May 4, 2014 – College Soccer News anually seeks to recognize assistant coaches across the country who are excelling at their work. Our selections for 2013 include some who have been listed in the past as well as some not previouly recognized. In making these selections we state up-front that we know some very deserving assistant coaches will be left out as is always the case when individuals are singled out for recognition. However, as in the past we are confidnet that those selected are deserving and worthy of recognition. The current selections continue our trend of the past several seasons of placing additional weight on team success on the field of play in the selection criteria.
There are many very good assistant coaches in the collegiate ranks across the nation who have had and will continue to have a tremendous positive impact on college soccer. The very best are effective teachers, communicators, motivators, and recruiters. They relate well to the players they coach while maintaining their respect. Successful head coaches will be the first to emphasize the role that their assistants play in the degree of success that any program achieves. The very best assistant coaches understand their role and align their efforts with the direction set by the head coach.
Assistant coaches recognized in the past by College Soccer News who are now head coaches include Kevin Grimes at California, Cameron Rast at Santa Clara, Bill Irwin at Portland, Robert McCourt at Monmouth, Bobby Muus at Denver, Mike Jacobs at Evansville, Todd Yeagley at Indiana, Jesse Cormier at Vermont, Kelly Findley at N.C. State, Erik Ronning at Colgate, Brian Wiese at Georgetown, Darren Powell at Elon, Damon Rensing at Michigan State, Jamie Clark at Washington, Kevin Anderson at Columbia, Sean Phillips at UIC, Eric Pogue at Oaklan, Ralph Polson at Wofford, Scott Calabrese at FIU, Brad Ruzzo at Mercer, Andy Fleming at Xavier, Carlos Somano at North Carolina, Ryan Anatol at Stony Brook, Johan Cedergren at Kentucky, Jared Embick at Akron and Chris Volk at UC Irvine.
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Philip Jones – Clemson |
Jones has played a key role in the steady improvement Clemson has enjoyed over the last four years. The Tigers were 11-7-3 overall in 2013 with a 5-4-2 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play and earned an invite to the NCAA Tourney for the first time since the 2007 season. Jones joined the Tiger staff in 2010 when Mike Noonan assumed the leadership of the program. He was named Associate Head Coach in 2012. Prior to that he served as an assistant coach at Brown in 2009 and at Embry-Riddle for four seasons. Jones played collegiate soccer for Embry-Riddle where he was a four-time All Florida Sun Conference selection.
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BJ Craig – Notre Dame |
Craig completed his sixth season as a member of the Notre Dame staff in 2013 under the direction of Bobby Clark. During that period of time the Irish were 76-31-21 including a banner 2012 season with a 17-4-1 record and a history making 2013 campaign in which Notre Dame was 17-1-6 and won the program's first national championship. Prior to coming to South Bend, Craig served as an assistant coach at Louisville in 2007 and was the head coach at Saint Francis University (Pa) from 2003 through 2006. He also served as an assistant coach at Dartmouth from 1998 through 2003. Craig began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts.
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John Deeley – Connecticut |
Deeley is a veteran among the assistant coaching ranks. He finished his 17th season on the Connecticut staff under head coach Ray Reid in 2013. The Huskies have a banner history in men's soccer and are the only program in the country to have advanced as far as the Elite Eight for the past three seasons. He also served as an assistant coach under Reid at Southern Connecticut State University for eight seasons. Deeley is often referenced as among the best for his ability to evaluate opponents and determe the best possible tactical approach. Reid would be among the first to say that Deeley has been a key part of the success that Conecticut has enjoyed over the years.
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Jeff Negalha – North Carolina |
The 2013 season was Negalha's tenth as an assistant coach at North Carolina. He served under Emar Bolowich from 2006 to 2010 and has been the top assistant under head coach Carlos Somoano from 2011 to date. During that period of time the Tar Heels have made seven NCAA Tournament appearances and won the national championship in 2011. Negalha has been productive on the recruiting trail securing nine consecutive classes ranked in the top twelve in the country. In addition to serving as the top assistant coach at North Carolina he also serves as the head coach for the CASL U-17 team and is an assistant with the U.S. U-18 Socccer Development Academy. Prior to coming to Chapel Hill Negalha was the top assistant at South Florida from 2003 through 2005 under George Kiefer.
