Change is inevitable for college athletic programs.
Student-athletes can only play four seasons of their chosen sport, coaches shift jobs, and graduation each May brings an abrupt end to players' careers.
This offseason, though, Duke experienced an absolute overhaul in every form, starting at the top of the program.
Former head coach John Rennie-who took the position in 1979, a year before Mike Krzyzewski entered the Blue Devil athletic scene-retired after 29 years in Durham at the end of last season. Rennie won five ACC Coach of the Year awards and the program's lone and school's first national championship in 1986.
Replacing him will be one of the best players to ever grace Koskinen Stadium, Duke alumnus and 1986 Hermann Trophy winner John Kerr. Kerr led the 1986 squad to the national title, and returns to Duke after a playing career that spanned five countries and a nine-year coaching stint at Harvard.
Now, his task is building off the foundation created by his mentor and rebounding his new squad from its worst season since 2003.
"Anyone that knows me closely knows this is my dream job, coming back to my alma mater," Kerr said. "Being a player under Coach Rennie and an assistant under Coach Rennie and now stepping into his shoes, it's a big job and I appreciate the opportunity."
But while Kerr spoke glowingly of his predecessor and his outlook for the Blue Devils this year, he also acknowledges how difficult this season could be-especially in light of all the changes.
Graduation always hampers teams, but the Blue Devils graduated one of the most decorated senior classes in school history, losing 13 players. Such stars as two-year captain Tim Jepson and Herrmann Trophy finalist Michael Videira leave huge holes in the center of the field, and Duke will have to rely on less experienced players to fill those spots.
Senior preseason All-American Mike Grella, the team's leading scorer from 2007, returns to lead the forward line-a corps that could be even more dangerous this year in Kerr's attack-heavy scheme. Grella posted two goals in the Blue Devils' 2-2 tie with Real Maryland in a preseason scrimmage Saturday.
On the other end of the field, the young team will look to veteran defenders Darrius Barnes and Graham Dugoni, elected co-captains in the offseason, for leadership and support from the heart of the defense.
"We are a young team, and I think we are going to be fun to watch and score a lot of goals, so everyone is really excited about the season," Dugoni said. "I feel like [Barnes and I] just have to come out to practice every day and set the tone."
Barnes added that with 13 seniors in front of him, it had been difficult to assume a leadership role in the past, but that he and Dugoni were more than equipped to handle the responsibility of the captaincy.
That composure will be necessary from the season's opening touch. Duke's first three matches are all against formidable squads, starting with two matches against No. 7 Indiana and No. 3 Notre Dame in Bloomington, Ind. next weekend. Then Harvard, Kerr's former team, comes to town for the Duke/Nike Classic the next weekend.
Because of the squad's relative lack of depth implicit in losing 13 seniors, several freshmen will be asked to play right away, and forward Kyle Bethel and left back Ian Kalis could start against the Hoosiers, Kerr said.
But for the players, being overlooked in the polls might not be so bad. All of the changes imposed on the Blue Devils signal that this could be a season of transition, and the national polls agree. After being ranked in the preseason top 10 the last three seasons, Duke is unranked-at least for now.
And in this new year, spawned by a new coach and a changing of the guard on the field, that might not be the worst thing.
"There has been so much change for this year that I think we are actually welcoming [the low expectations of not being ranked], and it's kind of a good place to be with a chip on our shoulder," senior goalkeeper Brendan Fitzgerald said. "We are not discouraged at all by it-if anything, we are very motivated and I think it will actually help us in the long run."
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