After 14 seasons serving the Tech soccer program, Corey Boyd heads into the upcoming season with a new role as head coach.
The Putnam County native started as a graduate assistant while working towards his undergraduate in 2010. With the team reporting for the start of team activities Monday, Boyd said he has been taken aback at how much work goes into being the head coach.
“You don’t know what you don’t know until you show up and you face it,” Boyd said. “There’s been a lot of different things. You know, when you go from an assistant role, you think you have an idea of what goes on. I went and talked to Steve (Springthorpe) and said ‘I had no idea’. There’s just so many other things that come into play and I’m learning everyday.”
In the two years that Boyd served as associate head coach, the Golden Eagles boasted an OVC best offense and earned back-to-back OVC regular season titles. With head coach Steve Springthorpe transitioning into an administrative role at Tech, the athletic administration gave Boyd the keys to the program.
“It’s not something I’ve taken lightly at all,” Boyd said. “I think they’ve seen me grow from a young coach. Been through two different coaches, you know, started off as a volunteer with a GA. Became an assistant coach with Steve and then, you know, associate head coach. So they’ve seen the progression, I guess of me through the years.”
This season the Golden Eagles will be missing program leaders, Macy Carter and Bailey Taylor, the two seniors Boyd said were integral to Tech soccer’s success. Boyd said this year’s team will be younger, but have bought into his coaching.
“I feel pretty good about the girls and their support and who they know me to be,” Boyd said. “There’s a lot of things that we’ll face together, we have a pretty young team. I think there’s some buy in. You know, I’m not the same person as the person before, but hopefully I bring other things to the table and I’ll learn to get better at the others.”
With over a decade of coaching experience, Boyd said one of the pleasures of coaching is staying in contact with former players.