Photo by: Ethan Mito/Texas A&M Athletics
Media Q&A: Bobby Shuttleworth
Dec 11, 2025 | Soccer
New Texas A&M soccer head coach Bobby Shuttleworth met with the media for the first time on Thursday. Quotes and video are available below.
What were the last few days like for you and kind of what went in the decision that this is the next right move for you?
"Yeah, it's been a crazy few days. Obviously I was with Florida State with the national championship and focus was there. And then this came up, this came about and I really just kind of jumped at the opportunity. Such a big program. And Coach G has done an amazing job here over a long time, big history here. So the opportunity came about and was excited about it and kind of jumped all over it."
What is it about this school that makes you say oh, this is my next move. I want to take the next step in my coaching journey here?
"Came here in 2023, we played here. It was I think the first game of the year. And the support was really good. Obviously you look around, you see the facilities and you hear about the resources at a place like this, a university like this, and it's exciting. Obviously a lot of good players in Texas and I'm just excited about the possibilities."
What do the next couple weeks look like for you? Setting up the staff, talking to the players…kind of lay it out for us.
"Today has been a lot, obviously meeting a lot of people. Kind of just trying to get my feet on the ground at the moment and meet the team. Over the next few days trying to connect with each of them individually. And then kind of look at everything that's kind of happening at the program. Obviously a little bit of a tough one now, everybody's leaving for break, and then with the holidays coming about. But just starting to prepare how we're going to move forward, what the staff's going to look like. Start talking about recruiting, talking about what the roster looks like, and then how we're going to handle the Spring, what training's going to be. And then kind of hopefully be ready for the start of the Spring and start to think about the way we're going to play and how we're going to set up and get an assessment on the players and the roster and all that."
What do you think fans can expect from this team for the Fall 2026 season?
"I hope excitement, I hope goals, and energy, and organized, and communicating. I played for a while…played for a long time. And one of my biggest things was showing up every day, working hard. That's a big thing for me. You've got to come ready to training every single day. You've got to show that you're prepared to play in games. We're going to have a team that's going to be blue collar, working hard and hopefully organized and hopefully winning games."
Did get a chance to meet with at least some of your team today?
"Yeah, we just had a meeting with our team, about a 15- to 20-minute meeting. And then, like I said, I'll sit down with each player individually over the next few days and kind of just start to build those relationships. I'm a big relationship person. I think it's massive, human connection. I want to start to kind of get that moving so we can get comfortable with each other. I'm obviously going to demand a lot of these of these kids, these players, so in order for them to give us everything they've got to feel like they're supported and loved and all that."
What was kind of the reception of that meeting and just kind of your message to them. And so you get to talk with them just for a few minutes initially?
"I think excitement. They were obviously a little bit quiet, but I think kind of the message was that this is kind of what we're looking to do moving forward. We're going to be demanding of them, but we're going to give them all of our time and energy and love. This program has a lot of history and a lot of winning success, and we want to continue to build on that and try to develop players and protect them and hopefully produce players that play at the next level."
After you finished your professional career you kind of went right into coaching. Why was coaching the next step for you and what is it about coaching that drew you to that next phase of your career?
"I did a little bit of coaching while I was playing still. When I was in New England, I coached a little bit, and then a little bit when I was in Atlanta, I was fortunate enough to have some really good coaches. This game's given me a lot, and I know when I had really good coaches kind of what that brought out of my game and how confident I felt. And I want to repay that. Hopefully moving forward, that's what our team feels…feels confidence, feels like we're putting them in the best position to be successful and develop and win."
Of all the avenues that you can have for coaching, why women's college soccer?
"To be honest with you, when I was going through my playing career, I kind of knew that I wanted to be a coach. I didn't know at what level. I really contemplated youth or if I wanted to stay in a professional environment. I've got two small children. I've got a 6-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son. I've got a wife who played college soccer. I enjoyed my college experience, so it felt like a natural fit. And then in terms of being on the women's side, I was not I was not bothered. I've been in the professional men's game quite a bit. I just wanted to work with good players. That was what was most important for me. I thought this kind of age group, and this kind of player profile, and then just how can I work with good players that want to get better every day."
In a similar light, how would you say maybe your playing experience at the pro level has helped you throughout your coaching career, especially these last few years at Florida State?
