Former player returns as coach

From the bench during IU men's soccer games, a voice bellows louder and more often than coach Jerry Yeagley's. Assistant coach Caleb Porter gets out of his seat, points at players and shouts commands as he helps lead the two-time defending NCAA championship team.\nPorter replaced John Trask as an assistant coach for the men's soccer team in June. Trask accepted an assistant coaching position with the Miami Fusion of Major League Soccer.\nPorter was a defensive midfielder for the Hoosiers from 1994-1997 and was one of two three-year captains for Yeagley. Porter's loud voice scolded his teammates during games. Although he isn't very tall, he would always win battles in the air for soccer balls.\nPorter always had bruises, cuts and scrapes from soccer battles. He often played with such ferocity that he would be ejected from games due to fouls and frequently injured himself during practice.\n "He's definitely a milder coach than he was a player," said senior forward Matt Fundenberger, the only current player who played with Porter in 1997. "When he was a player, he was the team leader. He got in everybody's face."\nPorter had knee surgery while he was at IU, and three knee surgeries in five months helped end his career in Major League Soccer. Yeagley compared Porter to former Purdue basketball player Brian Cardinal, who's known for getting floor burns after diving for loose balls.\n"I told him to lay off, save himself a couple times, but he couldn\'t do that," Yeagley said. "And with his verbal leadership directing the team, he was like a puppeteer in the midfield."\nThe San Jose Clash drafted Porter as the 26th overall pick in 1998. The Tampa Bay Mutiny later signed him. In his two professional seasons, Porter was often benched because of injuries.\nPorter said the experience allowed him to watch some of the greatest players in the country and analyze playing strategies. The Fusion play a 3-5-2 system with two defensive midfielders, similar to IU, while the Mutiny focused on a 4-4-2 system.\nTrask took the job with the Fusion around the time when Porter had his fourth knee surgery. Porter had always wanted to coach, but he didn't think he'd get the chance so soon after he left IU's program. Yeagley said he knew Trask wanted to get a job in the professional league, so Yeagley and assistant coach Mike Freitag discussed who should fill Trask's job. They wanted someone from the IU program, preferably a former player, and someone who has the potential to develop into an outstanding coach, Yeagley said. They sought Porter.\n"I would like one of my assistants fairly close to the age of my players," Yeagley said. "They'll be able to relate to him in perhaps a way they can't relate to Coach Freitag and myself, to keep a feel of the tempo of the team."\nPorter was a senior when the Hoosiers won 23 consecutive games in 1997. IU went undefeated into the NCAA semifinals, but lost to UCLA 1-0 in three overtimes.\n"'97 was probably the most enjoyable year of my life to date, up until we lost of course," Porter said. "That was just the closest-knit team I've ever played on. We had tremendous attacking players. We had a good mix of flair and hard-working defensive players. Obviously, when you win 23 games, that's a lot of fun. I don't like to lose too much."\nWhen asked which team reminds him of the 2000 Hoosiers, Porter doesn't mention a national championship team. But he talked about one in the making. He recalled the 1991 team, which had a large recruiting class and finished the season with a loss to Santa Clara in the Final Four. \nBy 1994, the former rookies were seniors and they propelled the team to the national championship game. Porter was a redshirt on the squad. \nThe 2000 team has eight newcomers. IU has never failed to advance to a Final Four after an NCAA championship season.\nPorter said he thinks he might not have been meant to earn a national championship as a player. Instead, perhaps it's supposed to happen when he's a coach. He said his passion for success drives the team these days, and his advice from the pros helps the team.\nPorter has been with the Hoosiers for about two weeks, but he wants to know all the strategies and gain wisdom, Yeagley said. Porter will have to be more patient, just as when he was a player who wanted to be out on the field every second of a game and see his teammates follow his orders.\nAlthough surgeries have restricted Porter's playing career, he will soon want to join the athletes who are three to seven years younger than him.\n"I know when his health returns to his knees, and he's healthy enough to play, he's going to be out there," Yeagley said. "And that's the one thing I'm going to be concerned about: that he doesn't injure too many of our players. He'll give them the same intensity he had when he was a player, which is the good news. It'll be good to have him out there playing with the players. He'll find out quickly what it means to play hard"