Sept. 25, 2022 - GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – Grand Rapids Community College is looking for coaches to head its fledgling soccer program, and the deadline to apply for the posts is approaching.
Candidates have until midnight on Oct. 3 to apply for the head coaching posts for the men’s and women’s teams, which will start playing in fall 2023.
Details about the jobs and online applications are available here.
The GRCC Athletic Department is looking for candidates, preferably with collegiate head coaching experiences, collegiate recruiting experience, knowledge of NJCAA or NCAA eligibility, administrative experience and NJCAA experience.
Applicants are required to have three or more years of soccer coaching, and a minimum of an associate degree.
The soccer teams are a first for GRCC, and Athletic director Lauren Ferullo said the sport is the most asked about sport from prospective student-athletes when they visit campus.
Soccer is the most followed sport in the world and is growing in popularity in the United States. The FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship, is planned to be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026. Interest in the sport increased in 1994, when four World Cup matches were played in Michigan in the Pontiac Silverdome when the United States hosted the tournament.
Currently GRCC offers volleyball, women's basketball, men's basketball, golf, baseball, softball, men's cross country and women's cross country. Soccer will be the first new sport introduced since the cross country program was resurrected in 2014.
The Michigan Community College Athletic Association includes five colleges with men's and women's soccer programs: Muskegon Community College, Schoolcraft College, Jackson College, Ancilla College and Lake Michigan College fielding teams. Kellogg Community College, St. Clair County Community College and Delta College have women's teams.
Potential players are encouraged to fill out an athletic recruiting questionnaire.