Goucher’s men’s soccer team went from not winning a Landmark Conference game for two years in a row, to becoming a playoff team, all within a span of four years.
Bryan Laut, the team’s head coach, calls this “a testament to the hard work of a great support staff and a special group of players who believe in the amazing things you can accomplish at Goucher.”
For their role in transforming the team and honing the student-athletes’ skills, Laut and assistant coaches Justin Holbrook, Ryan Martin, and Sean Peckham, collectively were named the Landmark Conference Men’s Soccer Coaching Staff of the Year.
Laut, in his fifth year at Goucher, said the award just confirms all the hard work put into the program. “The playoff berth and award validate everyone’s effort and will be the springboard to achieving new benchmarks in our program.”
He said his favorite part of coaching at Goucher is the people he’s surrounded with on a daily basis, especially his student-athletes. “The best part of coaching our players is to watch them grow and mature as both players and men,” he said. “While they might not always be perfect; they always take full responsibility and give everything they have in being the best people they can be … . This drive and determination is why I love coaching this team.”
Assistant coach Ryan Martin ’08 said that from day one, Laut has been committed to creating a successful program with successful players. “He strives to ensure that our program is developing a group of young men who will be successful after they leave Goucher,” Martin said. “It’s no coincidence that the team’s recent success on the field has coincided with a rise of success in the classroom. Bryan will divert the credit to his players, but he is responsible for setting the standards that they must live up to if they want to be a part of this program.”
Assistant coach Justin Holbrook ’10, a full-time educator, said he realizes how relationships and motivation are instrumental in teaching and in life. “Bryan has mastered this art and deserves this award,” he said, calling Laut’s coaching “determined, driven, and tactically savvy.”
Laut said high expectations for players on and off the field is important to the program, but so is team unity.
“We were fortunate to have 28 great guys who believed in and sacrificed for each other,” he said. “They are the reason we reached new heights this year and the reason we were recognized by the league.”
Athletic Director Geoff Miller said he sees a bright future for the program and its leader, who Miller calls “a masterful tactician.”
“Bryan is the whole package, a great recruiter, a man who expects the best from his team in the areas of academic performance and how his players integrate into our campus community,” Miller said.
The 2014 Men’s Soccer Team At-a-Glance
- The program had back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1991-1992.
- The team qualified for the conference playoffs, its first-ever appearance in the Landmark Conference’s post-season tournament.
- Head coach Bryan Laut and assistant coaches were selected as the Landmark Conference Coaching Staff of the Year.
- The last time Goucher produced the Coach or Coaching Staff of the Year in men’s soccer was 2003, when Gary Dunda was recognized as the top coach in the Capital Athletic Conference.