By Liza Bennett
Transcript Reporter
Jay Martin, Ohio Wesleyan men’s soccer coach, was recognized for his renowned coaching performance by the naming of the school’s soccer facility in his honor.
The Jay Martin Soccer Complex is located on 249 Park Ave. and is home to Roy Rike Field and practice areas used by both the men’s and women’s soccer team.
The name change will take effect at the start of the 2013 season.
Roger Ingles, the athletic director for Ohio Wesleyan, said this decision has been in the works for quite some time.
“President Rock Jones and the Board of Trustees discussed it and the Board voted unanimously to name it for Jay,” Ingles said.
“Assistant coach Brandon Bianco, President Jones and the Board were all involved in making this happen.
“Martin’s passion and drive for success in all phases of the athletic program has established a high standard for all athletic department members to live up to!”
Martin said he felt honored to have the soccer facility named after him.
“The honors are nice, but they only mean that the program is good and the young men in the program achieved a great deal over the years,” Martin said.
“The dedication means a lot because I am being honored by OWU and everyone at OWU knows all my strengths and my many weaknesses.”
During the 2011 season, the Bishops won their second national Division III championship by defeating Calving College 2-1 at Blossom Soccer Stadium in Texas.
It was this win that Martin simultaneously earned his 608th career victory, securing him the title of the winningest coach in the history of U.S. collegiate men’s soccer.
Travis Wall ‘12, played for Martin during the 2011 season and said he learned more in his freshman season with Martin than he had in his previous 13 years of playing soccer competitively.
“Jay did a lot for me as a player,” Wall said. “But as a person he did even more. Jay’s blue collar work-ethic is infectious and in my opinion is the root of all OWU soccer team’s success because Jay has always had talented teams, but his most successful teams have been the hardest working. That blue-collar work ethic isn’t restricted to soccer though. It carries over to the classroom and helps develop arrogant, lazy freshmen into humble, hard-working, and mature men by the time they graduate.”
Martin, who is also a human health and kinetics professor at OWU, spoke about how his coaching aesthetic is similar to that of his teaching style.
“I look at coaching as teaching and the classroom is the soccer field,” Martin said.
“I have always enjoyed teaching at OWU and I feel very lucky after 36 years of teaching OWU students.
“I feel I haven’t worked a day in my life.”
The Bishops most recent success was being selected to play in the NCAA tournament for a 35 time.
The Bishops will continue their post-season play in Chicago on tomorrow.
They will take on Centre College in the NCAA tournament.