Doane College Athletic Director Greg Heier announced today that the men's and women's soccer coaching positions are going to be combined into one full-time position effective July 1. The change will mark the first time that the soccer coaching position will be full-time at Doane.
"We are very excited about the commitment Doane College is making to soccer and our students by moving to a full-time coach," Heier said.
"By having a full-time presence on campus, our soccer student-athletes will now have a person on campus to meet and mentor them on a daily basis. That daily presence will be invaluable to those students. The move will also bring Doane in line with the majority of institutions in the Great Plains Athletic Conference that staff their soccer program with a full-time staff member coaching both men's and women's soccer teams."
Doane men's soccer coach Greg Jarosik has been appointed to lead both programs during the 2009 season. Jarosik took over the men's program in 2007 and guided the Tigers to a 10-9 record overall this past season and the first postseason appearance since 2005. Doane finished 7-5 in the GPAC, fourth overall, and finished with the second most conference wins in a single season.
Women's soccer coach Duane Johnson was not interested in coaching full-time and, therefore, did not apply for the position. His current job is with the Department of Homeland Security - United States Citizenship and Immigration Service as an Immigration Analyst. He will continue in his current part-time position as head girls' soccer coach at Southeast High School in addition to his duties as Immigration Analyst and is also looking forward to spending more time with his family.
"One of the hardest things about this decision was recognizing that either Greg Jarosik or Duane Johnson would no longer be serving in a head coaching capacity at Doane," Heier comments.
"Duane's record as a coach is outstanding and he had inherited a women's program that had struggled in recent years. He took his teams to the postseason in both seasons as head coach and has done an excellent job recruiting quality students to the program. I want to thank Duane for his outstanding contributions to Doane. He leaves the women's program on a strong foundation and we are thankful for his service to the college."
Johnson posted a 19-15-4 record over two seasons as head coach. Doane advanced to the NAIA Region III tournament in 2007 for the first time in school history. It also marked the final year of regional tournament play. This past season, Doane qualified for the GPAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed.
Doane will open up the 2009 soccer season in August. The men's soccer team will open with Bellevue University in Omaha on August 26. The Bruins finished No. 6 in the final 2008 NAIA poll. The women's soccer team will open up the season at home on August 29 against Jamestown College (N.D.). The men's soccer team will hold their home opener against Jamestown following the women's contest.