In his second year at the helm of the N.C. State women’s soccer team, head coach Tim Santoro has set lofty goals for a group that spent most of last season rebuilding. 

The Wolfpack, which went 7-12-0 in 2013, has a new philosophy under the tutelage of former Wake Forest associate head coach. The Technician got the chance to sit down with Santoro, who opened up on his time at N.C. State so far. 

Technician: What originally drew you to coaching? 

Santoro: “I’d say my playing career. There weren’t many post-collegiate options when I was a player because there wasn’t a real professional league. If you wanted to stay in the game, you had to go into coaching. I always enjoyed the game, the X’s and O’s, so it was a logical progression for me.”

 Q: Do you have any coaching role models? 

A: “I don’t know if there are specific role models. I follow a lot of coaches at all levels. I’m always watching what they do, both in training sessions and in game-management, and I read what they say about managing players. In all of coaching, you always take ideas from other people. You have your own philosophy, but everyone’s philosophy is a combination of ideas from other people. Not just those in soccer, either. Multiple coaches in multiple sports have ideas and philosophies that relate.”

Q: What are your favorite parts about being the head coach at N.C. State?

A: “It’s a great school, it’s a program with potential and, obviously, it’s in the ACC. Those three things are big. The school itself, what we can achieve and have achieved and we’re in the best conference for our sport. Women’s soccer in the ACC is dominant. We had three in the final four, six in the final eight, and ten were ranked in the top 25. So year after year, it’s the top of the NCAA. There are many benefits to having a job in the ACC, and with the school being in Raleigh, this is one of the more attractive jobs in the conference.”

Q: One year in, how do you feel you’ve grown as a coach?

A: “I’ve grown a lot. When you spend a lot of time in this profession as an assistant, you get a lot of ideas, a lot of things you want to do and implement and change. But when you go through it for the first time, as the head coach, you learn what’s right, what’s wrong, what you want to add, subtract and what you want to change. And it also reinforces — it makes you realize what things are and aren’t correct. It’s been a great 15 months here. I think I have grown and learned, and to be honest, I think every coach learns every year. I definitely have in my first one.”

Q: What are the biggest things you’ve learned so far from your preseason scrimmages?

A: “We have a very hard-working and committed group. They want to elevate and improve this program as much as I do. What concerns you as a coach is if you have players that don’t buy-in, but our players have bought in. They want to achieve. Now it’s just a matter of taking that desire to work hard, that commitment, and adding in more talent, which comes by way of recruiting. Once we get that piece, combined with the team’s desire to succeed, we’re going to be onto something.”

Q: Looking ahead, what are your goals for the fall season? 

A: “We want to make the NCAA tournament. Most people think that it’s a longer term project, maybe three or four years down the road. I don’t believe that. I think that with what we have returning and what we have coming in, we have the capability to make the tournament. It’s not a guarantee, and with the tough schedule that we have it will be difficult, but we have to set our goals high. I don’t think you can set mediocre goals and expect to achieve things.”

Q: When not coaching, what are you doing?

A: “I’m a big hockey fan. I watch a lot of hockey, and I’m a big Philadelphia Flyers fan. I do watch plenty of soccer from around the world too, and I’m always studying the game. It’s not just a job for me. It’s a passion. So I spend a lot of time around the game even when I’m not with the team. I’m always researching, watching and pulling out ideas. But if that’s too much like my job, then I’d have to say being a hockey fan and spending time with my three dogs.”