The man behind the team

The story of Coach Maas and his success

Garrett Hadley | Sports writer | @hadleyjazzboy

Photos courtesy of @gabicampbellphotos and @BrookeMorrill

Coming off of a successful first year, Utah Valley University Men’s head soccer coach Greg Mass has kicked off his second season with a very impressive start. Maas has lead the Wolverines to a quick 2-0 start and coached them to a spot atop the WAC standings. He looks to continue the push deep into the season.

Maas, who is from Portland, is a graduate of the University of Portland and was a standout goalkeeper for the Pilots. He also showed his athleticism by pitching for the baseball team.

“My passion honestly was always baseball, “ Maas said. “It was something my dad coached and it was always a part of that father-son relationship growing up.  But he knew I was very passionate about soccer as well and he stood behind me and really encouraged me to give everything a try. Soccer opened up some doors and it was a matter of just taking a chance and getting involved with the right people. I’ve been very fortunate to have soccer as a career for the last 25 to 30 years.”

In 2001, Maas moved to Utah to be the Technical Director for the Utah Youth Soccer Association. While there he was able to help develop and implement playing opportunities for players of different ages and skill levels. He helped the organization grow from 25,000 members to over 50,000 now. Soccer has grown rapidly in Utah over the years and that helped pave the way to UVU for Maas.

“One thing that was always missing here in Utah was a Division l men’s soccer team,” Maas said.  “We had the base of talent, we just needed someone to have the belief and get on board. When Utah Valley came around in 2013 it was an opportunity for me to be a part of and help open up an important chapter of soccer here in Utah.”

In the period of time that UVU has been a Division l soccer team, the popularity has grown and the students and fan-base have embraced the team. In their inaugural season the Wolverines ranked 14th in the country in average attendance. With the growing success that Maas has brought to UVU the student body has come out to the games to show their support and with Maas the feeling is mutual.

“When we first started building the program here I came up with the idea to give the number 12 to our fans,” Maas said. “Our roster from the onset has never had a number 12. That’s really for our fans and creating the 12^th Wolverine. We want to establish some tradition here and build a culture around our athletic department that our fans can embrace. They give us such a motivational boost when we play at Clyde Field. It really does help lift us and make us feel special and gives the student body something to get excited for. We’re building a tradition that can carry on for generations.”