Flames’ coaching, culture creating sustained success for men’s soccer program

Early this season, the Lee men’s soccer program jumped into their best start of the Derek Potteiger era, finding success on the pitch and gaining national recognition. 

The program’s achievements weren’t produced overnight; their attention to detail has brought them success on big stages. 

Since hiring Derek Potteiger to lead the program in 2017, the Flames have improved every year — from six wins in his first year to 14 wins last year. 

“I would say, foundationally, the culture that we’ve built is our identity and our vision,” Potteiger told the Clarion. “The stronger our culture has become, there has been a direct correlation to our success.”

Potteiger built the program’s culture since his arrival to Lee, having served as the First Assistant for the men’s soccer program at the Naval Academy from 2009-13. After a successful, formative stint in the Navy, he accepted a position to lead NCAA Division-III Gordon College in Pennsylvania. Potteiger was extremely successful at Gordon, posting a record of 51-18-3. 

In 2017, he received a call about Lee’s recently vacated head coaching position.

“When I went to Gordon from the Naval Academy, my wife (Jennifer) told me, ‘you’re taking me the wrong direction. Next time, we need to go south,’” said Potteiger in recalling a cenversation with his wife, Jennifer Potteiger. Jennifer had been praying about the Tennessee or Georgia area. “In light of that, and knowing a little bit about Lee, everything just aligned.” 

Upon arrival to Lee, Potteiger realized he had work to do to instill the culture he desired. 

“There was a clash of cultures when I got here,” he said. “I told the guys, ‘This is who we are. This is who we are going to be.’ After year one, there was enough continuity with the guys to where I could trust some of the players to hold each other accountable.”

Potteiger’s first year with the Flames was also Eemeli Makela’s first year with the Flames. Makela earned the respect of his teammates early in his career, and adapted to Potteiger’s coaching style and culture quickly. 

“Our team culture is like family,” said Makela, a graduate business management major. “The bond that we’ve formed is unbreakable. When we go through adversity, we lift eachother up in a positive way.”

The program’s culture was set by Pottegier, but the continuity of his coaching staff has been evident in the last five years.

“I was able to bring in Torrey (Stricklin) right away. He gave direct help to building the culture because he understood totally what we were going for,” Potteiger said.

Potteiger and Stricklin’s relationship has nearly 15 years of trust. Stricklin was recruited by Potteiger at the Naval Academy, and played for Potteiger for three years at Gordon College.

“Besides my family, nobody has known me through so many stages of my life like Derek,” Associate Head Coach Torrey Stricklin said. “From someone who was recruiting me one place, coaching me at another, and now building this program together at Lee has been special.”

Stricklin has been an important piece of the rebuilding process for the Flames since 2018. As the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, he’s a formative part of their consistent success. 

Upon promoting Stricklin to Associate Head Coach this offseason, Potteiger told Lee’s Athletic Communications, “I tell people without hesitation this program is blessed to essentially have two head coaches.” 

The pair’s success together is undeniable. At Gordon in their player-coach relationship, they held a record of 49-13-2. Together at Lee, they boast a near–0.700 winning percentage. 

“The way he’s allowed me to continue to grow, the way he’s treated me — it’s been really cool,” Stricklin said of Potteiger. “We had a really good relationship when I played for him, and that has translated to a friendship. I had never played for a coach with such a clear vision — for me it made everything easier as a player.”

The duo has recruited players from around the world in their tenure at Lee. On this year’s roster, 13 of the 27 Flames have international roots. Stricklin told the Clarion they had to adapt how they planned to recruit on arrival to compete in this region. 

Ultimately, they have found consistent success recruiting internationally, and the standard never changes whether it’s domestic recruiting or international recruiting. 

“We have to be careful about recruiting anyone to our program with the culture being in such a good place,” Stricklin said. “(Recruiting internationally) I think has created a stronger culture. We have guys who are far away from home — this is their family. Guys take care of each other.”

Potteiger echoed Stricklin’s sentiments. “When we recruit, wherever and whoever we are recruiting, we tell people, ‘this is who we are. You’re going to come in and either be a part of this culture or not. Some people that clearly resonates with. Those that it doesn’t, they’re not coming here.” 

“We don’t distinguish domestic or international in recruiting,” he continued. “We’re at a point where the players we recruit have to be able to not only meet the standard on the field, but we expect guys to align and buy-in to what we’re doing.” 

As players arrive to campus and begin their journey in the program, the culture set before them shapes them as leaders, players, and people. Makela recounts where he was when he arrived to Lee, and how it’s shaped him. 

“This program has helped me to be a leader since I have been captain for the last two years,” Makela said. “It has connected me with people from all over the world, which helps me learn about all different types of international cultures. This program has helped me play this game I love at a high level.” 

Potteiger and Stricklin were careful in putting pressure on their players with a gaudy prediction for their season, but they are confident in their players’ positive momentum. 

“We are big believers that if we just take care of today, the rest will take care of itself,” Stricklin said. “We have to do our job every day, and good things will follow.”  

The Flames are taking care of “today.” They have made their presence known on the national stage. The standard Potteiger and Stricklin have set has resulted in great success on the field, but the players’ buy-in to the expectation laid before them has made the men’s soccer program one of the best in the country.