Ryan

TVCC hires Masingill as women's soccer coach

RAY RODRIGUEZ | ARGUS OBSERVER

ONTARIO

Masingill

At every level he has competed or coached, Ryan Masingill has been a part of a winning tradition.

Now he is coming back home to the Treasure Valley to coach the Treasure Valley Community College women's soccer team. The college also recently hired Rick Latham to coach the men's soccer team.

“It took all of five days for the deal to come through,” Masingill said. “They have something I wanted, and I had something they wanted, so we ran into each other at the perfect time. You can call it a win-win situation. I played soccer with Rick (Latham), and I am looking forward to this.”

Masingill, Payette, has been playing soccer for 20 years and was part of a Payette High School soccer program that won four-straight state championships from 1994 through his senior year in 1997.

At Albertson College of Idaho, where he graduated in 2002, Masingill won all-conference honors at three different positions and was named team captain of his soccer team. Masingill earned honors for his standout play at goalkeeper, forward and center-midfielder. In his sophomore season, Masingill tallied eight goals and scored a goal against all of his team's conference opponents.

In his junior year at Albertson, Masingill and his teammates set firsts in the upstart program by earning conference and regional championship honors. That same team also played in the NAIA National championships, losing 3-1 to a team hailing from Mobile, Ala.

Masingill said his team accomplished a landmark feat for a sport that is not heralded in the Treasure Valley area.

“That's what I want to bring to TVCC,” Masingill said. “I want to bring the experience of an underdog picture. From that experience, I know what the final product needs to look like. I want to set the standard at that height.”

The 2006 soccer season looks to be a successful one at TVCC, and athletic director Lisa Del Re is convinced Masingill and men's head coach Rick Latham will bring soccer prominence to the Treasure Valley.

“We begin a new chapter in our soccer program here at TVCC,” Del Re said. “We have great expectations as to what our soccer programs will accomplish in the next couple of years. With these coaches, we are bringing in camaraderie and success to TVCC soccer. The sky is the limit.”

This year Masingill said he looks to adjust his style of play to the current roster but also wants to recruit aggressive players in the future.

“My philosophy is dependent on the players I have,” Masingill said. “I like to play speed game with fast players, or if I have a bigger team, I like to play more physical. In a perfect world, I like to go directly at the other team and put the defense on their heels.”

For the past few years, Masingill has lived in Chicago where he has been head coach of the girls Chicago Magic Soccer Club.

The soccer club has won 10 national championships in the past 10 years with athletes that span from ages 8 to 19. The Chicago club squad also has been voted No.1 in the nation by “Soccer of America Magazine” for the past two years.

Masingill has also dabbled as goalkeeper coach at the professional level with the Chicago Fire Premier, which is an affiliate of Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire.

One of his pupils, Ray Burse Jr., attended Ohio State University and is currently a goalkeeper for FC Dallas.

Masingill has also coached three Division I players from Indiana University, University of Michigan and Villanova University.

With his strong coaching and athletic pedigree in tow, Masingill decided a move out to the Northwest was a better fit in more ways than one.

“What piqued my interest was the opportunity to come back home,” Masingill said. “This is the type of position I have been looking for since I graduated college. I was looking to come back to the area, so the timing and location were perfect. It makes me feel good because this is a step forward in my profession.

“It will be nice to have the college and community work together, to get the kids in and get after them.”

Since the recruit-signing period has ended, Masingill enters his first season at TVCC with an inherited roster.

“It is too late to get the players I want,” Masingill said. “I'm going to a team that is already made for me. I have known they have a fairly decent soccer program, so I think the roster will be solid.”