Much is changing at Madison College. The men’s soccer team is no exception. The team has seen multiple coaching shifts in the past months. 

Cory Sims stepped down after eight seasons of being involved with the team. His leave was announced on June 16th. 

Then Henry Aiyenero was announced to be the new head coach on June 18th. However, there were scheduling issues once the season got moved to the spring, and he had to step away from the program. 

As a result, this upcoming season, the men’s team will be co-coached by Antonio Paredes and Matt Schwartz. 

There are a lot of similarities in this coaching duo; both have been involved with Wolfpack athletics for multiple years, both were greatly impacted by former head coach Cory Sims and both are very positive about the upcoming season even with all the recent changes. 

Antonio Paredes has been involved with the men’s team since his playing years. Becoming a head coach is something that he’s wanted for a while. 

“Well it’s always been a dream of mine to eventually one day become Cory Sims’ successor. I’ve played under him back in 2014 and 2015 and then ended up kind of finding my passion for coaching through him, so it’s basically a dream come true right now,” said Paredes. “Hopefully, everything goes well this season so that I’m able to kind of prove myself and show what I come to bring.” 

Matt Schwartz will be helping with the men’s team, while still being the head coach of the women’s team. His workdays will just be a little longer because both teams play double headers during the season, and practice times are close together. 

Like Parades, Schwartz was greatly impacted by Sims. Before being hired as the women’s head coach, he was assistant to Simms. 

“It was just probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my life, working with my best friend, side by side, running two college programs,” said Schwartz. 

He also named Simms as his motivation to help lead the men’s team this season. 

“I want to see his legacy continued,” said Schwartz. 

Discipline will be a focus. Even with a pandemic, players are still expected to give their best. 

“My expectations aren’t going to change at all. They’ll be expected to train hard and fight for their spots and hopefully it will be a good season in the spring,” said Antonio.