The Rise of Tantalo’s Army

Matt Tantalo has been head coach for Nazareth College’s Men’s Soccer team for just under two years now. He has been the catalyst that has sparked a revolution. With over 20 years of experience, Coach Tantalo has brought with him a new culture and philosophy to a team on the rise. Looking back on his first year in charge, he talks about the highs and lows of his first season in charge where he has had experiences like his debut win over nationally ranked Morrisville that will last a lifetime and is very proud of how his boys performed in the face of adversity. One can quickly see the passion and enthusiasm that he brings to the job.

After a miserable year plagued with injuries and poor results, Tantalo was tasked with turning around the fortunes of a squad that he found to be brimming with talent and camaraderie. His new culture is founded on the idea of “always improving, as players and as people.” When in his work, Tantalo clearly enjoys himself, but is never quite satisfied, he is continuously demanding more from his players. He often will say “strive for excellence,” meaning that he expects his players to be role models on and off the field. Improving oneself is completely down to his/her work ethic, something the new boss requires as a bare minimum.

His preseason can be seen as brutal. Three sessions a day to prepare his players for the season ahead can be exhausting. Despite the rigors faced during the training sessions, the players enjoyed it and believe it helped them later on in the season when Nazareth finished with three wins from the final five games due to their enhanced fitness levels. His training methods are all about preparing the team for any situation they might face during a game. Training is seen as “studying for the test (games).” Training may have been long, but the players received every bit of information needed, information gathered with his coaching staff via long hours of reviewing film and scouting opponents. Players were working daily on all aspects of their game: the technical, tactical, physical and mental elements under Tantalo’s tutelage because training is “where players get better.”

Tantalo’s coaching philosophy also revolves around building strong relationships with his players, ones based on trust, honesty, and respect. He stresses the importance of constant and honest feedback. Players are always seen having individual meetings with their boss, and Tantalo feels his players can reach their potential when they work closely with their coach. It is a cooperative approach to coaching as he takes into consideration the thoughts and feelings of his players because one of his goals is to help each individual and the team fulfill their potential. On the rare occasion that a player does not do what is best for the team, Tantalo is quick to lay down the authority (whether it’s a telling-off or a quiet word), as responsibility and accountability are two characteristics that are prioritized in his locker room to keep expectations high.

Coach Tantalo’s purist ideas on soccer are starting to come to fruition with his Nazareth team. He loves possession-based soccer with technical players dictating the game. Nazareth out-possessed 11 of their 16 opponents. He wants his team to attack and enjoy themselves when in possession of the ball, but be disciplined and organized when defending stating “soccer, like everything in life, is about balance.” Tantalo strongly values players with high level of ability and control on the ball, but he only recruits players that are selfless, responsible and hard-working, players that put the team first and will execute what is being asked of them, above all, “players that leave everything out on the pitch.”

Second Season: 2017

I was very grateful to be asked to join Tantalo’s coaching staff for the 2017 season. Going into coaching was always in my plans and I could not have imagined a better starting point than at the team that I had devoted myself to for the past four seasons. At first I had several doubts over what the experience would be like. “How good will we be? What will my role be? Will I be able to influence this group?” These were all questions of uncertainty that come with one’s first journey into coaching. They were genuine concerns. I was captain just a few months earlier so I was not always assured that I could make the step and be respected as a coach. Fast-forward five months and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life and casted aside any doubts I previously had.

We started the season poorly. We had 13 new faces to the team. We played talented teams such as seventh ranked Rutgers Newark where we were handed a comfortable 3-0 defeat. We also lost to Brockport having taken an early lead. The coaching staff had pondered through every possible solution. “Do we play with 3 defenders? Or should we move this player to the wing?” The work of a coach never ends when they have the strong work ethic that this staff has. We wanted to find the best solution. Eventually, we started to get closer and closer. We won the next four games in a row, scoring 13 goals in the process. Belief started to build that we could do something special.

I am still incredibly thankful to Coach Tantalo for the faith he showed in me. He trusted me to run many training sessions (that we obviously planned out together in order to get the ideas he wanted across to the players). The players always responded very professionally to my instructions which is why I believe they got the most out of them. We spent an hour daily planning the practices down to the last detail. Then we typically spent another afterwards to analyze what we saw from the players. Each coach gathered their own notes on our upcoming opponents and as a staff we decided what would be the best plan of action. Tantalo’s greatest strengths are highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of opponents and then nullifying their strengths while exposing their weaknesses. Against Sage, we knew they played with a 3-5-2 formation built around their star striker (16 goals this season). He barely had a kick in the game and we scored two goals from our wingers that exploited the spaces behind the wingbacks….genius.

Speaking honestly, this was not the most talented group of players Nazareth College has ever seen. However, the commitment and determination they displayed every game and every training was honorable. Egos were put to the side and the boys sacrificed for each other. It was not always smooth sailing and we had to suffer in games at times like in the scoreless tie against R.I.T. They outplayed us and created more chances, but the resilience of this group was commendable as they did not give away anything and got a result. We finished the season 10-5-1 with a memorable extra-time/revenge win against our old enemy St. John Fisher with a classic left-footed strike from outside the box from our Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, Josh Crespo. He had quite the season and I greatly appreciate the relationship we have (especially as he is a Juventus fan!) We always practiced freekicks together after training and chatted about what he needed to do in games. Once I even wrote a small note that a substitute handed to him during the game with specific instructions on what we demanded from him. Nazareth College finished 2nd in the conference and after what was probably the best performance of the season, we lost the Conference semi-finals in the most dramatic fashion possible. It hurt for sure but this group should be very proud of themselves and have a lot to be excited about in the coming years.

Tantalo feels great pride for what his Nazareth team has accomplished so far. This is a team that “absolutely loves what they do and take great pride in their work.” He loves the camaraderie among the group where players have made lifelong friendships. The future is certainly bright for Nazareth College and after making a big impression on the field this past season, the coach is targeting an Empire 8 Conference Championship. Rivals will be aware that the rise of Tantalo’s Army is well and truly on