confirmed that thing he saw in you. He could also be very honest with you when you fell short, and disappointing him was a terrible feeling because you wanted to be that person he saw. I think it's fundamental to what coaching should be—recognizing the unique potential and the good that all players feel in themselves, and helping them pursue it.
What is the greatest lesson you learned as a player or as a coach that you've carried with you and aimed to pass down to your players?
It is tough for an 18-21-year-old to recognize the urgency necessary to make the most of this experience. What really drew me to college coaching was the idea of how great these four years can be. To play the game you love at a really high level with a group that will be some of your best friends for the rest of your life is an amazing and fleeting opportunity. The sacrifices are worth it to give it all a chance to be something really special. It's something you will never get to do again. And I think that should translate to everything they do going forward—to fully invest in the things they care about to give it all a chance to be special.
If you would like to hear more about the men's soccer program and follow their season by receiving regular updates, contact the DAF at daf@davidson.edu. Please include the email address you would like to receive updates at and the sport(s) you would like to receive updates from.
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