New soccer coach happy to be back at Oregon State

By Brooks Hatch

Corvallis Gazette-Times

CORVALLIS - There will be losses, there will be injuries, there will be recruiting setbacks and there will be rainy days and Mondays at some point in the future.

But anything even remotely negative seemed a million miles away this past Thursday as new Oregon State men's soccer coach Steve Simmons stood on the lush Lorenz Field turf under a brilliant blue summer sky and outlined his hopes and dreams for the Beavers for an upcoming segment of Beaver Nation Online.

Later, in a followup interview, the 41-year-old Simmons - named as just the third head coach in the program's 21-year history on June 26 - said his enthusiasm at returning to Corvallis after six seasons as the head coach at Northern Illinois is the real deal, not obligatory lip service from someone who's looking to pad his resume at OSU before moving elsewhere.

"There are a lot of opportunities out there as far as a career for me," Simmons said. "I just can't think of another place in the country I'd want to be. Being here in Corvallis, with this program, with this conference, with the people in the athletic department … it's such a good fit.

"I don't think it can get any better that way. My excitement is as genuine as it gets. When I say coming home, it's literally coming home" for he and his family, who have deep OSU/Northwest ties.

How deep? Let us count the ways.

• Simmons was an All-American at Concordia of Portland.

• He assisted at Gonzaga (1994), was the head coach at Whitworth (1995) and Linfield (19996-2000) and the associate head coach at OSU (2001-02) before moving on to NIU in 2003.

• He was hired at Linfield by Ed Langsdorf, the father of OSU football offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf, and coached with OSU football associate head coach Jay Locey.

• His wife, the former Maria Ballantyne, grew up in Salem; her grandparents are OSU graduates, as is Simmons' brother- and sister-in-law.

Simmons spent this past week in Corvallis "getting a handle on the state of the program," which last season was 6-9-4 overall and 3-5-2 in the Pacific-10 Conference under predecessor Dana Taylor, who resigned in June to accept a similar position at Cal State Stanislaus.

He met with players who are in town for the summer, to "give them a sense of who I am, and where we're going." He's called the eight incoming recruits and has spent considerable time evaluating the holdover staff to determine which, if any, changes will be made there.

"It's critical," he said of his staff. "It's part of establishing the culture that needs to be here to do the things we need to do."

Simmons said he's well-aware of the athletic department's financial constraints and the speculation that some sports may be eliminated if the athletic department doesn't increase gate receipts and booster donations. But it's obvious he wouldn't leave a secure position at NIU, where he was the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2006, if he thought OSU men's soccer was about to close up shop.

"All the programs have to be prudent, that's what it comes down to," he said. "Another piece of that puzzle is to cultivate a good base of resource acquisition," and begin to build a program endowment, through alums, boosters and fans. "I did it at Northern Illinois and it's certainly going to be something I'll do here.

"I have an emotional attachment to this program and this community. That's (where) we can really, really make a mark. We're going through challenges as a country and a university. It's like being in a storm in a ship. You hunker down, you're prudent, you get through this thing, and still compete to win championships."

Simmons said OSU's playing style will evolve as the talent base grows, but that ultimately soccer, like baseball, football and any other sport, is about players having the right instincts, and making plays.

"When you have (2008 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year) Danny Mwanga, a natural talent, I've got to make sure he's in the right spot to use his instincts as much as possible," Simmons said. "However, it has to be the whole team playing (well) because if it's just a one-trick pony show, all in a sudden if that's taken away then you're going to have some trouble."

History says Simmons has made the right choices far more often than not. He was 67-49-5 at Whitworth and Linfield and his final Wildcats' club was 21-1-1 and made the Division III Final Four. He was 59-47-13 at NIU; the Huskies won the MAC in 2006, advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament that year, and averaged 11.2 wins a season over his last five years.

"As far as coaching what else can you say about Steve Simmons?" former NIU goalie Jim Zimka told the DeKalb (Ill.) Daily Chronicle when informed that Simmons was leaving. "He loved his players. He is an ambitious coach. He plans a path and follows that path."

Added midfielder Brad Horton of Simmons: "He meant a lot to me. He's the basic reason I chose NIU. He's a great coach and the whole program will miss him."

Simmons will return to Corvallis later this summer after tying up some loose ends in Illinois, and he plans to "hit the ground running." Players report on Aug. 18; the Beavers open at home on Sept. 4 against San Jose State. Coincidentally, the Beavers entertain Northern Illinois on Sept. 27 in their final tuneup before the Oct. 2 Pac-10 opener against UCLA.

The Beavers graduated four players who earned post-season honors (Daniel Leach, Ryan Callahan, Robby Christner, Mike Miller) and four others (Josh Cameron, Collin Foster, Tim Kelly, Tracy Hasson) who started at least 14 games. However, the current roster of 19 will be augmented by the incoming recruits so there's no shortage of players, all of whom Simmons said will have a clean slate with him.

"There is some anxiety, some excitement, some not knowing what (Simmons) is about," he said, alluding to the returnees. "No one has a starting position, everyone has to regain it.

"Juniors and seniors aren't entitled, but they should know better so if they do the right things they should get what they deserve. There will be new guys fighting for positions. It's not a matter of seniority, it's a matter of performance and attitude."

The Beavers advanced to the NCAA tournament in Simmons' final season as an assistant, and the next year as well. Simmons is confident that legacy can be restored and fans will once again flock to Lorenz Field, as they did in 2002 and 2003 during OSU's runs to the postseason.

"We'll take baby steps but I do have a grander vision of where we need to go with this because Corvallis is an exceptional soccer community," he said. "You have a Pac-10 product. It starts with the kids on the field, which starts with the culture, which starts with me.

"There's a history here. I know it can be done."