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TagsBY MIKE VORKUNOV
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
In his previous coaching life, Dan Donigan perfected a fitness test as daunting as its name. It is called "The Gauntlet" and it is no hyperbole.
Every player that wants a place on the pitch has to take it. A 400-meter sprint in less than 80 seconds, followed by a half-mile run that has to be finished in 2:45 or less, and finally a mile run with a 5:30 limit. In between each run are suicide sprints. Then back down the ladder.
A knowing laugh follows a question about the test. You don't have to ask to know what the laugh means.
In Donigan's first training camp as Rutgers men's soccer coach, only three players passed it on the first try. So it goes as he tries to reconcile the style and substance that brought him success at Saint Louis with his new squad and program.
In nine years as head coach with the Bilikens his teams made the NCAA tournament seven times and twice he was named regional coach of the year. In that same time span, the Scarlet Knights reached the postseason three times and in the final years of previous coach Bob Reasso's 29-year tenure they battled with mediocrity, finishing last season with a 9-10 record to cap a third straight losing season.There are many aspects to the program that he likes, but there is also room for change. Since his hiring in January he has moved to mold the program closer to his image. None of the coaching staff remains from his predecessor and there is an appreciable air of change. It is noticeable in the subtleties; like during one of the first days of practice after camp begins.
Donigan stands on a soccer field behind Bainton Field looking more like he came from the beaches of California than the Jersey Shore with his blonde hair and low, unassuming voice. After the end of practice he is still wearing a green pinnie as the former All-American striker at Connecticut occasionally jumps into the fray. He was voted one of New Jersey's top ten scholastic players of the last century and it looks like his form isn't far from his days at Steinart High School.
As he talks about the job he has at hand, he does so magnanimously, saying that this will be neither rebuilding or reloading on his part. But there are hints of change.
"There are a lot of good core values here already, they did a fantastic job," he says. "The facilities are fantastic. The conference is the conference, nothing is going to change about that. You bring in some different scheduling tactics. Even the coach that took over for my team in Saint Louis is going to have some tweaks, some differences in philosophy. And certainly there are some differences but it's not anything that is drastic. It's not anything that's spoken about or talked about on the surface. It's ‘Hey this is our program: this is how we're going to do things, these are the habits we want to see, this is the mentality we want you guys to have.' And then we have to instill all those values in our program, academically, socially, soccer-wise."
He has already won over his players. That some stay after practice for extra work is taken as a sign of respect and acceptance. It's more evident in the glowing way they speak of him.
"He's the man," said Yannick Salmon, a senior midfielder. "He's a really sociable guy. He does a lot for us. Pretty much anything we want, he's going to get it done for us. He cares a lot about the team and the program."
Now comes the hard part, turning over the program back to somewhere near its halcyon days in the early 1990's when the Knights were making appearances in the championship game, garnering No. 1 rankings and producing national team players. That will take more time and Donigan is cognizant of that.
He did not leave a Midwestern power just so he could go back to his Jersey roots. Donigan came to Rutgers because he sees potential. He knows that there is bigger upside by playing in the Big East, by coaching at an East Coast state university. He can't stop focusing on the upgrade in facilities and locker rooms and possibilities.
"I want to make the most of it," he said. "I don't want to waste my time."
Off the pitch, the focus has been on recruiting. Even though he is from the state and recruited here at Saint Louis, there is still work to be done to build the rapport he is looking for. He added long-time Mercer County Community College coach Charlie Inverso to the staff, bringing with him his wealth of contacts, and has had high school coaches coming to practice.
"I came here for a number of reasons but a big one was to win a national championship," he said. "I think we have the ability to do that. You're only going to be as good as the players you bring in to the program so recruiting is going to be huge for us. So we're going to be all over New Jersey, we're going to be all over the East Coast corridor and bring players in from all over nationally. Get your occasional international but my priority is New Jersey."
On the pitch, what he's inherited has more promise than it seems. The Knights were predicted to finish fifth out of six teams in the Big East's Red Division, but Donigan sees something else. He rattles off that they upset annually-ranked Connecticut and South Florida last season. He believes Salmon can be a Herman Trophy candidate and future MLS player in just his second season as an attacking player after starting his Rutgers career as a defensive back. And that the semi-finals and finals of the conference tournament will be held at Red Bull Arena in Harrison have added extra motivation.
"Incentive is that we were picked to finish fifth in our division, not one of our guys was picked All-Conference, so to me there is no love from the conference for Rutgers," said the coach. "To me, that's motivation. But at the same time we have to deserve it. What have we done? We haven't won a game yet. We haven't shown anyone our style of play."
The style of play will surely be different than under Reasso. It will be more aggressive, more technical. Donigan has preached that the goal is to hold possession the whole game and training camp has gone from defensive work to technical practice - energizing players. There is a different vibe and it's fair to say it starts with the coach.
And the coach likes to start things with that gauntlet. That is his introduction. It is his way of testing his new team, not necessarily physically as much as how "it messes with your emotions."
After barely a handful of players passed it that first day, 13 made it in time the next day. This is the program he has taken over, with improvement coming, not immediate but measured. How quickly will Rutgers rise back to the top, if it does, is still to be seen. Donigan, admittedly a miserable person when he loses, hopes it comes sooner than later.
His homecoming has been sweet up to this point. But he also admits that is because that there have been no results to this point. Everything changes then. That's why he has been challenging them and tweaking himself, making sure that despite his background there is no stagnation in the way he runs things. In his mind satisfaction and complacency lead to failure, and that's not what he came here for.
"When this whole process kind of played out for me and I thought about the transition and the move to sell my house and buy a house in New Jersey, I wanted to buy a house in Hamilton and I was fortunate enough to do that," Donigan said. "It's still a little surreal to me when I pull into my driveway in Hamilton because it's my house now. It's usually, I think I'm still here recruiting, going to some high school, still recruiting. It's a dream job.
"But it's only a dream if I'm successful."
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