The University of Mississippi Athletics
Mott Enjoys First International Trip with ODP Program
4/1/2015 | Soccer
by Austin Miller, OleMissSports.com
OXFORD, Miss. -- Before the start of the spring season, Ole Miss head coach Matthew Mott traveled to Costa Rica with members of the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (ODP). Mott served as an assistant coach for the Region III team, coaching alongside LSU head coach Brian Lee, who was the head coach of the particular age group, and SMU head coach Chris Petrucelli, who was the head coach for the entire region.
They coached women's players from the 1998, 1999 and 2000 age groups, who came from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. They competed in a three-game, round-robin tournament where teams from Regions I, II and III competed against three Costa Rican first-division women's professional teams.
The Region III team won all three games, defeating each of the Costa Rican professional teams, and did not allow a goal and won the tournament.
"We had a great team with a lot of great, younger players," Mott said. "It was great to work with players from all over the South. It was also a great coaching experience for me, working with Brian and Chris, two respected coaches and two good friends of mine. We had a good time. It was also great for the girls because they got to play against players from another country and they also got to really experience a different culture. It was a fun trip."
In addition to his college coaching positions, Mott has served as the goalkeepers coach for the Region III team since 2003, but this was his first international trip. Mott also picked up some coaching ideas from Lee and Petrucelli, whether it was the training sessions and games, or just sitting around talking soccer.
"Chris and Brian have coached a long time and both of them have been very successful," Mott said. "Seeing them how they operate and how they look at the game, the tactical changes they during the game, were good for me to see. The way we organized the training sessions and the team meetings were different from how we do it here.
"It was really good for us to work with younger players and to get to know them," Mott said. "It's a great experience to see so many kids from different areas of the country and different styles of soccer and preparing them to win a tournament. We wanted to help them become better players and help them have a good experience and enjoy the atmosphere of the tournament."
Austin Miller is a writer and blogger for OleMissSports.com. He joined the staff in June 2013 after serving as sports editor of the Daily Mississippian. Follow him on Twitter @austinkmiller.
