Soccer is All in the Family for Albion SCs Noah Kooiman
Albion Tuesday – a new focused youth soccer feature series with Noah Gins, Technical Director of Albion Soccer Club.
Dynamic and dedicated, focused and passionate, Noah Kooiman joined Albion Soccer Club last year after coaching collegiate soccer. Loving his new life in America’s Finest City, Kooiman, who is fondly referred to as Koi at Albion SC is devoted to developing youth soccer players.
Soccer has always been a big part of Albion Soccer Club Coach Noah Kooiman’s life, but that is to be expected when your older brother is former U.S. Men’s National Team defender Cle Kooiman. Growing up in Ontario, California, the Kooiman brothers and their friends spent as much time as possible at nearby Chaffey High School playing the game they all loved.
“This was our soccer playground,” Kooiman recalled. “We would bring my big boom box radio that took like 12 D batteries to play our music. We played every type of soccer game together – small sided, full sided, 1v1, soccer tennis. You name it, we played it.”
“My brother Cle was my mentor because he included me in all he did, on and off the field,” the younger Kooiman explained. “There is a six year difference between us, but that was never an issue. His friends never made a big deal about it, either. They always welcomed me. We loved soccer!”
Those early days led Kooiman to play in AYSO starting at age eight; he then moved on to play club soccer with the Upland Astros and the Claremont Stars. At age 16 he began making the long drive to North Huntington Beach Futbol Club (NHB) to train with coaches Roger Wyett and Luis Balboa for two years. After graduating from Chaffey High School, he went on to play four years on a full-ride scholarship at Cal State Fullerton under Head Coach Al Mistri, graduating in 1993. After college Kooiman continued on the pitch, playing professionally for two years with the LA Cobras and LA Salsa under the direction of Octavio Zambrano.
It was then that fate and his brother’s career would lead him into coaching.
“My brother was coaching a young boys’ team with the Cal Heat SC,” Kooiman explained. “Cle had to give up the team because he signed a pro contract with the Juarez Cobras (Ciudad Juarez) in Mexico, so he offered the team to me. Obviously I said yes, and the rest is history. I’ve been coaching ever since.”
Kooiman went on to coach with Arsenal SC for several years and was named head men’s soccer coach at CSU San Bernardino in 2004, continuing in the role through the 2009 season. In his final year he directed the Coyotes to a 15-6-1 overall record, 11-4-1 in the CCAA South.
In 2012, Kooiman received an invitation to coach at Albion Soccer Club, working with another Noah – Noah Gins. It was, as they say, an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“Noah Kooiman “Kooi” has emerged himself into Albion SC and he has been one of the most influential coaches I have brought aboard this staff,” said Noah Gins, Technical Director of Albion Soccer Club. “Most importantly, I want good people to be a part of Albion SC. My job is to find the best possible coaches to surround my players with while complimenting the Albion coaching model and Kooi is a someone I would want my own kids around. He is passionate, knowledgeable, and cares about the players more than anything.It is rare to find a coach with his qualifications, his abilities and a guy that wears his heart on his sleeve and does things for all the right reasons.”
According to Gins, “Kooi has been one of the most successful youth coaches over the last 10-15 years winning State, Regional, and National championships with teams while developing players and placing players at the college level.”
“I find Noah Gins to be one most dynamic and passionate soccer directors I have ever met in the club soccer arena,” said Kooiman of the club’s Technical Director. “His profound leadership is what makes him stand out the most to me. He has a vision and a dream to have Albion SC not only be one of the best in the United States but be the leader in sending student athletes into college.”
Currently Kooiman coaches the Albion GU15 White, GU16 White and GU16 USA teams, and recently led a combined GU16/17 team to victory at the Disney Showcase in Orlando, Florida. By winning the special Puma-sponsored bracket, the team earned the right to travel all-expenses paid to Sweden to compete in the prestigious Gothia Cup.
While the victory was definitely sweet, for Kooiman it is sharing the love of the game that means most to him.
“I love being able to teach the game through my eyes and experiences,” he said. “More importantly, it is not about winning at all cost. It is more about the journey and being able to teach this amazing game of soccer to my players and educating parents along the way.”
Of course, competing, and winning, does still play a part in soccer as well as in life – a lesson Kooiman learned early on. “I am the youngest of six brothers and sisters and I learned very early in life what it was like to compete for something! Before you blinked an eye in my house it was gone. There were no cherries in my Captain Crunch and there were no raisins in my Raisin Bran Cereal!” he jokes.
But always it was soccer that brought the Kooiman brothers together and gave their lives meaning. “Our common love was playing soccer all day and every day,” he recalls. “It was an escape from our day-to-day lives and our household chores! It was fun at its purest form. We both love this game. You could say it is our religion and our way of life.”
A proud dad, Kooiman has passed that passion for the game on to his own children, all of whom have played at some point. Currently his oldest daughter, Berkeley, is the one he sees as most likely to continue on in the sport.
“I would love for her to play pro, but it is a huge commitment to herself, the family, and more importantly to the game,” he said “Do I think she could do it? Yes! I think anybody can accomplish or achieve anything they want if they’re 100% committed to the cause!”
Noah Kooiman is a shining example of what commitment to a cause can bring to one’s life.
Noah Kooiman in Focus – Quick Questions
Diane Scavuzzo: What is the most challenging aspect of being a coach?
Noah Kooiman: The toughest thing as a coach is to give each team their own identity. I want 100% buy-in to me and the club and I want it to be special they are on the team.
Diane Scavuzzo: How do you identify a young player who can succeed on the field?
Noah Kooiman: It is easy to spot a player that has the potential to be a big time soccer player in their young years in the game.
They always have a soccer ball at their feet and they have passion and an internal drive that makes them stand out from the rest of kids!
Diane Scavuzzo: How do you define success in the world of soccer?
Noah Kooiman: I define success not by wins but by the team photos and the player photos and road trips at the end of the season.
There are so many amazing experiences playing this wonderful game of soccer.
I always tell my players that I would rather have a picture with them and the team than any trophy or medal because it will last forever and the trophy and medal won’t.
To sum it up, I define success at the club level by the players’ and parents’ overall experience with me as their coach!
On a larger scale, I define success in the world game by a country being able to have a system of play that fits their players and culture and the heartbeat of their nation. It is a style of play that is attractive and breeds a winning spirit within the youngest to the oldest soccer enthusiast in their county.
Diane Scavuzzo: What do you think is most important? Soccer IQ? Technical Ability? Tactical skills?
Noah Kooiman: I feel a good soccer IQ is more important because if you have that and passion the rest of the game will follow suit.
Diane Scavuzzo: Having been both a college and youth coach, can you share with us some of the differences in training youth players vs. college players? Albion SC is very focused on helping players gain access to great college scholarships. Does your background give your players an edge?
Noah Kooiman: As a youth coach at Albion SC, I am trying to teach the game in a way that the result is going to be what a college coach is going to want at their university. My goal is to develop a player who is ready to compete and win games at the college level. No coach wants to give a scholarship to a player that needs work or has deficiencies in their game. Coaches want to put that player in a system of play and get after a National Title!
Article Summary:
Youth Soccer News: When your older brother is former USMNT defender Cle Kooiman, a career in soccer seems be the family business. Noah Kooiman is currently a coach at Albion Soccer Club and recently led a Girls U16/17 team to victory at the highly competitive Disney Showcase.
