Q&A With Bryan Scales
Q: What has been your most memorable achievement with the Cornell men’s soccer program?
A: I am very proud of a number of things that we’ve accomplished over the past 10 years. Our 1999 and 2001 teams were two very good groups that were unfortunately left out of the NCAA Tournament on selection day. The fact that we’ve had a number of players go on to the professional ranks (Adam Skumawitz ’01 in Norway, Ted Papadopolous ’02 in Greece, Ian Pilarski ‘03 with the Chicago Fire and Rochester Rhinos, David Mahoney ’05 with the Chicago Fire and Scott Palguta ’05 with the Rochester Rhinos) is something that speaks to the quality of players we’ve brought in and how they have developed. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the amount of alumni support that we have received each and every year. Our fundraising efforts have continued to break records each year – a good sign.
Q: You decided to “rebuild” the team, in a sense, after the 2004 season, your seventh with the program. Why?
A: A few different factors made that a difficult season. For the most part, we were solid defensively, but we struggled to score goals. Consequently, we couldn’t get the results that we needed - especially when we played well in tight games - to give ourselves a boost. The chemistry of the team suffered and some of the decisions that were made, both on and off the field, by our young players were not what we expect out of a Cornell soccer player. I knew that after the season I was going to need to make some significant changes to our player pool and how we conduct business, from top to bottom, in order to represent the Cornell soccer “brand” the right way. History tells us that these seasons happen from time to time. You just have to continue to work hard to drive the group in the right direction.
Q: Are you pleased with the team’s progress following that decision?
A: Understandably, we’ve had our ups and downs, but the graph has been consistently moving up as far as the quality of our performances and the results. This is an evolution, not a revolution. We have to recruit good young players and develop them. Be patient, but driven. So far, I am pleased with the progress we’ve made over the last three years on a number of fronts. Our expectations as a program continue to grow each year. Ultimately, we want to win the Ivy League championship.
Q: Where do you feel the program is along your plan of rebuilding the program?
A: Two years ago, we had one of the top defenses in the league. Last year, we scored more goals than in previous seasons. For us to contend for a championship, we’ll need to continue to increase our goal-scoring output as well as be very stingy defensively. The Ivy League is one of the top five leagues in the country. It is extremely competitive. We must be solid on both sides of the ball (defensively and offensively) to challenge for a trophy. The players know this and are committed to it every day.
Q: What is the next step in the plan, and what will it take to get to that point?
A: This is a special place. Finding quality student-athletes with the right character, letting them know the value of Cornell University and, in particular, the quality of the experience they’ll have as a member of the Cornell soccer family is of paramount importance. That, coupled with hard work on the training ground, will eventually get us where we want to be. We are very excited about the future of the program.
Q: You’ve spent a great deal of time traveling and learning from professional clubs across the globe. What have you learned in those experiences that you try to carry over to the Cornell program?
A: The experience of being on the inside of a professional club on a daily basis is always very interesting. You are always looking to pick up new things. There are so many different ways to train players and put together teams, but the bottom line is that players need to be challenged in good training sessions each day to get better. We are always looking for opportunities to impress upon our players the need to be professional in their approach to the game. And while the style or approach to training may be different from country to country, the game still remains constant in its simplicity. You have to be able to pass and move. |
As he begins his 11th season at the helm of the Cornell men’s soccer program, Bryan Scales continues to build the Big Red into one of the most respected teams in the region and in the Ivy League. He has compiled a 60-85-16 record over his first 10 years and has had his teams ranked in the NSCAA/adidas Top 25 in four different seasons.
During the 2007 season, the Big Red posted a 7-9-1 overall record, the most wins for the program since the 2001 team went 9-4-3. Additionally, with wins over Kentucky and IUPUI to open the season at the UK Nike Classic in Lexington, Ky., the Big Red won its first in-season tournament title since 1983. The 2007 campaign also saw Cornell knock off a pair of NCAA tournament teams, Colgate and Vermont, while midfielder Brian Kuritzky earned a spot on the All-Ivy League first team and on the All-Northeast Region second team.
In 2006, Scales guided the Big Red to a 3-3-1 mark in Ivy League play, good enough for a fourth-place showing in the conference. The finish was the first in the top half of the Ivy League for the Cornell men’s soccer program since Scales’ second season in 1999, when the squad posted a 5-2-0 mark and was the league runner-up.
The 2001 team finished the year ranked No. 22 nationally with a record of 9-4-3, and Scales was selected by the NSCAA as the 2001 New York Division I Coach of the Year and was named a finalist for the 2001 NSCAA/adidas Division I National Coach of the Year award. The team ended the 2001 season with a six-game unbeaten streak and went 7-2-2 over the final 11 games of the campaign.
In May of 2007, Scales was awarded his Premier Diploma at the NSCAA International Premier Coaching Course in Curitiba, Brazil. This was a comprehensive, eight-day course primarily dealing with the tactical implications of various systems of play. It was hosted and conducted in conjunction with the Brazilian 1st Division club Atletico Paranaense.
Most recently, Scales was selected as a scout for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, a national league designed to train and identify players for potential college, professional and national teams. The program seeks to replicate the national U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla., on a nationwide-basis using existing clubs.
Scales has had the privilege of visiting some of Europe’s biggest clubs to observe training methods and to speak with coaches. He has spent time at Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle and Middlesborough Football Clubs of the English Premier League, Glasgow Celtic and Rangers of the Scottish Premier League, as well as the legendary Dutch club, Ajax Amsterdam, whom the Big Red competed against on their tour of the Netherlands in 2006.
A 1991 graduate of Hartwick College, Scales, a two-year starter at midfield and defense, helped his team to the 1987 and 1989 NCAA tournaments. His 1989 Hartwick team was the top-ranked team in the New York region and spent much of the season ranked in the top 10 nationally. A four-year letter winner, Scales received his bachelor’s degree in political science.
After graduation, Scales served as an assistant coach at SUNY-Plattsburgh before moving on to become an assistant at Harvard University for two years. In 1994, Scales joined the Cornell staff as an assistant coach to then-head coach Dave Sarachan. Scales and Sarachan proceeded to initiate one of the biggest turnarounds in Division I soccer. After a 2-10-3 campaign in 1994, they led the 1995 Big Red to an overall record of 15-2-1 while capturing the Ivy League championship and an automatic NCAA tournament bid. The 1996 team was also awarded an NCAA tournament bid before falling at Rutgers 2-1 in sudden victory OT. When Sarachan left Cornell to join MLS champion DC United after the 1997 season, Scales was named head coach of Cornell soccer in February 1998.
Scales is a native of Medway, Mass., and is a graduate of Newton North High School. He attended the Williston Northampton School as a postgraduate before heading to Hartwick in 1987. Formerly a member of the Region I ODP staff, Scales served as an assistant coach for the region’s U-18 team when it competed in tournaments at Lille, France, in 1997 and Hoerden, Germany, in 1999. He has also served as a member of the NSCAA National Rankings Committee.
Scales and his wife, Mindy, reside in Ithaca. They have two sons, Aiden (8) and Jack (4), and a daughter, Ciara (6). During the summer of 2008, Scales was named a House Fellow for the newly constructed Keaton House on Cornell’s West Campus.
