April 29, 2008
Bucciero takes over women’s soccer program
In many ways new AU women’s soccer coach David Bucciero has been preparing for this shot his entire life.
Born to football-mad European parents, Bucciero started playing the game at age six. By the time he was a teenager he was stationed securely in goal, watching the ebb and flow of the sport unfold in front of his keen eye.
Bucciero grew up in Vienna, Va., and went on to mind net for four NCAA Tournament-appearance seasons at James Madison University (JMU).
“When I graduated from JMU, I knew I wanted to coach; I just didn’t know at what level,” he said. “It was kind of in my blood.”
After a brief stint as a high school coach, Bucciero landed a job working with the goalkeepers for the women’s team at the University of Maryland. Winning seemed to follow him as he moved from assistant positions at Washington College to Texas Tech to Boston University (BU).
Last month his career reached another milestone when Keith Gill made him his first coaching hire as AU athletic director.
“He’s very thoughtful, very deliberate, and very strategic,” Gill said. “He had orchestrated women’s soccer success at a similar program to ours. He showed us how that could happen here. He has a very clear plan.”
During Bucciero’s seven years at BU, the Terriers made the NCAA Tournament five times. Once, they reached a national ranking of No. 10.
“He was an extremely important part of our success,” said BU head coach Nancy Feldman. “We were equal in many ways. He laid a lot of the groundwork for recruiting. He had an equal hand in getting the team prepared and the players developed. In every way, Dave and I were really partners.”
A student of coaching, Bucciero, 34, has studied legendary leaders such as Pat Summitt, Rick Pitino, and Bill Belichick.
“I’ve been influenced by a number of different people, coaches from different sports, coaches I’ve read about,” he said. “Probably my most important influence is Nancy Feldman. The style that she has, has been a big influence on me. Really emphasizing the entire team. Everybody is accountable, doesn’t matter if you’re the first player or the 20th player. I feel like you never stop learning. If there’s a day that comes when you feel like you’ve stopped learning it might be time for you to stop coaching.”
At AU, Bucciero has inherited an experienced team that went undefeated last year in the Patriot League regular season. Nine of 11 starters are back, all of which made the AU job particularly appealing.
“I knew about the academic reputation of American University,” he said. “I knew it was in a major city, and I knew they had a very good year on the field. Those were things that made me think student-athletes would want to come to American. I think having a strong academic reputation is important and that can be a recruiting tool. I think being in Washington, D.C., which is a fantastic city, is another great recruiting tool.”
Bucciero plans to employ the same ball-control style of play he helped mastermind in Boston.
“During my time at BU we tried to play an attractive brand of soccer where we built out of the back,” he said. “We asked our defenders to play to our midfielders’ and forwards’ feet. We tried to win games by out-possessing our opponents. That is the same style I’m trying to bring to American. I think that’s attractive for recruits, but more importantly, I think that’s one of the best ways you can win a game. Wearing teams down and creating chances by possessing the ball.”
It’s a mode of play that will require his players to be in top shape, something Bucciero sees as one of the team’s attributes.
“Conditioning is a very important part, and I think it’s an area where our team is in a good situation right now,” he said. “That’s a credit to the strength and conditioning staff. To have good movement off the ball, to be able to defend as a unit for 90 minutes, you must be fit. We have the ability to score goals. We are hard working and we defend hard as a team. An area that we have to continue to work on, which I think most teams would say, is our movement off the ball and our ability to play fast and keep the ball under pressure.”
For both 2008 and beyond, Bucciero’s goals are clear.
“We want to consistently compete and win the Patriot League,” he said. “I think that everything is in place for us to achieve that type of success. That’s the long-term vision I have for this program. We can do that by developing the team, doing a strong job coaching them, and bringing in strong recruiting classes every year.”
The opportunity for women’s soccer success is there—and Bucciero seems the perfect man to help AU seize it.
“American came just at the right time and it was just the right spot for him,” Feldman said.
“There are so many parallels between American and BU, and you now have yourself a perfect coach to lead your program.”
