Favorite Jay Martin Story
Matt Byers '86
Cincinnati, OH
In the old Roy Rike days when bricks were crumbling, paint was peeling, and hot water in the showers (which were rarely used due to their condition) was scarce, Jay would always make a point to clean the women's restroom before games. He would actually pick up toilet paper and paper towels, empty the trash, and even clean the toilets. I distinctly recall a quote during this era, "Successful people do what others are unwilling to do." These words have always stuck with me, and I live by them.
In the late fall of 1991 we played in a national quarterfinal game at home for a chance to advance to the final four. We played at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night and won 1-0 vs. Bethany College. In our post-game coaches debriefing, Jay immediately turned our focus to our next opponent—which turned out to be the winner of UC San Diego and MacMurray College—to be played the next afternoon in San Diego. Needless to say, the next morning I was on a 7 a.m. flight to San Diego for a scouting trip, caught a red-eye back to Columbus with a full scouting report in hand, and was on the field in time for training at 4 p.m. Monday. Jay talks a lot about the process, establishing the right environment, motivations, the mental approach to the game, etc. But, he sure does like to win!
As an assistant in men's soccer from 1990 through 1995, I was continually challenged, encouraged, and pushed to be a better coach and teacher. I know it was true for those assistants who served the program before me too. A great example to this point is Jay's willingness to invest in people, in this case, the way he supported a coaching learning trip to Germany for me in the Spring of 1991. I traveled to Frankfurt and spent 10 days at some of Germany's top clubs (FC Koln, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich) with arranged sessions observing, speaking with coaches, etc., while noting the training methods of some of the game's best teams. The trip shaped me not only from a learning perspective, but I saw how our team's leader was willing to push those around him to be better.