Cade Mullins to Lead Women’s Soccer
Photo provided by Rampage student photographer Malique Gordon.
Former BU alumnus and soccer player Cade Mullins has taken over the reins of the Lady Rams soccer program.
Mullins is from Richlands, VA, and graduated from Bluefield University in 2019. He first started playing soccer in eighth grade and continued to play all the way to the collegiate level. When asked about how he started coaching, he said that at first he was unsure about the role, but later discovered it was his calling.
“First day going and at the end of it, I was just like, ‘This is what God wants me to do,’” Mullins said.
Before returning to Bluefield University, Mullins worked at Tazewell High School, Wake Forest University, and Southwest Virginia Community College. His return to BU started when the Athletic Department formed a hiring committee and started advertising the position. After resumes were submitted and reviewed, the list of candidates was narrowed and potential candidates, including Mullins, were brought on campus for interviews.
“They get feedback from the committee and get feedback from the athletes, and in some cases we just go from there,” said Corey Mullins, vice president of athletics, about the hiring process.
Mullins said that one of his challenges as the new head coach is having “a team that is as young as we are having been with other coaches, especially the timing when I came in, coming late.”
Despite that, Mullins said he must lay the foundation for the program and how he wants it to be, “getting the foundation of the program laid down on how we want to play, how we want to act, (and) the new standards we want to operate in…but it’s the funnest because you get to see the most growth very quickly.”
Mullins describes his coaching style as an Xbox coach. He likes to create players who can make their own decisions on the field before having to tell them what to do.
“I don’t want to be a coach that’s yelling the entire time, trying to move every single piece (to) tell every person what they do and when,” Mullins said.
He said he high expectations for his players, even off the field. He wants them to have the highest grade point average (GPA) on campus, so they’re set to have options once they graduate.
“I really like his plans for the future and for the program and how he wants it to improve and build stuff,” soccer player Sarah Dunphy said. “He always wanted us to improve on the field and off the field with academics or just being a good person.”
Mullins has led several team-building exercises ranging from bowling to movie trips. One thing that he prides himself on in his team meeting series is “what drives winning, what drives being a good person, why it’s important to be respectful, why it’s important to communicate with others…(and) what it means to be a hard worker.”
In his free time, Mullins enjoys the outdoors, golfing, spending time with family, and going on adventures to different places. He values himself as a Christian and attributes his faith in Christ to many of his values, “in being a good upstanding person, being respectful, helping others, (and) working hard.”