The first day of the fall semester is a place for new beginnings for most people on campus. New students are settling into a school year full of new opportunities and faculty and staff are getting  ready to lead their students to success. For Kyle Clancy, the new semester brings both.

Clancy played soccer all four years as a Warhawk and graduated from Whitewater in spring 2019 with hopes of continuing his career in athletics through coaching.  It had been a goal, but needed to be refined.

“I always knew I wanted to coach soccer in some capacity. Then, as I got older, I figured out I wanted to coach college soccer,” he said.

Clancy looked near and far for jobs that could facilitate his aspiration of going to graduate school, while hoping to stay in the area.His search led him to a familiar office, that of former coach Tony Guinn.

Guinn always knew Clancy had a strong mentality, “He always figured out a way to win, as an athlete he would always find away, if he had to trip you to win the race he would.”Guinn was quick to heap praise on Clancy saying he had all the “intangibles” one would want in a good coach, along with tremendous “soccer IQ”.         

Guinn went on to say Clancy had been able to watch him over the years and knew what Clancy was made of, raising his confidence in the decision to hire him on as an assistant coach.

Guinn stated the responsibility is “rewarding, being players grandpa, psychiatrist, and so much more.’’ He really appreciates mentoring his young athletes.     

Clancy finds himself in a unique dynamic. Having played with most of the players on the roster, Clancy now finds himself establishing a new role within his old team as a coach.

    Wanting to know more about the dynamic in regard to his new team, Clancy said, “Having received a degree from a school that I am proud of and being coached by Tony, I loved every minute of it. I had a strength and conditioning internship which was helpful for me to establish more of a coaching relationship moving forward.” Clancy is now, along with Coach Guinn, the head of Men’s Soccer here on campus, plenty of responsibility awaits the newly signed coach.  Clancy, now a coach must take a new approach as he states“I have to trust players as I am no longer on the field, we must put players in positions as me and Coach Guinn see fit.” This new mission is simple: make history.

The history in the minds of the men’s team is important and clear: get to 13 straight wins. During our discussion both coaches seemed confident that they were in a great position to keep the streak alive.  Their currently sits at 6, the longest active streak in the conference.

The future is once again bright for Warhawks and their rich athletic history as it seems to repeat itself as being powered by tradition.  As history indicates,Clancy is primed for a fantastic opportunity as Head Coach Guinn’s tree has had previous assistants hired on elsewhere as head coaches. There is always a way to fly high when you are a Warhawk, powered by tradition that goes beyond the surface.