Mike Sorber, an assistant coach for the U.S. National Team, will serve as a volunteer assistant coach at Saint Louis. This marks his 12th season of association with the Billiken soccer program as a player and a coach. "Mike's position with the national team speaks volumes about Mike both as a person and a coach," Billiken head coach Dan Donigan said. "It is the best of both worlds for us because he will still be involved in our program as a volunteer assistant. The expertise that he can lend to our players during training and in games is invaluable." Sorber retired from professional soccer in 2001 to begin his coaching career as Donigan's first assistant coach. Over the next six years, he helped the Billikens advance to the NCAA Tournament four times. He was one of the top 20 assistant coaches in the country in 2006 according to CollegeSoccerNews.com, and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) named him the 2006 Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year. Sorber spent the spring of 2007 serving as a temporary assistant coach through training camps and international friendlies for then-interim USMNT head coach Bob Bradley. Bradley had the interim tag removed in May, and Sorber officially joined the full-time staff in July 2007. Sorber experienced success on the national stage in the summer of 2009, coaching the USMNT to its thrilling upset over world No. 1 Spain in the FIFA Confederations Cup. Sorber will appear with the SLU coaching staff on the sidelines in between 2010 World Cup qualifiers. The St. Louis native is no stranger to international competition. Sorber is one of the most decorated players in U.S. Soccer. He started all four games for the United States in the 1994 World Cup in Chicago, and his 67 caps rank him in the top 20 all-time on the U.S. side. In addition, Sorber played professionally in Mexico and in MLS. He was a member of the Bradley-coached Chicago Fire team that reached the MLS Cup final in 2000. As a player at SLU, Sorber was a 1992 Hermann Trophy finalist during his senior season. A four-year starter, he was a central figure in the Bills' run to the 1991 NCAA semifinals. Inducted into the Billiken Hall of Fame in 1998, Sorber finished his SLU playing career with 55 points (13G, 29A). Sorber and his wife, Mindy, reside in St. Louis with their son, Kyler, and daughter, Syerra. |
|
|||||||||||||
