Former Indiana State head coach and University of Miami (Fla.) assistant Vernon Croft has joined The University of Akron women’s soccer coaching staff, head coach Chris Pfau announced today.
Croft will assist in all aspects of the program, including the training of the goalkeepers and other team members.
“I am very excited about the hire of Vernon Croft,” Pfau said. “I have great respect for him as a coach. To have someone on staff with his background as a 10-year Division I head coach and assistant with the University of Miami (Fla.) will not only push our program and players but also our coaching staff. He will be working with the keepers but also will have valuable input with all aspects of our training and soccer program.”
“Vernon will bring a wealth of knowledge and a great vision of the game,” Pfau continued. “He also cares immensely about the student-athlete experience, something we pride ourselves on here at The University of Akron.”
Most recently, Croft spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Miami (Fla.) where he was the recruiting coordinator and coached the goalkeepers and attacking players. Eight of the Hurricane’s 11 starters in 2011 were a part of the two recruiting classes coordinated by Croft.
Prior to his stint at Miami, Croft spent ten seasons as the head coach at Indiana State after starting the women’s soccer program in 1999. He is the Sycamores all-time winningest coach, and led ISU to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship in 2008. Croft was also named the MVC Coach of the Year in 2004.
Croft coached 15 all-conference performers, one MVC Freshman of the Year and eight MVC All-Tournament honorees while in Terre Haute. His teams were honored nine consecutive times with NSCAA Team Academic Awards, including a #1 team academic ranking in 2004.
Croft spent four years as an assistant with the Missouri State women’s soccer program helping them develop a program from infancy with their first season in 1996. In addition, he was the men’s goalkeeper coach at Missouri State for three years.
He previously spent two years each as the assistant women’s soccer coach at Widener University and the graduate assistant men’s coach at Lynchburg College.
Croft received a bachelor of arts from Lynchburg in 1994 and a master’s of education from Widener in 1996. He hold a USSF National A License.
