FGCU soccer coach leaves on first recruiting trip

The gleam in the eyes of the Florida Gulf Coast University men's soccer program might be found on fields in Alabama and Connecticut.

Those are two of Bob Butehorn's early destinations as he embarks on the first soccer recruiting journey in FGCU history.

"You get started as soon as you get the word," Butehorn said Thursday, one day after being named FGCU's first men's soccer head coach.

With slightly more than one year to get ready for the Eagles debut, Butehorn will attend an Olympic Development Program camp in Tuscaloosa and an Adidas Elite Soccer Program at the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn., in the coming weeks.

Butehorn comes to Fort Myers following five seasons as an assistant coach for Rudy Fuller at the University of Pennsylvania.

Prior to his stint in the Ivy League, Butehorn spent four years as head coach of St. Bonaventure in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

With a new address in the Atlantic Sun Conference, Butehorn will lead the Eagles into Division I competition in the fall of 2007.

For Butehorn, his role recruiting is as important as the decisions he makes on the sidelines.

"I value what I do as a recruiter as much as a coach," he said.

Butehorn said he hopes to fill out his coaching staff with one assistant and one graduate assistant.

Don't be surprised to see Penn as an Eagles opponent in its infancy.

"They'll probably want to play me as early as possible — probably in the first or second year — but not after that because (Fuller) knows the kind of talent I'm going to bring in," said Butehorn.

Had he not been hired by FGCU, Butehorn, who lives in southern New Jersey, said he would have returned to Penn for a sixth season. But the former Tampa Spartan — who was a member of that school's 1981 NCAA championship team — relishes the opportunity to return to the Sunshine State.

"It's a brand new up program. It's an exciting time. I love the Southwest Florida area," he said.