After George Tarantini stepped down from his position as the men’s soccer coach after 29 years, Athletics Director Debbie Yow faced a tough task in finding the replacement for a person who many Pack soccer fans considered a legend.

If the last five years are any indication, Yow may have found her man.

Over those five seasons, Findley compiled a 59-25-15 record with the Butler Bulldogs including league championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances. He also ranked No. 5 nationally last year while becoming one of only two unbeaten teams in the regular season.

Technician sat down with Findley to discuss the past, present and future of his coaching career as well as where he believes the program is headed.

Technician: What is your goal for the program?

Kelly Findley: Our goal is to put ourselves in the position to get into the NCAA tournament.

Technician: Do you have any surprises for the fans this season?

Findley: I think one is they’re going to see a different style of soccer. We’re going to be concentrating on great passing, speed, good movement and good discipline. I think it’s going to be a great product to watch. Being on campus is a big part of that. Our new stadium with chairback seating in the bleachers will be a lot more comfortable. With the atmosphere, in general, I think our crowds are going to continue to grow.

Technician: Regarding the style of play, it’s not going to be the overhead longball, ‘launch and hope’ type of play like it has typically been in the past?

Findley: Exactly. In any game, you have to vary your attack. There are times when you have to go over, you have to go around, or you have to go through. We’re going to have to vary our attack based on the game tactics, but our style of play will be one of quick passing, organization, tactics, and some creativity in the final third, which is where the great players make the difference.

Technician: As far as being offensive- or defensive-minded, what kind of coach do you think you are?

Findley: I wouldn’t say I’m a defensive coach. I would say my teams are organized, tactically astute, and they understand what it takes to win a game. You’re going to see a team that is disciplined, that has a great sense of what their roles is, and that knows how to execute those roles.

Technician: There are nearly 30 people on the roster. Do you have any idea what you’re starting line-up will be?

Findley: No, and I think it’s a good situation that we’re in right now. We have a really good group of guys returning and some really quality, new players. That’s what you want as a coach. I’ve always said that players, in the end, make the decisions for coaches. The best players have to play. My job is to win games. I could care less if someone is on a big scholarship, small scholarship, old player, new player, foreign, etc. Don’t care. What I encourage my players to do is to play their best and make me find a place to put them on the field.

Technician: What can you say about some of the new recruits?

Findley: We’ve got a good mix of experience, talent and athleticism. The European guys are going to give us some really good balance and experience. We’ve got some really young guys that are very athletic and talented, but they’re young. I’m really excited about the mix.

Technician: A couple of the newly recruited players are from England. Traditionally, most of our players are locally recruited. Do you think this will be the start of a new trend?

Findley: Right now, we’re using European players to help bridge the gap. When we started in January, we were basically behind the recruiting cycle. In order to get the quality of players that we needed to put our program into a position to get into the NCAA tournament, we had to bridge a gap. You do that with experienced, European players. Our goal for the future will be to get the best American players. Whether they come from North Carolina or the east coast or the west coast, we’re looking for players that will help us win the ACC and hopefully a national championship.

Technician: What do you think you learned from your successes at Butler that you want to apply to N.C. State’s program?

Findley: The best thing I learned was that the ideas we were using worked. Any time you go into anything and you’ve been doing it as long as I have, you create a philosophy. You kind of whittle it down, you make it sharper, you make it cleaner, and you focus on it. To see it work as well as it did at Butler was very encouraging. But also, it also showed me that it’s going to work anywhere I go. The experience I had, the type of players I had, the training we did, our recovery, our fitness, all of those things all built to have the kind of season and the program that we developed there. We’re doing it a little bit quicker here, because we know what we’re doing. At Butler, it was still a bit of an experiment.

Technician: How helpful will it be having your assistant coaches from Butler here with you at State?

Findley: I think it’s great. The reason I brought those guys with me is because not only are they great coaches, they have great character and are incredibly hard workers. They know their role. Instead of taking off from the ground walking, I think we started sprinting.

Technician: Is it difficult to recruit from a place like England, where soccer is a much more popular and respected sport?

Findley: I don’t think so. In the U.S., people are starting to recognize the quality of soccer. The kids recognize the chance to get a great education and play at an incredibly high level. Our facilities, not only at N.C. State, but also across the country, are first class. It’s all about having the right connections and getting the right guys.

Technician: We’ve had a lack of effective and dedicated goal scorers in the past few years. Who do you think is going to step up this season?

Findley: We’re bringing in some guys that have some really good talent that rotate up front. I do believe we’re going score by committee this year. We’ll be effective on our restarts. I think we’ll have great shape. I think our games will be low-scoring to start because I know we’ll be organized defensively; my teams don’t just give away goals. I think we’re going to see a lot of goals from a lot of guys, but I do think the three guys that we have rotating up top will be very effective, which will be Monbo [Bakar], Zabarle [Kollie], and Nader [Jaibat].

Findley’s final message to the fans:

We’re excited about all the changes that are happening. One, you’re going to see a greater pride in the program in general. With the upgrades, the support, the professionalism in training, how our guys have responded in the weight room and in fitness, and just our general approach. You’re going to see a greater pride in the style of play, the preparation, the recovery, and the product that’s on the field.

The Wolfpack’s preseason play will begin on Aug. 16 against UNC Greensboro at the newly renovated Dail Soccer Field, located on Cates Avenue.