After a week on the road for scouting and recruiting visits in a bid to fill out the men’s soccer class of 2005, the real work now begins for head coach Brian Tompkins.

Starting next week, Tompkins will begin the search to replace assistant coach David Barrett. Barrett will be leaving Yale at the end of the season to be the new head coach of the men’s and women’s soccer teams at Division III Illinois-Wesleyan.

Tompkins hopes to secure Barrett’s replacement by the end of this semester.

Tompkins has not officially posted the opening yet because of obligations to the soccer team during the spring season. The season will be over in a week and will afford him more time to explore the candidates for the position.

Despite the fact that the search will not officially begin for another week, Tompkins realizes the importance of having an assistant coach in time for the summer.

“It’s important to get the assistant coach acquainted with the function of the position in time for the fall season,” Tompkins said. “It’s crucial that we get someone before the end of the semester.”

Tompkins said he plans to limit his search to the United States because hiring a coach from overseas would exceed the budget for an assistant coach’s contract.

Once Tompkins narrows the pool down to a select few, administrators at the athletic department will become involved in the selection process, Director of Athletics Tom Beckett said.

Current men’s soccer team members and women’s soccer head coach Rudy Meredith will also probably be involved in the search for Barrett’s replacement.

The contract offer will most likely be a nine-month contract that can be renewed annually, Beckett said.

Although Tompkins has a short list of candidates, he wants to make sure that those candidates fit his expectations.

“I want someone who wants to grow in the profession and has a respect for the game,” Tompkins said. “I want someone who has respect for the game but isn’t coming in thinking he has all the answers.”

Although the men’s team will probably not meet the new coach until preseason begins in the fall, team members are not worried.

“It would be great to meet an assistant coach before we leave, but we’ll be able to adjust if [an assistant coach] doesn’t come in until this summer,” midfielder and next year’s captain Brian Lavin ’02 said. “I’m sure whatever coach comes up with will be a good decision.”