The university’s soccer program is experiencing a transitional period for the 2023-2024 season as the former Head Coach Alan Yost resigned near the end of the last season.
As of August, Frank Speth is the current interim head men’s soccer coach. Speth was the assistant coach in 2016, helping Yost in the fall season that year, so he is familiar with the university.
Speth has worked for the Ohio Premier Youth Soccer Club for the past five years, so his involvement with coaching is extensive.
As a player, Speth has played soccer since he was around five-years-old. He played in a youth soccer league, throughout high school and college and was a part of a professional indoor team.
Speth has experience coaching athletes of all ages. He began coaching in his twenties following the end of his playing career.
The start of his coaching career was working with five and six-year-olds. Then, he worked his way up. Speth has been coaching for 30 years, notably having spent 17 years coaching at The Ohio State University with the men’s soccer program.
The main difference between the Comets and the Buckeyes is the size and scope of responsibilities between the two athletic programs. The athletes are just as willing to compete and be successful. Speth said that the athletic director and coaches here at the university have all been appreciative, supportive and very easy to work with.
“I was talking to one of the other coaches and just asking them questions like well, who does this here? Who does this? Who does that? And every answer was ‘you do!’ So… with OSU, the biggest difference is the support staff that we had,” said Speth.
Speth’s coaching philosophy prioritizes having fun while working hard so that everything else can fall into place. He loves interacting with the players, building trust and relationships that last beyond the years they attend the university.
This team is attack-oriented and competitive with a lot of firepower, which are positive qualities as they move forward in their season.
Even in losing games, the Comets shine. During their game against Wilmington College, they were close to closing the gap in points, but they fell short.
“You’d much rather be on the side where you were down and you tied it, as opposed to you were winning and you gave up that three goalie which is what Wilmington did,” said Speth regarding how the teams played.
The goals of the team for this season are to improve from the previous year, get into the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament and finish the season with a winning record.
To find more information about soccer (and other sports) including the roster, schedule and past game results, visit the Capital University Athletics website.
The Athletic Department will open their national search to find the next head soccer coach in November.
