UMO alum Clewis selected as new women's soccer coach

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 8, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- The search didn't take long to find the new head women's soccer coach at University of Mount Olive.

In fact, he had been on campus the whole time.

And the decision undoubtedly makes perfect sense.

Reid Clewis, an UMO alum and former player, officially took over the position earlier this week. He succeeds Matt Hisler, who was dismissed in mid-December. Clewis becomes just the fourth head coach in program history since the school joined the Division II ranks in the mid-1990s.

"Mount Olive runs very deep in our family and it means a lot to me to get the opportunity to put this program back where I feel like it belongs at the top of Conference Carolinas, and make it something that players (past and present) can be proud of," Clewis said. "I think that's one of the things that really set me apart from the other candidates is that you're not going to find somebody that's more dedicated to this school and to this program like I am.

"It's going to be a fresh start."

More than 100 applicants showed interest in the vacancy.

Snake bitten by injuries last fall, the Trojan women posted a 6-13-1 record that included a 4-6-1 worksheet against conference opposition. UMO has experienced just five winning seasons overall, and two of those occurred during Hisler's tenure on the bench. His 2010 and 2011 squads each collected 10 victories.

The inconsistency has gnawed at Clewis.

He admits UMO had nearly 20 different starters in the lineup due to a variety of issues last fall. But he also noticed that while the team had talent and showed the ability to compete, it also experienced a disconnection that could never get solved.

"It's not a lack of good players," Clewis said. "It's getting everybody on the same page, simplifying things a bit and pushing everybody in the right direction. I want to turn some of those negatives (we experienced) into positives and push this program forward to compete regionally.

"The more we can compete with some bigger programs, that's only going to help us (in the future)."

UMO, according to its current roster online, is projected to return 30-plus players next season. Most of the players have emailed Clewis and said they are anxious for a fresh start -- eager for the opportunity to claim the program's second regular-season championship and just its third title overall.

Clewis anticipates putting an aggressive-minded team on the field that doesn't rely on constant possession. He wants to consistently counter attack, gain control of the ball, relentlessly pressure the opposing defense and score quickly.

The Trojans won the conference's eastern division title in 2011 and emerged as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference tournament champion in 2004.

"It's a positive that I've already had a chance to work with the players and have an idea of what they can do," Clewis said. "They know I have a few different ideas on the way things should be done. Once we get the players' mindset right in the spring, that will help put some of the dominoes in place in the upcoming fall.

"Everyone will have to understand their role."