Kicking off a new era

Mens Soccer looking towards the future

by Dustin Looney
Courier Staff

They say that all good things must come to an end, and that is what happened when Monmouth College recently decided to part ways with their head soccer coach, Rue Carthew.

MC's athletic director, Terry Glasgow, broke the news to the soccer team before the winter break, and in an official release from the college, he said: "Rue is a longtime and valued employee, and we certainly thank him for his many years of excellent service with the soccer program. "That being said, I think all of us agree that a coach with full-time duties at Monmouth is necessary at this point in our soccer history. It is important for our coaches to be available full-time so they can mentor students in a wide range of academic and character issues."

The College plans to hire a full-time coach as soon as possible, and Glasgow hopes to attract a candidate who has experience at the Division I level, with an eye on improving the team's record.

With soccer being the most popular sport in Scotland and Monmouth having a Scottish identity, MC should field a team that excels in soccer, and Glasgow believes a change was necessary to succeed.

Although disappointed to see his coach go, M.C's goalkeeper and M.V.P, Bradley "Sunny" Hoffman understands Glasgow's reasoning. "It's always hard to see a coach go after three years, especially Rue who has been a close friend, but a full time coach is a good direction for the team." says Hoffman.

After being named head coach for Monmouth's 1991 soccer season, Carthew had a lot of work to do; the Fighting Scots had not won more than four matches in one season prior to his arrival.

Carthew, who played soccer professionally in England for 15 years, did not accept failure, and turned the program around in relatively short time; starting in 1993, the Fighting Scots started a streak of four consecutive 10 win seasons.

Monmouth's most successful season under Coach Rue came in 2001, when they were Midwest Conference champions and won a berth to the national tournament. Carthew was named MWC coach of the year.

After three tough seasons with very few wins to show for their effort, the Fighting Scot's rebounded in 2005 and won six games, including Carthew's 100th career victory.

Helping Carthew earn his 100th victory was three time All-MWC midfielder, Brian Potter. "Overall Rue was a great guy, it's just unfortunate that times are changing and education is a major part of keeping his coaching job" said Potter.

Monmouth's captain and star defender Justin Williams, who along with Potter was recruited by Carthew, said "Although I don't know if Rue's firing was the fairest thing, I believe the school's primary reasoning behind it was that they wanted someone who could be here full time. In terms of fairness, though, the athletic director did cite that Rue had not achieved as much success as they would have liked.

"This seems unfair to me when compared with several other teams on campus who have not had success in many years and the men's soccer team went to nationals only 5 years ago. I do however think having someone here full time will benefit the team, especially in the off season."

The new coach will have a real challenge, to say the least. Potter and Williams are two of 11 graduating players who were on the Scots' 2005 roster. Many current players are concerned about the incoming freshman class and whether players who were recruited by Carthew will keep Monmouth College as an option.

Carthew stated that he made connections with many high school coaches throughout his tenure as head coach, and would like to stay involved with the Monmouth College soccer program as a recruiter/scout.

Whether players agree or disagree with the College's decision to part ways with Carthew, everybody agrees that it was always fun to play for Coach Rue. The Scots' leading goal scorer, sophomore Trevor Neff said, "Rue was always active on the sidelines shouting and making sure we kept our heads together on the field."

Carthew was undoubtedly a colorful character, and he brought a great deal of charisma and enthusiasm as a recruiter for Monmouth College. He will be missed by his players and the fans, but there is another saying in the sports world: all coaches are hired to be fired.