O'Neil is applicant for permanent post

Remembering a turbulent off-season that saw the resignation of former men's soccer coach Steve Baumann followed by the hiring of interim coach George O'Neill just a few weeks prior to the start of the season, the Athletic Department is currently undertaking the search for a full-time coach with hopes of completing the process as quickly and efficiently as possible. A four-man internal search committee has been formed by the Athletic Department to sort through the approximately 90 applications received by the November 10 deadline. According to Associate Athletic Director Skip Jarocki, the committee is looking for a candidate with head-coaching experience and knowledge of Ivy League soccer, and one who is a skilled recruiter and has good communication abilities. O'Neill, who coached the team to a record of 5-10 this season (1-6 in the Ivy League), is one of the candidates, and is scheduled for an interview later this week. Jarocki said that the enormity of the search for a new coach is in no way a reflection on O'Neill's performance, but is instead based on University policy that requires that applications be received from anyone who is interested in a job vacancy. The committee plans to use input from team members, particularly outgoing seniors, in making its decision. Team support for O'Neill is virtually anonymous. "He has a wealth of soccer experience," senior ex-captain Mike Gomez said. "He's played at the highest level possible. There aren't too many people looking for a job right now who can match his knowledge." "He's a very positive guy and that's been something that's been missing in previous years," senior Kossouth Bradford said. "He knows the game and he should definitely be able to get the program on the winning track." The committee was initially looking at December 1 as a selection deadline but has pushed the date back to the end of December because of the size of the applicant pool. The goal, according to Jarocki, is to hire a coach early enough so as not to lose anything as far as recruiting. But many affiliated with the team feel that the program's ability to recruit players is damaged with each passing day, and that the best thing would be to name O'Neill coach and finish with the entire process. "They're already a little late if they don't have a feeling of who the coach is going to be," Penn assistant coach Brian Kammersgaard said. "It's very hard to recruit when the first question you're asked is who's going to be the coach. We're trying to get good players but the circumstances aren't working out for us." Another of the team's concerns is that if a new coach is brought in, next year's junior class will have had three coaches in three years and it is difficult to be successful with that much instability. Even though the Quakers enjoyed playing for O'Neill this year, they spent much of the season scrambling to adapt to the new strategies and philosophies he brought with him. This period of adjustment played a part in the Quakers' poor record, and the team will probably have to go through the same thing all over again if a new coach is hired. "If I'm a junior next year and a new coach is brought in, my career will be almost over before I'll have had any choice to prove myself," Kammersgaard said. "They need to give [O'Neill] a chance to prove himself." For his part, O'Neill would love to have that chance. From day one he has taken the attitude that he is going to be around for more than just this season. "I told the team on the very first day that I wanted to do the job on a full-time basis," O'Neill said. "I told them I wasn't going to come in this year and just go through the motions?I love being around people who enjoy the game and helping them to be better soccer players, and I definitely would like to be hired full-time."