Oliver Weiss: From National Power to Hillbilly School to National Power…Again

It’s a Tuesday afternoon and the North Carolina men’s soccer team is heading off for their month-long Winter Break.  The Tar Heels just won the 2001 NCAA Division I Championship two days earlier, so the celebrations are starting to die down as the students and coaches head off in their different directions. 

For one man, though, it is not that simple.  A huge opportunity has just been thrown his way; an opportunity that will change his entire life.  The top assistant coach for the Tar Heels has just been offered the head coaching job at Virginia Tech.  His decision is a tough one; does he leave all the successes and great talent associated with UNC soccer for the hillbilly school in the mountains of Virginia that really has no national appeal except for an up-and-coming football program?  

Even now, Oliver Weiss still doesn’t know why he accepted the gig at Virginia Tech.  “I have no idea, really,” jokes the coach.  “Virginia Tech at that point had always been looked at as a big time sleeper school, especially for soccer because it was known that football and basketball were sort of king of the hill and the rest were shoved aside.”

Surprisingly, Weiss kept a close eye on the Hokies and had Virginia Tech soccer on his radar while at North Carolina.  “As we were watching Virginia Tech grow in the Big East, it became an attractive school and I did say when I went down to North Carolina that I wouldn’t leave for another good job except if this job (here at Virginia Tech) came open; (then) I want to apply.”

Over Weiss’ first five seasons, the men’s team at Tech took great strides towards becoming a consistently respectable program, but since the move from the Big East to the ACC, the toughest conference in all of college soccer, the Hokies have grown into a legitimate contender.  The 2007 season, however, has seen the Hokies take it to a completely different level as Tech has been thrust into the national spotlight.
After getting blown out in their season opener by VCU, the Hokies went on an unprecedented 15-match unbeaten streak and they still have only lost to one team since, falling to Boston College twice.  After never getting past the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Tech is now preparing for the College Cup, soccer’s version of the Final Four.  

“It’s unbelievable,” says Ben Nason, a fifth-year senior midfielder.  “Every year it seems like things have gotten better and better.  We have unbelievable players.  It's just been an unbelievable ride, and I just hope it keeps going."

Weiss likes to push aside his accolades and instead cites all of the players as the key to Tech’s success.  “I think it's just a testament to the quality of kids we were able to attract, and also for them to keep working hard and elevating the program by their hard work over the years.” 

Sophomore midfielder Charlie Campbell credits the success to his teammates as well.  “I don't know if you can count the amount of goal scorers we have.  Maybe one player hasn't scored on our team who played minutes.  The mentality of the whole team is to do whatever it takes to put the ball in the back of the net and keep the ball out of our net."

As the Hokies now prepare for their matchup with ACC foe Wake Forest on Friday night, a complete team effort will be needed if they are to pick up their first win against the Demon Deacons since 1997; since then the Hokies have lost six of seven, but the one non-loss did occur earlier this season as the two teams fought to a 3-3 tie.

Weiss knows that just making it to the College Cup isn’t enough, though.  “I think I speak for all these guys and say that this is one of the proudest moments so far, but again, we need to calm ourselves down and go on to the next step.  That's what the program now requires, for us to stay level-headed and keep working and keep bringing better results.”
           
In only six seasons, Weiss has turned a perennial nobody into a national powerhouse, and now looking back to that cold December day in 2001, he can only sit back and smile.  Only two wins separate him from winning another national championship, this time as the leader of that hillbilly school; not too shabby, eh?