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Kylie Stannard – Michigan State |
Stannard has been an assistant coach at Michigan State under Damon Rensing for the past five seasons. The Spartans have earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament four out of the past five seasons. They had a banner season in 2013 with a 14-6-3 overalll record and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since the 1968 campaign. The fourteen wins was a new program record. While at Michigan State Stannard has played a role in several very highly regarded recruiting classes. Prior to coming to Michigan State he served as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois for four seasons under the guidance of then head coach Steve Simmons. In 2012, Stannard was named the first-ever head coach of Detroit City FC of the National Premire Soccer League. He played college soccer at Creighton University for four seasons and holds a USSF National "A" Coaching License.
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Nick Carlin-Voigt – UCLA |
Carlin-Voigt has served as an assistant coach at UCLA for the past two seasons at UCLA under Jorge Salcedo. Prior to that he served as the top assistant coach at George Mason under Greg Andrulis from 2007 through 2011. While at UCLA he has played a key role in bringing back-to-back number one ranked recruiting classes to Westwood. While at George Mason he was actively involved in bringing on board three highly regarded recruiting classes that were ranked in the top forty in the country. In 2013 the Bruins were 12-3-5 overall and earned the number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Carlin-Voigt played collegiate soccer at Kalamazoo College where he was a four-year starter in goal. He holds a USSF Soccer Federation "B" Coaching License.
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Kris Bertsch – Xavier |
Bertsch has been an assistant coach at Xavier under head coach Andy Fleming for the past four seasons. He was named associate head coach prior to the start of the 2012 season. During his four tenure to date at Xavier, Bertsch has been a part of forty-six Xavier wins. Fleming stated, "Kris is the glue to our program and rarely has a bad day. His growth in running training has allowed me to take a look at the team from 6,000 feet and has been a big part of our consistency as a program." Bertsch is responsible for coordinating recruiting visits and has played a role in Xavier landing several highly regarded recruiting classes. He also was instrumental in the creation of the Xooligans which is the Xavier men's soccer student support group. Prior to joining the staff at Xavier, Bertsch was an assistant coach at Syracuse. Prior to that he served as the director of soccer operations at the University of Connecticut for four seasons.
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Mike Miller – Syracuse |
Miller joined the coaching staff at Syracuse in 2010 serving under the direction of head coach Ian McIntyre. Since joining the Orange, he has helped Syracuse up their level of talent from top to bottom by attracting several banner recruiting classes including the 2013 class that is ranked as the number twenty-seven class in the nation. In addition to his role as a recruiter, Miller works with the Syracuse goalkeepers, is involved in all team training, and is involved in various administrative duties. He also is the founder of the Syracuse Soccer Goalkeeper Academy. Before Syracuse, Miller served as an assistant coach at the University of Evansville for four seasons. Prior to that he was an assistant coach at the University of North Florida for three seasons. Miller played collegiate soccer as a goalkeeper at Jacksonville University.
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Jason O'Keefe – Saint Louis |
O'Keefe has been an assistant coach at Saint Louis under head coach Mike McGinty for four seasons. He brings a wealth of experience and soccer knowledge to a program that recorded sixteen wins in 2012 and fourteen wins in 2013. In 2012 the Billikens won the Atlantic 10 Conference Tourney and earned a number eight seed in the NCAA Tourney. In 2013 Saint Louis won the Atlantic 10 regular seaon title and advanced to the championship game of the conference tournament. Prior to coming to Saint Louis, O'Keefe was the associate head coach at Elon for three seasons. Prior to that he served as an assistant coach at Cincinnati for a single season. Before that he was an assistant coach at Wake Forest under head coach Jay Vidovich. O'Keefe played collegiate soccer at Greensboro College and holds a USSF "A" License and an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma.
