New Addition

In addition to possibly adding four freshmen to the men's soccer team, the squad boasts another newcomer. Actually, associate head coach Andy Nelson is not really a newcomer, but unless you were a student at Tufts during the early '90's, you would not have known him.

Due to an ailment that might sideline head coach Ralph Ferrigno at times during the season, Ferrigno looked back to an old friend who assisted him during the '92-'93 season at Tufts to assist him this year. Nelson, who has coached women's soccer at Wellesley, Pennsylvania, and Stanford, returns to Tufts this season in an even larger role.

As associate head coach, Nelson works closely with Ferrigno, making many decisions and dubbed with much more responsibility than a normal assistant.

The Jumbos are running the same offense as in years past, so Nelson is not faced with the task of teaching a new offense or even orienting himself to a new program, he is merely readjusting. Although Nelson could be in the background all season or jump directly into the head coaching position at any moment, he feels ready in either capacity.

While Ferrigno chuckled when asked why he selected Nelson to assist him this season, the answer of, "he's a close friend and he was in the area," goes deeper. Ferrigno is confident in Nelson because he has coached at Tufts before and actually feels fortunate Nelson is around for the season.

Due to health concerns, Ferrigno did not coach during the summer and Nelson has been coaching women's soccer for the past decade. Nelson says that he is ready to coach at Tufts, but the men's and women's games have differences. When it comes to dealing with people, he says men are generally more confident in their abilities and the game is quicker even when comparing Division III men to Division I women.

With either Ferrigno or Nelson in control, both coaches appear ready to lead the men's soccer team this season.