After five successful seasons with the Fresno State women’s soccer team, Steve Springthorpe is moving across the country to take over the Wolfpack’s program. He compiled a 52-40-12 record with the Bulldogs, leading his team to four straight conference championship games and winning two Western Athletic Conference championships. He also led the Bulldogs to two NCAA tournament appearances in 2005 and 2008. Staff Writer Sean Klemm spoke with Springthorpe on his decision to come to N.C. State and his plans for the Pack.
Technician: What brought you all the way across the country from California to North Carolina to coach for N.C. State?
Springthorpe: I lived in the Carolinas for 13 or 14 years, and it’s a great area. N.C. State soccer has always had a great reputation, certainly in the ACC. When I was in college, both the men and women had been doing great things, being in the final four on the women’s side and winning an ACC championship. I remember going to many games and watching some of those matches. It was an opportunity for me to get back to the area where my whole coaching career started. My entire family is from the east coast, and I’ve got ties in North Carolina. From a soccer point of view, coaching, there is not a better conference to be in, on the men’s or women’s side, than the ACC. So it was an opportunity that I am happy to be able to accept and come start working with the N.C. State team.
Technician: What are your expectations for next fall?
Springthorpe: My expectation, first and foremost, is that we’ll play hard. We will do what we can to improve, and we will start to make a turn in our program. I haven’t necessarily set a bunch of goals. I will do that with the team when I arrive in Raleigh and we start training. From a coach’s point of view, I’d like to get here and improve the team the best that I can, positioning us to be the best soccer team in the ACC.
Technician: Because of your ties to California, do you think that will improve our recruiting on the national level?
Springthorpe: We’ll ultimately look for the best players everywhere. The player pool in California is large and there are fantastic players there. If you look all across the country at all the teams, you are probably going to find a California player on every team that is successful. We’ll look everywhere, and we’ll find the best players all over the country, but, ultimately, the majority of our team will probably come from the east coast. But we want to find the best players and put them in the program, no matter where they are from.
Technician: Do you plan to bring your staff with you or hire new assistants?
Springthorpe: Right now the assistant coach position is open. A lot of people have applied and have contacted me about the job. It’s something we’ll look at when I get there, but we’re going to hire a good staff, people who complement each other and myself. We will put together the best staff to implement our goals of winning and doing the right thing.
Technician: When will you be arriving at N.C. State?
Springthorpe: I fly in Sunday night, and I’m very excited about coming in and starting work and meeting with the team. I am extremely thankful for N.C. State and Lee Fowler for hiring me. It was a great, great interview and a great visit. I met a lot of fantastic people. They made my job of accepting very easy. It seems like a great place to work, and there are a lot of people who I have been involved with already. I’m excited to get started.
