Ryan Swan was hired as head coach of the men’s soccer team in 2017 with the hopes of turning around the program, inheriting a team that won just two games the season before.

A year and a half later, the team has eight wins with three games yet to play. If that weren’t enough, the team’s future is even brighter; the Huskies are loaded with young talent recruited by Swan and his assistants, Andrew Bordelon and Jack Mathis.

Swan’s Path to NIU

In 2016, NIU won two games while Swan was coaching the Division II Drury University Panthers. Swan coached the Panthers for eight years, compiling a 106-47-8 record. The team was under .500 in only one of those eights season. In the two seasons since Swan has left, Drury has gone 9-18-5.

“[My experience with Drury] was all pretty positive,” Swan said. “Drury was a very successful program; we had been nationally ranked every year I was there. We made it to the national tournament four of my eight years. We played against a number of Division I teams, so I became familiar with the recruiting cycle and types of players in Division I. From that perspective, it made the transition relatively easy. The biggest difference is the overall quality of Division I.”

As Swan’s success in Division II continued, he began to look toward the next portion of his career.

“I was happy at Drury; I think it was a great job and a good school,” Swan said. “My family was happy down there, but my wife and I had started talking about other opportunities if the right one opened up. NIU fit the bill in a lot of ways: my wife’s family is from the Midwest; we’re comfortable in the Midwest; we were familiar with the school here, both the soccer tradition and the academic reputation.”

Fortunately for Swan and NIU’s men’s soccer team, the right opportunity opened up.

“I was quite familiar with the NIU coaching staff,” Swan said. “I ran into Scott Donnelly, a former assistant [at NIU], and he mentioned the job was open and asked if I intended to apply. I had [previously] spoken to him about the next steps in my coaching career. He said great things about NIU, so I applied for the position and went through the process.”

Swan Rights the Ship

Swan started at NIU in March 2017, meaning he missed a big part of the recruiting cycle. He said he was disappointed in the result of the 2017 season that finished with only one more win than the previous season.

“I got the full spring with the [team],” Swan said. “I felt there was time to get the team playing the way I wanted them to. Last fall, I didn’t get as much out of the team as I anticipated and I wanted to.”

A head coaching change can impact the student athletes differently. Some players will thrive and others will decline depending on what the new coach brings. Whether it’s a change in system or culture, it could impact players in a variety of ways.

“I think it’s tough for returning student athletes to go through such a drastic change,” Swan said. “I tried to be consistent in what we were doing.”

Swan tried to keep his message consistant and realistic; he said his biggest challenge was transforming the culture. One of those returning players, senior midfielder Kevin Rodriguez, has experienced the transition firsthand. Rodriguez has played for the Huskies his entire collegiate career. He said Swan brought a new mindset to the team.

“When Swan got here, he was very open-armed and understanding,” Rodriguez said. “It made us look at the team differently and train differently. I think it was hard for him to come in with the same team we had [in 2016]. He needed time to get used to the players, as well as get new recruits in to help us out. Even though our [2017] season didn’t go well, I think it was a big step forward for him. You can see it now that we’re winning more games.”

An Influx of Young Talent

After a difficult first season, Swan got to work recruiting. He knew the team would require more players, both for short-term and long-term success.

Swan said he had more confidence after a full year of recruiting; he knew he would have the players he wanted to make NIU a more desirable place to play.

“I think we sold our vision for the program,” Swan said. “When we get [potential recruits] on campus, they like what they see here from a facility perspective, both academic and athletic. It’s a great place to go to school. It’s good it’s a small college town, but there’s still access to a big city. The big thing was we were confident this program could be a successful program, and we could be challenging for conference championships and making runs at the postseason.”

Despite Swan crediting NIU for successful recruitment, first year midfielder Louis Sala said Swan made the difference in his decision to play for the Huskies.

“Between [Swan] and coaches I visited from other schools, [the other coaches] were very business-oriented and [Swan], when I talked to him, was very down-to-earth and talks to you as a person,” Sala said. “You can talk to the coaches; it’s not just, ‘Here’s what you have to do at practice.’ They want to talk to us and know what we’re about. There’s a lot of talent here and I think that’s [because] of their recruitment of us.”

The Kids are Alright

Sala wasn’t the only one attracted to NIU by Swan; Nick and Anthony Markanich are among nine first year players and have already had a major impact on the team.

Nick, a forward, leads the team in goals and points, eight and 16 respectively. Anthony is second on the team in points and tied for third in goals as a defender, three and 12 respectively.

“[Swan] did a good job bringing in all these new players; they’re all really good,” Rodriguez said. “They’re a big help to the team; you see Nick [Markanich] and Anthony [Markanich] scoring all these goals.”

Sala said Swan’s approach to the game has helped him in his first collegiate season.

“I really like his playing style,” Sala said. “He has the same [game plan] every game no matter who the other team is. He focuses on us a lot and our strengths. That’s why we attack teams. We want to fight for [Swan] and play for him. We put the work in on the field to make sure we’re going to be successful together.”

Rodriguez said the incoming players have helped his game as well as the team as a whole. He leads the team in assists with eight.

“With the new players we have we can get the ball in better positions,” Rodriguez said. “I can get the ball higher up the field instead of having to drop back to get the ball myself. I can get the ball in better areas of the field so I can do what I do best, which is assist. That’s what separates this year from my previous years here. It helps me create plays and create assists so we can score more goals.”

The Future

There will be more recruitment cycles by Swan and his staff in the coming years, but the future is already bright from the young talent in place.

“[The ceiling] is unlimited,” Sala said. “In our first year, we’re very young, and we’re doing very well. Each year we’re only going to improve more and grow stronger together. We’ve only been playing together for two months.”

Despite the players’ optimism, Swan believes there is still work to be done.

“We identified the right kinds of players and they’ve seen success at the start of their career,” Swan said. “Now, we just have to make sure they continue to be hungry. The hope is [the next incoming group] slims down a bit. This [year] was a big class [of first years]. It’s a very important recruiting class in 2019. It’s important to see how the players respond after the success they’ve enjoyed. They came in in great shape and mentality this year, but it’s going to have to be even better next year.”

Swan taking over the program has already yielded positive results. His plan has set up the program for years to come.

“There’s a bunch of freshmen and they’re all really good.” Rodriguez said. “They should be good for a long time after I’m gone.”