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Anthony Adams – UMBC |
Adams has served with distinction as an assistant coach at UMBC under head coach Pete Caringi for seventeen season. He was named associate head coach in 2011. The Retrievers had a banner season in 2013 winning their first America East Conference regular seaon title since 2003 with a 5-0-2 mark and securing their third America East tournament title and the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament that accompanies it. UMBC finsihed the seaon with a 16-1-5 overall record and rose as high as the number five spot in the national polls. Adams has also been very active in youth soccer serving on the coaching staff of the USSF Development Academy's Baltimore Bays from 2008 through 2013 and is now coaching with the newly created Baltimore Celtic SC. He holds a USSF "A" coaching license.
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Paul Souders – New Mexico |
Souders has been on the New Mexico staff for six seasons under the direction of head coach Jeremy Fishbein during which time he has operated in the capacity of associate head coach for the past five years. Sounders has played a role in attracting talented and team oriented players to Albuquerque and in further enhancing their talent once they are there. He is involved in a variety of activities including recruiting and working to develop the Lobo offense. He has been a key part of a coaching staff at New Mexico that helped direct New Mexico to a 14-6-2 overall record in 2013 that included a trip to the College Cup for the second time in the history of the program. New Mexico is one of only a handful of programs that can lay claim to advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for the past three seasons.
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Matt Chulis – Virginia |
Chulis has been an assistant coach at Virginia for the past eight seasons under the tutelage of veteran Cavalier head coach George Gelnovatch. He has been the team's associate head coach for the past four seasons. Chulis is a player's coach who knows what it takes to be successful at the highest level. As a defender at Virginia from 1995 through 1998 he was a three-time NSCAA All-American and three-time All-ACC First-Team selection. During his tenure to date as a member of the Cavalier coaching staff, Virginia has earned eight consecutive invites to the NCAA tournament and advanced to the College Cup three times including the 2013 season. He has a USSF "A" coaching license and USSF national youth license.
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Zach Samol – Georgetown |
Samol has been an assistant coach at Georgetown for the past eight seasons under head coach Brian Wiese. He has served as the associate head coach for the past two campaigns. Samol became a member of the Georgetown staff when Wiese was hired in 2006 and has been a key ingredient in a staff that has developed Georgetown into a legitimate contender on the national level in a relatively short period of time. In 2012 the Hoyas were 19-4-3 overall and made a brilliant run to advance to play for the national championship. In 2013 Georgetown was 14-5-2 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. Prior to Georgetown, Samol was an assistant coach at Yale for four seasons and at Boston College for two. He played collegiate soccer for Dartmouth College where he was an All-Ivy selection.
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Mario Sanchez – Louisville |
Sanchez completed his fourth season at Louisville in 2013 under the direction of head coach Ken Lolla and his second as the associate head coach. During the past four seasons the Cardinals have advanced to the national championship game, made two trips to the Elite Eight, and last year advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament after winning the American Athletic Conference regular season championship. Sanchez served as the head coach at UNLV for four seasons prior to accepting the position to work on Lolla's staff at Louisville. While at UNLV the program steadily improved and recorded a winning record in his last season at the helm of the program. Prior to that Sanchez was an assistant coach at Akron from 2003 through 2005. He holds a USSF "A" coaching license and recently served as an assistant coach for the U.S. U-17 men's national team in the Aegean Cup.
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Keith Tiemeyer – Wisconsin |
The 2013 season was Tiemeyer's fifth as an associate head coach at Wisconsin and fourth under the leadership of John Trask. Tiemeyer has done an excellent job as UW's director of recruiting in attracting talented student athletes to Wisconsin who seek to be part of rebuilding the program and leaving behind something special. In 2013 the Badgers recorded a fourteen win season that included a solid 4-2-0 mark in Big Ten play. In addition, they returned to the NCAA tournament field in 2013 after an eighteen year absence. Tiemeyer is a vital part of a very solid Wisconsin coaching staff that clearly is making good things happen in Madison. Prior to coming to Wisconsin, he spent two seasons as the head coach at Regis University and two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Denver. Tiemeyer has also been actively involved in youth soccer working with several differnet programs and the Wisconsin ODP teams.
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