Fans who follow UD womens soccer, and there are many of you, know full well that the Univ. Dayton is among the top programs in the region and continues to climb the ladder of national recognition. Head Coach Mike Tucker is currently crafting his fourth consecutive Atlantic-10 regular season title and fifth in six years, and the Flyers are sporting a 15-game home winning streak and 17-game conference winning streak, both school records. But it wasn’t always like it is today. UD womens soccer’s progression, from a budding program built out of thin air in 1984 to one that sports one of the nation’s best home field advantages and fan bases, has taken many twists and turns along the way.

Coach Tom Schindler was the architect that laid the blueprints for what turned into one of the best collegiate soccer programs in the tri-state. From 1984-1991, Schindler amassed a record of 88-51-13 (.622), and in just three short years, took the Flyers from mere concept to #18 in the national rankings. He even finished his Flyer coaching career with a 2-1-1 record against Notre Dame. The meteoric rise wasn’t as easy as it sounded however and as Schindler tells, finding success on a shoestring budget, antiquated facilities, and overcoming recruiting obstacles when there was no soccer history to sell turned into one of the better rags to riches stories in the UD athletic department. As much as UD soccer owes to Tom Schindler however, it’s the former coach who’s still giving thanks nearly 20 years after answering the university’s call for a head coach to initiate the program.

UDP: Fans and casual onlookers are talking about the women’s soccer program like never before. Give people a sense of how it all came together back in the early 1980s. Did the University approach you to help get the program off the ground or was it your initiative?

TS: The women’s soccer program was started as a necessity. The UD women’s field hockey team couldn’t field a team and the University of Dayton, based on NCAA rules, needed a women’s sport and chose soccer. It has turned out to be a wise choice. I replied to an advertisement in the Dayton paper, and was interviewed by Dr. Elaine Dreidame. She chose me to head up the new program. I am indebted to her as it turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life.

UDP: Talk about some of the program’s early challenges. How would you characterize your level of funding for scholarships, transportation, and equipment — something more like the UNC Tar Heels or rather the Bad News Bears?

TS: Where to begin. It was all a challenge. We began play on old Stuart field. I was given the job in May and had no time to recruit. So basically, our first team was assembled using Flyer News ads and posters in the dorms. Our funding was sparse, however, in defense of the University they also had very little time to put things together. There were no scholarships, no bus drivers, and Stuart Field was grim. I drove the bus, which was probably one off my larger challenges. To Dr. Dreidame’s credit, it did not take viewing many games on her part before she began to back our program in any way she could.

UDP: As youth soccer expands every year, how would you compare the talent pool in 1984 versus your last season in 1991?

TS: It was, and to some degree still is, both a good and bad thing that the players coming to college are better each year. One of the hardest things when I was coaching was that many players, while OK as freshmen, might actually be cut in their junior or senior year. We tried to lessen the effect by expanding our roster or by doing some personal counseling. However, the level of talent was accelerating at a faster pace as time went on. It would be my opinion that this is still true today, but perhaps not quite as large of a disparity from year to year.

UDP: How was recruiting impacted as you worked to establish the UD program while more and more colleges did the same in the 80s? Was Dayton a hard or easy sell?

TS: Of course, when we had limited scholarship funds [or none] it was difficult to compete money-wise. The University was always an easy sell for me. I believe in the Univ. of Dayton as a place anyone could be proud to be an alumni of. I was aware of the funds difficulty and used a strategy to try to overcome this problem. First, Bill Glisson and I made many phone calls to personalize our approach. Some years I called as many as 200 possible applicants. I also paid particular attention to speed, not position. That is, we recruited many girls who were fast and had played on the forward line at the high school level. They, in many cases, would not be skilled enough to be sought after by the larger powers at that time for forward line work. I would recruit them and switch them to the backfield or midfield to play defense. The result was that we were able to hang in a lot of games. As time went by and we received more funds, we were able to level the playing field somewhat. At that time I would usually ask Glisson to target a few high profile players, and I would still plug away at the original system. For the most part it brought us into the 90s with some respect.

