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The list of Mark Krikorian's accomplishments deserve several rounds of applause. A model of excellence, Coach Krikorian has never posted a winning percentage below .700 at any of his collegiate head coaching positions. At Florida State, he led his teams to 3 National Championships (2014, 2018, 2021), 10 College Cup appearances, and 8 ACC Tournament Championships. Before arriving at FSU, Krikorian built Hartford into contenders with appearances in the NCAA tournament from 1997-2000. Krikorian turned Franklin Pierce into one of the most dominant DII teams, making 4 Final Fours and winning 2 national championships on back-to-back undefeated seasons.
How did he achieve all this? Not by himself. First and foremost, Coach Krikorian believes soccer is a team sport and repeatedly emphasized the value of being a good teammate.
“If you want to be an individual, play tennis,” he said. “You got a lot of athletic options out there. But here at Florida State, the goal as I see it is to go out and find talented players that are all willing to look at something bigger than just themselves.”
Related: What Makes a Good Teammate
Beyond the teammates and the coach, Krikorian stated that the match for the player is equally as important.
“I think it works both ways. I think that it's those student athletes coming on our campus and seeing how they feel about the coaches and the coaching style and the teammates and the fabric of the team and, and how it works.”
Given his experience coaching at the Division II and Mid Major level, Coach Krikorian spoke about different merits to each level of competition. After praising the DII and DIII models, he concludes that recruiting is a process of discovering the school that works best for you.
“This is a journey for all of these young people,” he said. “Find the right course, and don't fit into whatever it is that someone wants for you, take your time and decide what you want for yourself and figure that out.”
Related: What Makes DIII Recruiting Different?
However, Krikorian said that to play for Florida State, student-athletes should be committed to soccer and have a professional approach to the game.
“[For prospective students], the things we want to hear [are] ‘I want to be on the national team,” he said. “‘I want to continue to grow and have a chance to play on that stage and have a chance to play after college.' I think when you have that mindset, then you're moving in the direction that's compatible with the philosophy of the team.”
Coach Krikorian's love of coaching and care for his athletes is palpable. Above his overflowing trophy case, Krikorian cherishes the relationships he has been able to form with his players.
“Obviously, we're recruiting them to play soccer,” he said. “But for me, success is that success in the classroom, and that success in relationships and that success in whatever worlds that they want to go into following their playing days, and so on. So, for me, one of the greatest highlights I have is just that so many of the players who have played here, I still have very close contact with today.”
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* Originally published on May 16, 2022, by Chloe Singer
