Bobby Shuttleworth set for debut vs. Rice as first-year head coach

Key notes from Bobby Shuttleworth interview

• There’s excitement. We obviously got here in January and quickly tried to build relationships with players and get a plan for how we were going to play. It's a young group, and there are a lot of new players again, but we’re excited to get it going.
   
• The biggest thing we are preaching to our players is that we have to be intentional with what we’re doing all the time. We have to be mentally present, ready to make decisions, dialed in, and ready to be aggressive. We talk a lot about being animals and being physical. That all has to do with things that are completely controllable at all moments. We talk a lot about controlling what we can control. We say that maybe you’re not always going to be good at soccer, but the things we can control, we can control, and let’s try to do that.
   
• You don't really know a player until you know a player and get to work with them every single day. We go to watch a player, and you can tell by their attention to detail, their physicality, the way they run, and the way they react. That will tell you a lot about their mentality. A lot of those things we’re looking at when we look for players and things that we preach to our team all the time. Immediate reactions in transitions and using your arms and being physical. A lot of those things are a mindset, and something we’re trying to bring to this program very much.
   
• We have two more weeks in this preseason, and I feel like we’ve had less time. It always feels like there are more things we need to go over, we need to cover. I think it’s important. We went to Texas and had a tough result in Texas, but I said to our team, “This is exactly what we needed.” We needed to feel this. We have a young team going on the road, facing a good opponent in a tough environment. With those experiences, we’re going to be better prepared when we go to Rice on Wednesday. I think we’re prepared. I think we’re ready.
   
• The UIW match was a good first step for us. Walking away from that game, there are things we need to continue to work on, but there was a lot of positivity in that game. We struggled in the first half against Texas, but I thought we had a really good response in the second half. That game was exactly what we needed in our last preseason game. That will prepare us to step into the regular season.
   
• You need good players to score goals and to end games. I think we have that. I think we have players who have goals in them. Our biggest thing is our attention to detail and our ability to put ourselves in positions to play forward. Being balanced and then our movement. We need dynamic movement. We need to be running behind and threatening behind. And then we need support around the ball, and we need options around the ball. It’s not too complex. We need dynamic movement to open spaces. And then we need people dynamically moving to provide options around the ball. It’s going to be easier for us to get in spaces to be dangerous.
   
• Our young players have adapted well. A few came in early and have been with us since January. They already kind of felt comfortable with the new environment, new coaches, new school, and knew us already. We brought in a bunch who have had to learn those things pretty quickly and get comfortable. In a short period of time, they have. It’s going to be a work in progress, of course. They’re 17-and-18-year-old kids. They’re going to take time. They have to learn good habits and learn consistency and all those things. We have some really good, talented young players, and they’re going to have just as much opportunity to play as any other player on our team.
   
• It’s been a good program for a while under Brian Lee. It’s been very consistent, a very good program, and a tough place to go play. It’s a smaller field. They are very organized and very aggressive, and they get after you. It’s going to be a tough game for us. We've got to be up for the challenge, ready to battle, ready to win second balls and win our duels.
   
• I’m very much of the mindset that we have to be consistent every day. That’s in games, but that’s in training every day as well. We’re making sure we’re bringing the same mentality to training and games, being mentally and physically present and prepared to work and get better. There's always a long-term scope for our team and individuals, but if you’re too focused on the long term, you lose track of the details and the immediate. I'm very much an everyday presence. Making sure we’re looking after all of these details. If we’re buttoned up on all this stuff, that will lead to wins, which will lead to success and will put people in better positions.
   
• Being a head coach is a different role with different responsibilities. I'm very grateful for my time at Florida State and for working under Brian Pensky. I learned so much from him and that program, and I look back very fondly on that time. I’m excited for this opportunity and excited to be at this university with this specific program and these players. Since January, it feels like this place has become home very quickly. I think this is a special place with special people. We could feel that from when we first got here. I feel very comfortable here already in a pretty short period of time.