UDP: You put together several impressive seasons. Share some thoughts on the 1986 campaign which saw victories over #20 Texas A&M and #19 Radford and a loss to #2 Wisconsin. In just the third year as a varsity sport, UD finished the season ranked #18 in the nation.

TS: Well, needless to say in terms of wins this was my high water mark, and I believe it gave us a better platform to recruit from. I still savor those games and that year. The Radford game was special, as they were confident they would beat us. Our team played to their potential, and sent them south with a new attitude. As a side note, my daughter was attending Radford doing post-graduate work at the time and that was also fun.

UDP: With names like North Carolina, Duke, SMU, Wisconsin, Radford and NC State, Dayton really improved its schedule as the program approached the 90s. Touch upon some of the improvements made to UD’s level of competition as the program looked to carve out a place for itself in the region.

TS: I may have gotten too big too fast. I put us on a rough schedule in the early 90s knowing we would probably lose a few more games than we had been losing. The concept was not liked by all. One question always asked by the better recruits was “who is on your schedule?” So I took a chance and scheduled a very tough year. We did not have a winning season, needless to say. In our defense we lost two very good starters before the first game, one due to academics and the other for personal problems. On top of that we lost our sweeper to a broken leg early in the season. I might add she broke the same leg her sophomore year, and was a very key player. We rebounded and went on to the next season. Both Bill Glisson and Mike Tucker have since taken the program to a very high level.

UDP: Please talk about some of your impact players, including UD Hall of Famer Cara Arledge’s contribution to the women’s soccer program.

TS: There were more impact players than I could mention. In those early years they were all impact players. There were many players who did three jobs so well game after game. I will just mention a few, but they aren’t the only ones who had an impact. Our first goalie, Amy Wellman, who walked on, played three years and was as good as anyone I could have recruited. Jane Ryznar was another excellent goalie. Lori Davis, Diane Coleman, and Erin Bennett are just a few more names. When you play the schedule we were playing, everybody had an impact. Cara Arledge was all a coach could ask for. She played full bore all 90 minutes and would take on anybody. Cara was a very good scorer and an excellent assist player. She came to play for us without a scholarship and was recruited by other schools. I do think she helped us elevate the program.

UDP: Do you get a chance to follow the women’s game today, either at the collegiate or professional level? If so, how is it similar or dissimilar to the game of 10-15 years ago?

TS: Yes, I still love to watch high school, first grade, college, and the pros. Of course the game is the same, but it is played a little different. In today’s game you see more control, and it’s somewhat slowed down, as it should be.

UDP: A lot of improvements have been made to Baujan Field over the last couple years. How would you describe the facilities under your tenure?

TS: I can say that enormous improvements have been made. We started on Baujan Field sharing it with the band and also intramural sports. I can’t imagine that today. This much activity pretty much destroyed the field by mid season. We just learned to play on minimal grass. There was only hillside seating and it was not unheard of that I might occasionally have to help stripe the field before the game. It all seemed OK at the time. However, by the time I left, the field was only used for the men’s and women’s soccer teams, and it was beginning to take on the form it is moving toward today. I believe the University did what it could for us at that time. I have been to several games at Baujan in the last few years. It is wonderful and I might add that Mike Tucker is doing a great job.

UDP: Where has life taken you since leaving the program in 1991?

TS: All those who know me well know that I like diversity. Soon after leaving soccer I went into exporting and traveled to the former Soviet Union for three years. I now own a beauty college with my nephew, a UD grad. He runs it day to day. I have a daughter, who is a professor at Colorado State, and I built a second home out there in the mountains so I can visit. I try to spend three months a year out there. I am also a grandfather four times over, and love to entertain them. I also play a lot of golf and work occasionally at the St. Vincent’s homeless shelter.

UDP: Any words of wisdom or advice for today’s players and coaches?

TS: Enjoy all the time you have in the game. Don’t waste any of those moments on petty things. In time you will forget all those, and only remember the good times you had. So, the more positive good times you have the more good memories you will have.