As the winningest coach in collegiate soccer history (654), Jay Martin has certainly been able piece together a talented roster in each of his 37 years at OWU. After earning a seventh straight NCAC title against Hiram on Nov. 1, the team will host the NCAC tournament beginning Nov. 12 against DePauw University.
The Transcript: How have you been able to get the most out of your players for so long?
Jay Martin: Motivation is an all season long task. We work on the idea of intrinsic motivation and the guys must be accountable for their play. So, I haven’t really done anything. The players have done it all.
T: What is that is making the team so successful right now?
JM: The players. We have good players. It took a litlle time for the team too come together, but once the kinks were worked out we started playing well. We have good players, but their role changed from a role player on the team to a main player on the team. It took a little while too get there.
T: What do you guys have to do correctly to make a NCAA tournament run?
JM: The first thing we need to do is get into the tournament. That is why these NCAC games are important. The teams that can focus on today and not on the trophy are the teams that move on.