"I think it's invaluable. I think it's massive. I've been in those shoes before and I know what it feels like. And I know the pressure that comes with having to win and having to play at a program like this that has a lot of history and how that can make you feel. And if you make a mistake, where your head goes to, and all of those things. I've lived that, so I think those experiences are invaluable. I want to try to help our players and bring that experience to them."
When did this become a potential reality, this job in particular?
"I had some conversations with some of the administration early on and then kind of didn't really go anywhere. And then it kind of came together I'd say when I was at the final four with Florida State. It came together pretty quickly after that."
You guys won two national championships there. What was the biggest thing you learned during your time at Florida State that you hope to replicate here?
"The first thing is I'm so grateful for the opportunity that Brian Pensky gave me. He's an amazing human being and allowed me to grow so much in that environment, and work with amazing players, and really see someone who has done it at such a high level for such a long time, and be able to experience those things. It's a good environment at Florida State, and obviously they have a good environment here as well and have been very successful. So I'm not going to come in here and everything's changing, right? I'm not going to make changes just to make changes. Things need to make sense, right? I think using my playing experience, the experience of the staff that will be here, just trying to see what is the best way moving forward that we can help these kids to win games and develop as people and players."
Did you have a previous relationship with G Guerrieri and is it an interesting situation coming into a program that's been around for so long but being just the second head coach?
"Yeah, it's big shoes to fill, man. I definitely feel that. He's been successful for a very long time. Like I said, this program has a lot of history. My previous relationship was just meeting him on the sideline. We didn't really have much past that. But I've spoken to him since I've taken this job and he's been amazing. I can't say enough good things."
Maybe describe the style of play that you guys hope to play?
"I think the first thing is kind of assessing the roster and seeing what it looks like. It can be I want to play a certain way, but if it doesn't make sense with the players that we have, then we shouldn't be playing that way, right? So I think the first thing first is just getting an idea of what the roster looks like and what are the strengths and weaknesses of the players and the positions that we feel good about and the positions that we feel like we need some love in, and then kind of going from there. But ultimately I think we want to get to a point where high energy, pressing, dynamic. I want to put us in position to score goals and defend in high spaces."
What were the last few days like for you and kind of what went in the decision that this is the next right move for you?
"Yeah, it's been a crazy few days. Obviously I was with Florida State with the national championship and focus was there. And then this came up, this came about and I really just kind of jumped at the opportunity. Such a big program. And Coach G has done an amazing job here over a long time, big history here. So the opportunity came about and was excited about it and kind of jumped all over it."
What is it about this school that makes you say oh, this is my next move. I want to take the next step in my coaching journey here?
"Came here in 2023, we played here. It was I think the first game of the year. And the support was really good. Obviously you look around, you see the facilities and you hear about the resources at a place like this, a university like this, and it's exciting. Obviously a lot of good players in Texas and I'm just excited about the possibilities."
What do the next couple weeks look like for you? Setting up the staff, talking to the players…kind of lay it out for us.
"Today has been a lot, obviously meeting a lot of people. Kind of just trying to get my feet on the ground at the moment and meet the team. Over the next few days trying to connect with each of them individually. And then kind of look at everything that's kind of happening at the program. Obviously a little bit of a tough one now, everybody's leaving for break, and then with the holidays coming about. But just starting to prepare how we're going to move forward, what the staff's going to look like. Start talking about recruiting, talking about what the roster looks like, and then how we're going to handle the Spring, what training's going to be. And then kind of hopefully be ready for the start of the Spring and start to think about the way we're going to play and how we're going to set up and get an assessment on the players and the roster and all that."
What do you think fans can expect from this team for the Fall 2026 season?
"I hope excitement, I hope goals, and energy, and organized, and communicating. I played for a while…played for a long time. And one of my biggest things was showing up every day, working hard. That's a big thing for me. You've got to come ready to training every single day. You've got to show that you're prepared to play in games. We're going to have a team that's going to be blue collar, working hard and hopefully organized and hopefully winning games."
Did get a chance to meet with at least some of your team today?
"Yeah, we just had a meeting with our team, about a 15- to 20-minute meeting. And then, like I said, I'll sit down with each player individually over the next few days and kind of just start to build those relationships. I'm a big relationship person. I think it's massive, human connection. I want to start to kind of get that moving so we can get comfortable with each other. I'm obviously going to demand a lot of these of these kids, these players, so in order for them to give us everything they've got to feel like they're supported and loved and all that."
