The men's head soccer coach Clint Peay sent an email to the team yesterday announcing his resignation, just weeks before the start of the its preseason training.
Peay was offered a coaching position with the Under-17 National team, senior captain Houston Oldham said.
"We were all pretty shocked. With two weeks before our preseason starts it's difficult to adjust for a new coach coming in and it changes the game completely," Oldham said. "In the next few weeks we are going to figure out what we're made of. The team has always believed in itself, but the real test is going to be how much closer we can come together to pull ourselves through the turbulence that is definitely going to happen."
The Spiders will kick-off their preseason without Peay at an exhibition match at home against High Point University on August 11. The team will then travel to the Virginia Tech tournament for its first regular-season match on August 24, according to the official Richmond athletic website.
"We were all pretty disappointed," Oldham said, "but I'm happy for him. It's a pretty important coaching position. It's a developmental area that has a lot of impact on what happens to the future of the U.S. National team."
Before coming to Richmond, Peay served as an assistant coach at George Mason University, Davidson College and Georgetown University. He played for the U.S. Olympic team from 1994 to 1996 and started every match during the 1996 summer games in Atlanta, Ga., according to the official Richmond athletic website.
Peay also played Major League Soccer for D.C. United, helping the team to win three MLS Cup titles and a U.S. Open Cup Championship, according to the website.
"Clint is a soccer junkie as he likes to call himself," Oldham said. "Everything in his life is based on soccer. With that devotion you get a guy that really understands the game and how it should be played. It's nice to have a coach who believes in a certain system and really adheres to that style of play."
Oldham said ideally the team would be assigned a new coach within the next several days. The men will still have obstacles to overcome, but they do not want to use this setback as a scapegoat for any potential negative results during the season, Oldham said.
Peay declined to be interviewed, and the athletic department did not immediately responded to requests for comment. This article will be updated with more information once it becomes available.
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