It’s a curious thing when one watches a UCSD women’s soccer match. Look over at the Triton bench and there’s head coach Brian McManus sitting barefoot, balancing a ball under each foot, yelling out instructions at his players.

For the Scottish-born McManus, coaching has always been about his players. He credits them for the success of UCSD women’s soccer and it’s only fitting that they played a role in jumpstarting his career.

In 1987, then-UCSD Athletic Director Judy Sweet faced a dilemma. Women’s soccer head coach, John Leaney had left to coach at Macalester College in Minnesota, and at the time McManus was an assistant coach for UCSD men’s soccer under Derek Armstrong. Sweet was in a bind, but some of the players on the women’s team, having previously worked out with McManus, had an idea for a replacement. They approached Sweet about McManus taking over Leaney’s position, but the future head coach himself initially refused the offer.

“I said ‘no’ at first, McManus said. “I’d never seen women play until I came down here.”

But a determined Sweet pressed on, pleading him to at least take over for a few months while she searched for a head coach, and McManus obliged.

“And 18 years later, I’m still here and I’m glad,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it here. I love it; it’s great. I never ever thought in my life that I would do it.”

In his 18 years, he has had the success most coaches only dream of: seven NCAA national titles (two in Division II, three in Division III), 13 total coaching awards (including four NCAA National Coach of the Year honors), 12 regional titles, five straight California Collegiate Athletic Association South Division titles, four CCAA Championships and 17 NCAA playoff appearances.

After winning his seventh national title in Division III in 1999 against Macalester (1-0), McManus and the Tritons entered Division II and achieved an otherwise impossible task — they stormed in and won two consecutive national titles in 2001 and 2002. Despite the fact that UCSD is the only Division II school that does not award athletic scholarships, it continues to be a perennial powerhouse in women’s soccer, reaching the semifinals last season and winning its fifth-straight CCAA South Division title this season.

McManus’ notable career record of 305-39-21 gives him a winning percentage of .864, ranking him fourth highest in NCAA history among coaches at any level. Anson Dorrance (.946) of Division I North Carolina holds the top spot.

Any team can gather the most talented players, but not every team can acquire the team chemistry essential to success. McManus possesses an uncanny ability to mold different players into a winning combination.

“He was an incredible, incredible coach,” former Triton player Kara Morris said. “He can take any team, any player and make it into a winner.”

Morris and All-American Julia Cuder graduated from UCSD in 2002 and were part of the 1999, 2000 and 2001 championship teams. Both were on hand Oct. 17 for the ceremony celebrating McManus’ 300th victory.

“[McManus] is definitely the best coach I’ve every played for,” Cuder said. “He knows the game so well, and he knows how to work with all these individuals. And he brings out all their strengths and combines them together for a kick-ass team, every year.”

And as for his unconventional barefoot coaching, McManus chalks it up to tradition.

“I get carried away,” he said. “I never liked shoes; even when I was living in Scotland, I hated shoes and socks. It’s just part of it, just the things over the year, just the things we do.”

Such idiosyncrasies make it easy to comprehend why so many, especially his players, love him. He is affable, with a disarming personality. He emphasizes having fun and simply playing the game, borrowing these principles from his native land.

“I love my players to play free, and I was like that,” he said. “I like to just go and play. In Scotland in the 1960s and ’70s, that’s how they played. They love people enjoying themselves, and they’re not so strategic.”

McManus imparts his philosophy to his players and also fosters an environment of friendship and camaraderie within the team.

“You make your best friends while you’re out here,” Morris said. “He makes it so much fun on the field, and it becomes a part of your life off the field, too.”

Sophomore midfielder Megan Dickey, who scored the game-winning goal against San Francisco State on Oct. 3 to clinch McManus’ 300th win, also has nothing but praise for her coach.

“He’s amazing, and I tell everyone that I would never trade this experience for anything,” Dickey said on Oct. 3. “He’s awesome.”

Before UCSD, McManus played professional soccer for the Raith Rovers and Aberdeen in Scotland for a few years, but later moved to England to play semiprofessional soccer.

“I played pro in Scotland,” he said. “It was a grind. And when I went to England, I started playing semipro, and it was great. … I had fun and I ended up a player/coach. That’s what we do over here, we try to have fun with it.”

While in England, he met Armstrong, whom he played for and who later recruited McManus to become his assistant coach for the UCSD men’s team.

“I played for Derek in England back in 1970 and he’s been a big influence,” he said. “Everything I’ve learned through coaching has been through him.”

Armstrong also reached 300 wins this season, making UCSD the first school in history to have two active coaches with 300 career victories.

Looking back, McManus was happy to reach his 300th win, but not necessarily for himself.

“I was more nervous for the kids because if they weren’t going to get it today the pressure would have been getting a lot, and nobody would just forget about it,” he said on Oct. 3.

The indelible mark McManus has left on UCSD women’s soccer and his players will not soon be forgotten. In fact, the coach still has players from as far back as the 1980s who return to visit. His players, past and present, are what drive his desire to coach.

“I can say that [my 300th win] is not just about the players today, it’s about the players who have played the last 18 years,” he said. “There was a lot of alumni today; there was one today from 1989-90. It’s things like that that make it worthwhile.”