What was kind of the reception of that meeting and just kind of your message to them. And so you get to talk with them just for a few minutes initially?
"I think excitement. They were obviously a little bit quiet, but I think kind of the message was that this is kind of what we're looking to do moving forward. We're going to be demanding of them, but we're going to give them all of our time and energy and love. This program has a lot of history and a lot of winning success, and we want to continue to build on that and try to develop players and protect them and hopefully produce players that play at the next level."
After you finished your professional career you kind of went right into coaching. Why was coaching the next step for you and what is it about coaching that drew you to that next phase of your career?
"I did a little bit of coaching while I was playing still. When I was in New England, I coached a little bit, and then a little bit when I was in Atlanta, I was fortunate enough to have some really good coaches. This game's given me a lot, and I know when I had really good coaches kind of what that brought out of my game and how confident I felt. And I want to repay that. Hopefully moving forward, that's what our team feels…feels confidence, feels like we're putting them in the best position to be successful and develop and win."
Of all the avenues that you can have for coaching, why women's college soccer?
"To be honest with you, when I was going through my playing career, I kind of knew that I wanted to be a coach. I didn't know at what level. I really contemplated youth or if I wanted to stay in a professional environment. I've got two small children. I've got a 6-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son. I've got a wife who played college soccer. I enjoyed my college experience, so it felt like a natural fit. And then in terms of being on the women's side, I was not I was not bothered. I've been in the professional men's game quite a bit. I just wanted to work with good players. That was what was most important for me. I thought this kind of age group, and this kind of player profile, and then just how can I work with good players that want to get better every day."
In a similar light, how would you say maybe your playing experience at the pro level has helped you throughout your coaching career, especially these last few years at Florida State?
"I think it's invaluable. I think it's massive. I've been in those shoes before and I know what it feels like. And I know the pressure that comes with having to win and having to play at a program like this that has a lot of history and how that can make you feel. And if you make a mistake, where your head goes to, and all of those things. I've lived that, so I think those experiences are invaluable. I want to try to help our players and bring that experience to them."
When did this become a potential reality, this job in particular?
"I had some conversations with some of the administration early on and then kind of didn't really go anywhere. And then it kind of came together I'd say when I was at the final four with Florida State. It came together pretty quickly after that."
You guys won two national championships there. What was the biggest thing you learned during your time at Florida State that you hope to replicate here?
"The first thing is I'm so grateful for the opportunity that Brian Pensky gave me. He's an amazing human being and allowed me to grow so much in that environment, and work with amazing players, and really see someone who has done it at such a high level for such a long time, and be able to experience those things. It's a good environment at Florida State, and obviously they have a good environment here as well and have been very successful. So I'm not going to come in here and everything's changing, right? I'm not going to make changes just to make changes. Things need to make sense, right? I think using my playing experience, the experience of the staff that will be here, just trying to see what is the best way moving forward that we can help these kids to win games and develop as people and players."
Did you have a previous relationship with G Guerrieri and is it an interesting situation coming into a program that's been around for so long but being just the second head coach?
"Yeah, it's big shoes to fill, man. I definitely feel that. He's been successful for a very long time. Like I said, this program has a lot of history. My previous relationship was just meeting him on the sideline. We didn't really have much past that. But I've spoken to him since I've taken this job and he's been amazing. I can't say enough good things."
Maybe describe the style of play that you guys hope to play?
"I think the first thing is kind of assessing the roster and seeing what it looks like. It can be I want to play a certain way, but if it doesn't make sense with the players that we have, then we shouldn't be playing that way, right? So I think the first thing first is just getting an idea of what the roster looks like and what are the strengths and weaknesses of the players and the positions that we feel good about and the positions that we feel like we need some love in, and then kind of going from there. But ultimately I think we want to get to a point where high energy, pressing, dynamic. I want to put us in position to score goals and defend in high spaces."
Media Availability: Bobby Shuttleworth
Thursday, December 11
Weekly Press Conference: G Guerrieri
Thursday, October 23
The Aggie Soccer Hour (Ep 7)
Wednesday, October 22
Mizzou Postgame: G Guerrieri, Bella Yakel, Kaylee Noble
Thursday, October 16
