VanDeusen
shares duties as coach, dad Assistant Sports Editor
Between
coaching soccer and being a father, life can get hectic for Geoff
VanDeusen, head coach of Missouri Southern s men s and women s
soccer teams. VanDeusen
took over as head coach in 1999. In his three years at Southern,
VanDeusen has lead the men to a 23-26 record, with a 5-6-1 this year.
After guiding the Lady Lions to a 1-16-1 record in their first year of
intercollegiate action in 1999, VanDeusen guided them to a 5-11 record
en route to earning co-MIAA Coach of the Year honors. The Lady Lions are
currently 9-2-1 on the season and are in second place in the MIAA. I
have to do a lot of creative scheduling with my time, VanDeusen said.
I try to be well prepared and do things far in advance. He
said not only is he busy during the season, but also in the off season. My
job as the soccer coach is never ending, VanDeusen said. I m
always busy with recruiting and our off season weightlifting program. VanDeusen
said recruiting never ends, and it picks up more in the off
season. He said the off season training starts in February with the
weightlifting program, and it lasts through the spring break. After the
lifting program is over, the team starts to practice and play spring
games. In
addition to being the men s and women s soccer coach, he is also the
NCAA Division II Women s Soccer Nations committee chair and regional
director for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. VanDeusen
mentioned his assistant coaches David Stroud and Jeff Hansen as being
a big help. He
said Stroud is labeled as part time, but he puts in full-time hours.
VanDeusen said Hansen, a fifth year senior, not only puts in full-time
hours but also has a full class load. VanDeusen
credits his wife for helping him out a great deal. He said she s
been fantastic with taking care of the kids. VanDeusen s two
children are Geoffrey III, 4, and Anna, who is 8 months old. I
try to spend all of my time with my kids when I m at home, he said.
Unfortunately, I don t get to spend as much time with them as I
want to during the season, so I try to put them first when I m
home. VanDeusen
said Geoffrey likes to hang around the teams, and that gives the coach a
chance to spend more time with his son. I
think Coach does an excellent job of making the transition between
men s and women s soccer, said Amber Phipps, junior midfielder.
I also think he does a great job of handling all of his duties. VanDeusen
said his biggest reason for coaching is that he enjoys it when the point
he is making clicks in the player s head, and they become better
for doing it. He also wants to have his athletes graduate within four
to five years. The men s and women s soccer teams at Southern both
have cumulative grade-point averages of 3.2, and the men s team has
the highest GPA of any men s team at Southern. He s
a fun coach to play for, said Alicia Givens, sophomore defender.
He s always there for us when we need him. VanDeusen
said he thinks coaching is a fantastic profession. There
are a lot of rewards in coaching, VanDeusen said, but you have to
make a lot of sacrifices because it is a service position. I try to treat my players as kids of my own. Actually, I am their parent away from home. |
