In this month's Heads Up Interview we speak to Maurico Ruiz, Assistant Coach of the University of Central Florida and get his thought on the outlook of U.C.F. Mens's program goals.

Why are you Coaching at the University of Central Florida?

UCF has the potential to be a national powerhouse, contending for national titles with the best teams in the country. As a former UCF Player, I have a passion and a vision to help with that process. Success doesn't arrive over night, it takes years to put a strong program together, and we are currently on the verge of something special. The opportunity to be part of a growing program that has the potential to be a top 10 program year in and year old, excites me.

What can you offer potential players that would like to attend U.C.F.?

Opportunity!! Players will receive one of the top educations in the country, be part of one of the 5 biggest schools in the country, and live in one of the best growing cities in the country. On the soccer side of things:

Facilities

UCF has now one of the top facilities in the country, the athletic department is determined on getting the student athletes the b

est possible resources for them to perform. Our weight room and medical facility is of first class, our training field is the same quality as our playing field, and our playing turf is arguably the top pitch in the country. Every visiting team has commended us on our facility. Programs such as SMU, Kentucky, South Carolina, University of South Florida, to just name a few, have expressed deep envy of what we have here. These are all established programs that wish they could provide their athletes what we have provided ours.

Competition

UCF currently plays in the Conference USA which is one of the top 5 soccer conferences in the country. Day in a day out, a UCF player will be playing against some of the top prospects in the country. The schools that represent our conference, have accumulated National titles, several final four births, top 10 rankings and have given birth to numerous professional players, currently playing in the United States as well as o

verseas. To be the best you must play against the best. This past season UCF finished third in a conference that had four top 15 National ranked teams during the season. UCF will also play top competition in their out of conference game, playing the likes of Ohio State, South Florida, Stanford, Cal.

How does the U.C.F. Program work to develop talent?

It is our goal as a staff to make sure that every single player that enters the program develops into a better soccer player by the time they leave. College soccer is a very physical and fast game; therefore we put each player into an individual work out, to raise their speed, agility and strength. That's work done in the weight room by an athletic trainer designated specifically for soccer. That's the easy work, at the end of each season; we sit each player down, and evaluate them on their strengths, weakness and talk about their expectations. As a staff we are held responsible to make sure each of those weakness are strengthened, each of those strengths are reinforced on a daily basis, and that their expectations are met. We then meet once again at the end of the spring season, where most of this work is done, and analyze the players once again to make sure every sure everything talked about was reached.

How can interested players get more information on this program?

Players can contact the coaches directly through email, by sending us their resume, a schedule of future dates we can see the player, their grades, and if possible a highlight video of some of their recent games.

James Prosser Assistant Coach jprosser@athletic.ucf.edu

Mauricio Ruiz Assistant Coach mruiz@athletic.ucf.edu