Alan Koch (soccer)

Alan Koch
Koch coaching FC Cincinnati in 2017
Personal information
Full name Alan Keith Koch
Date of birth (1975-04-30) 30 April 1975
Place of birth Durban, South Africa
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position Central midfielder
Club information
Current team
 FC Cincinnati
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1994 Reservoir Hill United
1995–1996 KTSV Preussen Krefeld
2000–2001 Limerick
National team
1995 South Africa U-23
Teams managed
2003–2005 Midwestern State University (assistant)
2006–2008 Baker University
2009 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (women)
2008–2015 Simon Fraser University
2015–2016 Whitecaps FC 2
2017– FC Cincinnati
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Alan Koch (born 30 April 1975) is a South African soccer coach who is currently the head coach of FC Cincinnati, a second-division American club in the United Soccer League. Koch is a former South African youth national team player,[1] professional player and coach.[2] He is a graduate of Simon Fraser University where he earned his bachelor's degree. He earned his master's degree from Midwestern State University in 2005.[3]

Early life

Koch attended Westville Boys' High School in his native South Africa.[4] He was there selected as the captain of the South African Schoolboys team in 1992.[1] He played for Reservoir Hills United in 1993 and was coached by Professor Ngubane in the OK League which is now known as the Mvela League.[5] He left South Africa in 1995 to sign with KTSV Preussen Krefeld of the German Oberliga. He was also briefly with Wattenscheid 09 and Bayer Uerdingen of the 2.Bundesliga. He signed for Limerick FC of the League of Ireland in 2000. In 2001, on advice from medical experts, Koch retired from football due to a heart condition. [6]

Coaching career

Midwestern State

Koch began his coaching tenure as an assistant coach at Midwestern State University. In his first season in 2003, Koch helped the Mustangs finish 17–5 and reach the NCAA Elite Eight. In 2004, he also help guide them to a 12–6 record. In his final year with Midwestern State University in 2005, while completing his master's degree, the Mustangs finished the season 13–3–2. Koch then moved on to Baker University where he was offered the Head Coaching position.

Baker University

At Baker University, Koch took on his first Head Coaching position and finished his first season in charge with a 9–9 record in 2006. The next season, Koch guided the Wildcats to a 13–7 record while reaching the Regional Semi-finals in the NCAA National Tournament. Koch was then presented with an opportunity to move to Vancouver, British Columbia to take over the Simon Fraser University Head Coaching position.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC W-League

Koch also had a spell in charge of the Vancouver Whitecaps W-League team in 2009. He guided the Women's team to a 5th-place finish which narrowly missed out on the playoffs.

Simon Fraser University

Koch has spent the last 5 seasons at Simon Fraser University[7] as the Head Coach of the Men's Soccer Team. He was the 2009 and 2010 AII coach of the year,[8] and also the 2010, 2011, 2012 GNAC coach of the year.[9] 2011 was also a landmark season for the Men's Soccer Team as they became the first non-American school to be ranked in the NCAA top 25. On 18 October 2011, the Men's Soccer Team reached number 1 in the NCAA division 2 national rankings.[10] At the conclusion of the NCAA regular season, the Men's Soccer Team remained as the number 1 team in the NCAA. In November 2012, Simon Fraser University became the first Canadian team to qualify for a NCAA division 2 National Tournament. The team went on a historic run and qualified for the Final Four hosted in Evans, Georgia. At the end of the NCAA season, the Men's Soccer team became the No. 3 ranked team in the NCAA. On 5 December 2012, Koch was named NSCAA Regional Coach of the year.[11] During the 2012 season, Koch and the Simon Fraser University Men's Soccer team were featured in the New York Times.[12]

Team Canada – Maccabiah Games

Koch helped lead Team Canada in the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem, Israel to a bronze medal after a hard fought 4–1 win against Mexico. Koch's Team Canada qualified to the quarter-finals as the runners up in the group after beating Chile 3–0, Venezuela 4–1 before losing to the defending champions Argentina 4–1 in the final group stage match. They were then drawn against heavy favourites Brazil in the quarter-finals and Canada thrilled the crowd with a big 1–0 win before moving onto playing the United States in the semi-finals. The United States proved to be too much for Team Canada who was sent to the bronze medal match against Mexico.[13]

Vancouver Whitecaps

Alan Koch being interviewed after he was appointed as Whitecaps FC 2's head coach

Koch has a reputation for identifying talent and fast-tracking players development. This is evident in his work in identifying Tim Parker for the 2015 MLS Superdraft. Koch gave Parker his professional debut with Whitecaps2 in the USL. By the end of the 2015 season Parker was the starting centre-back for the Whitecaps in the 2015 MLS Cup play-offs. He was later called in to the USA national team training camp.

Koch currently holds many levels of coaching certification. These include his NSCAA Premier Diploma, his SKNFCA Level 2, and his UEFA B licence. He is currently in progress of the UEFA A licence.

FC Cincinnati

He was named assistant coach and director of scouting and analytics for FC Cincinnati in the United Soccer League in December 2016.[14] He was named head coach on 17 February 2017, taking the place of John Harkes.[15]

Managerial Achievements

Simon Fraser University

  • 2009 NAIA Final Four
  • A.I.I Champions – 2009, 2010
  • 2012 NCAA D2 Final Four
  • 2013 NCAA D2 Final Four
  • 2014 NCAA 1st round
  • GNAC Champions – 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

United Soccer League

  • 2016 USL Conference Finalist
  • 2017 US Open Cup Semi-finalist

Certification

Koch currently holds many levels of coaching certification. These include his NSCAA Premier Diploma, his SKNFCA Level 2, and UEFA A and B licences. He recently completed his Canadian A license.

Personal life

Currently, Alan lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and is married. Koch holds Canadian and South African passports, he also speaks English, German and Afrikaans.

References

  1. 1 2 "WBHS 2013 Grade 8s in the School's 1st Blazer Warcry led by leader Ricky Hughes – Westville Boys' High School". wbhs.co.za. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110813184048/http://club.whitecapsfc.com/archive/feature04200901.aspx. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ "Midwestern State University". www.mwsu.edu. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "Westville Boys' High School". wbhs.co.za. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110213034036/http://www.goldenarrowsfc.com/Team/TechnicalStaff/TSMNcikazi.htm. Archived from the original on 13 February 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ "The Peak: Student Newspaper of Simon Fraser University – Article correction". The-peak.ca. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  7. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101115005916/http://athletics.sfu.ca/teams/soccer_m/coaches/. Archived from the original on 15 November 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ "Association of Independent Institutions News". Aiisports.com. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  9. ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20101124074710/http://gnacsports.com/msoccer/allstars.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ "NCAA Division II Men's – National – Poll 7 – October 18, 2011". National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  11. ↑ "Simon Fraser University – Koch named NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year". Athletics.sfu.ca. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  12. ↑ "Canadian University Is on an Expedition". New York Times. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "Simon Fraser University – Clan members bring home Maccabi Games bronze". Athletics.sfu.ca. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  14. ↑ Kimura, Fumi (14 December 2016). "Alan Koch Joins FC Cincinnati Staff". FC Cincinnati. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  15. ↑ "Harkes Is Out As FC Cincinnati coach". WCPO. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  • "Baker Men's Soccer Coach To Return To Alma Mater". Baker University. 1 February 2008. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  • "Baker taps Koch men's soccer coach". LJWorld. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  • "The Wichitan – The Student Voice of MSU". Midwestern State University. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
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