Nicholls Tabs Podeyn as Head Women's Soccer Coach
THIBODAUX, La. – Following a nationwide search throughout the offseason, Nicholls State University Director of Athletics
Jonathan Terrell announced Monday afternoon Robert Podeyn as the Colonels' new women's soccer head coach, pending approval from the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.
"We are beyond fortunate and honored to add Robert Podeyn to this athletic department and the Colonels Family," Terrell said. "We were intrigued with Coach Podeyn's experience and expertise in terms of transforming a program from the ground up, and we look forward to watching him work with and develop our women's soccer team into the regional force we know it can be."
For the past six seasons, Podeyn has served as the head coach of the women's soccer program at Fresno Pacific, leading the Sunbirds to a 44-41-9 overall record; notably, Podeyn guided the team to a program-best second-place finish within the Pacific West Conference during the 2017 campaign, earning the league's Coach of the Year award and seeing five players clinch All-Conference honors.
"I am excited to be joining the Nicholls family and am looking forward to leading the women's soccer program as we move into the future," Podeyn said. "I would like to thank Director of Athletics
Jonathan Terrell, Deputy Athletic Director
Andrew Kearney and Nicholls State University President Dr. Jay Clune for this incredible opportunity. I was impressed with everyone throughout the process and can't wait to get started."
Across an 18-year head coaching career with four different programs, Podeyn has accumulated a 153-139-29 mark on the pitch, orchestrating impressive turnarounds at Fresno Pacific and Southwest Baptist (Mo.) which include two NCAA Division II Tournament berths, a conference tournament title and massive offensive statistical jumps in terms of average goals per game, shots-on-goal and total shots.
Podeyn began his coaching career after a successful seven-year stint as a professional athlete. He played collegiately at Long Island-C.W. Post (1984-87) where he was an NCAA Division II All-American while leading his team to the NCAA quarterfinals as a senior. That year, Podeyn led the nation in save percentage (.893) and ranked fifth in the nation in saves with 107. He went on to spend seven seasons with the Long Island Stars of the American Soccer League, earning league MVP honors twice while setting a league record for consecutive shutout minutes (973).
Additionally, Podeyn's résumé also includes a variety of other experiences within the United States and abroad, as he assisted with goalkeeper training for the U-17 U.S. Women's National Team, acted as a national technical director for APT Soccer and served a regional director for AFC Ajax, one of the largest and most prestigious professional soccer clubs in The Netherlands. He has also worked with professional coaches at Vitesse Arnhem (a Dutch professional club), in Brazil with Club Atletico Miniero (CAM), in Germany with Borussa Mochen Gladbach and in the U.S. with the Tampa Bay Mutiny (formerly of the MLS).
He holds a USSF national 'A' coaching license, NSCAA national youth diploma, NSCAA national goalkeeping diploma, English Football Association coaching license, UEFA coaching license, KNVB advanced tactical diploma and a Brazilian coaching license. Further, he has also served on the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer National Committee.
A published author, Podeyn has written seven books on the sport of soccer including
Coaching the Dutch 4-3-3 and
The Triangle Midfield.
He graduated from Dowling College with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Dowling College and later earned a Master of Education from William Woods University. Podeyn has been married to his wife, Sondra, for more than 25 years. The couple has two sons -- Robert Jr. and Matthew.