Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes
September 17, 2010 01:32 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - Sometimes a change in scenery is all that is needed to kick-start a college career that has seen its ups and downs. For Matt Drake of the West Virginia University men’s soccer team, that change took him 2,698 miles east from Corvallis, Ore., to Morgantown, W.Va.
The junior spent his first two seasons at Oregon State in which he saw action in only 13 games, and a coaching change from the original coach he had signed with in high school. That scenario made Drake decide it was time to get out of dodge.
The only problem was, unlike high school, this time Drake had to do the contacting of the coaches and the networking to find the correct team that would utilize his services best.
“I signed at the beginning of my junior year to Oregon State, so I wasn’t getting a ton of interest after that because I obviously already signed,” Drake said. “It’s actually harder transferring because instead of the coaches coming to you, you have to try and contact them.”
Fortunately one of Drake’s former coaches at Oregon State had connections with school on the east coast and that was just what Drake was looking for.
“I sat down with him one day and went through about 20 potential schools and then narrowed it down from that point, based off of academics, location and soccer,” Drake recalled. “It actually came down to WVU and Marshall and then I decided to come out to check both schools and I loved WVU.”
A native of Happy Valley, Ore., Drake wanted to get out of his home state, something his family was not thrilled about originally.
“The big thing was just getting away from home, getting a new start, a new experience. My family didn’t really like that, especially my mom and dad,” Drake commented. “At Oregon State, they could just travel an hour down and watch me, but they’re handling it pretty well.”
The next big transition was stepping into a soccer team that had already been designed for a faster pace of play, something that is unheard of on the west coast.
“The style of play is different. Oregon State was more direct, West Virgina ‘plays’ a lot more,” Drake said. “It is more tactical here, where it was a physical battle at Oregon State. The speed of play is a lot faster out here as well.
“There is a bigger kick on the east coast with the amount of soccer schools. It’s limited on the west coast. Besides UCLA, who are all national players and a few other California schools, the soccer isn’t that developed.”
Fortunately with 6-foot-2-inch frame and the ability to play forward, midfielder and defender, Drake was easily meshed into the Mountaineers lineup.
“Size definitely helps, which is an advantage to me being up front. Defensively, I can win balls in the air and I played defense at Oregon State,” Drake commented. “I’ve played center-mid a few years, I can play anywhere. It’s just confidence, if you have confidence you should be able to be anywhere on the field and produce.”
Confidence is what Drake feels that he lacks and is something that he has continuously worked on. One remedy for Drake is scoring goals and he did just that in his second game in a 3-2 double overtime win against then-ranked No. 17 UNC Wilmington.
“I had been struggling that week in practice and confidence has been a weak point for me,” Drake said. “That was huge for me because now I can move on and build off that.”
Although Drake was in the starting lineup this past weekend in the Stihl Soccer Classic, he knows not to take anything for granted because with a team this talented, someone can change roles at any given time.
“You have to show up every practice and every game because if you have one bad game or one bad practice, someone is able to step in and take your spot,” Drake said. “It makes everyone around you better and mentally makes you a stronger player.”
The junior spent his first two seasons at Oregon State in which he saw action in only 13 games, and a coaching change from the original coach he had signed with in high school. That scenario made Drake decide it was time to get out of dodge.
The only problem was, unlike high school, this time Drake had to do the contacting of the coaches and the networking to find the correct team that would utilize his services best.
“I signed at the beginning of my junior year to Oregon State, so I wasn’t getting a ton of interest after that because I obviously already signed,” Drake said. “It’s actually harder transferring because instead of the coaches coming to you, you have to try and contact them.”
Fortunately one of Drake’s former coaches at Oregon State had connections with school on the east coast and that was just what Drake was looking for.
“I sat down with him one day and went through about 20 potential schools and then narrowed it down from that point, based off of academics, location and soccer,” Drake recalled. “It actually came down to WVU and Marshall and then I decided to come out to check both schools and I loved WVU.”
A native of Happy Valley, Ore., Drake wanted to get out of his home state, something his family was not thrilled about originally.
“The big thing was just getting away from home, getting a new start, a new experience. My family didn’t really like that, especially my mom and dad,” Drake commented. “At Oregon State, they could just travel an hour down and watch me, but they’re handling it pretty well.”
The next big transition was stepping into a soccer team that had already been designed for a faster pace of play, something that is unheard of on the west coast.
“The style of play is different. Oregon State was more direct, West Virgina ‘plays’ a lot more,” Drake said. “It is more tactical here, where it was a physical battle at Oregon State. The speed of play is a lot faster out here as well.
“There is a bigger kick on the east coast with the amount of soccer schools. It’s limited on the west coast. Besides UCLA, who are all national players and a few other California schools, the soccer isn’t that developed.”
Fortunately with 6-foot-2-inch frame and the ability to play forward, midfielder and defender, Drake was easily meshed into the Mountaineers lineup.
“Size definitely helps, which is an advantage to me being up front. Defensively, I can win balls in the air and I played defense at Oregon State,” Drake commented. “I’ve played center-mid a few years, I can play anywhere. It’s just confidence, if you have confidence you should be able to be anywhere on the field and produce.”
Confidence is what Drake feels that he lacks and is something that he has continuously worked on. One remedy for Drake is scoring goals and he did just that in his second game in a 3-2 double overtime win against then-ranked No. 17 UNC Wilmington.
“I had been struggling that week in practice and confidence has been a weak point for me,” Drake said. “That was huge for me because now I can move on and build off that.”
Although Drake was in the starting lineup this past weekend in the Stihl Soccer Classic, he knows not to take anything for granted because with a team this talented, someone can change roles at any given time.
“You have to show up every practice and every game because if you have one bad game or one bad practice, someone is able to step in and take your spot,” Drake said. “It makes everyone around you better and mentally makes you a stronger player.”
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