March 17, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Jim Cofer, one of the nation's top goalkeeping instructors who has garnered successful coaching experience at all levels of the game, has been named assistant men's soccer coach at the University of Central Florida, second-year head coach Bryan Cunningham announced Monday.
Cofer returns to the state where he got his coaching start after two years as an assistant coach at Pacific 10 Conference member Oregon State. With the Beavers, Cofer worked with the team's goalkeepers, coordinated recruiting efforts and headed up game preparation by working with the scout team.
He was one of the directors of the school's highly popular summer and winter camps and coordinated the team's yearly strength and conditioning sessions. At Oregon State, his emphasis on academics also was clear, as the Beavers had 10 academic all-conference selections in 2007, including Cofer's pupil Packy Deenihan, who earned academic all-conference honors in both seasons under Cofer's tutelage.
"We're excited to fill out our staff with the addition of Jim," Cunningham said. "He comes from a very good program at Oregon State under the tutelage of Dana Taylor. It speaks well for UCF soccer that we are able to hire an assistant coach from anywhere in the country, especially such a strong program as Oregon State in the Pac-10 Conference."
At UCF, Cofer will head up recruiting efforts for the Knights, coordinate field training and direct the team's goalkeepers.
"I am very excited to be at UCF and am looking forward to the fall season," Cofer said. "I would like to thank Bryan Cunningham and the UCF administration for this opportunity. I look forward to working with Bryan, Steve Mellor, our student-athletes and the entire athletics department. I am eager to begin working with our great players, including the outstanding recruiting class coming in this fall."
Prior to his time in Corvallis, Cofer spent two years as an assistant coach at Metro State in Denver. He coached both the men's and women's goalkeepers. During his tenure, the women's team captured the 2004 NCAA Division II National Championship, while the men won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament in 2004.
While in Denver, Cofer served as a volunteer assistant goalkeeping coach for the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. There, he assisted the head goalkeeping coach by planning and running all goalkeeper-related sessions and handling game-related warm-ups and training.
Cofer was the Director of the Coaching Adults Program in Denver, heading up the adult branch and tournament activities for the Colorado Rush Soccer Club, one of the nation's largest youth programs. His duties with that program included the coordination of the 100-team Comets Adult Soccer League. He headed up fiscal management for two tournaments hosted by the Rush. He served as head coach in the Academy Program for U13-U17 boys and girls from Nov. 2000-June 2006. It was there that he was able to cultivate strong recruiting connections, as he maintained day-to-day contact with numerous coaches at the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA levels.
Since 2001, Cofer has been a member of the USYSA Olympic Development program, most recently serving on the Region IV ODP staff as a goalkeeper coach. In that role, it was his responsibility to identify, train and develop the initial pool of players from the Western half of the United States to the final pool of players for the Region IV team.
Cofer's coaching career began in the Sunshine State, where he worked with various club teams and was the head boys coach at Mulberry High School (Mulberry, Fla.) from 1998-2000.
Cofer graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1993 with a bachelor of accountancy degree. He was a member of three Southeastern Conference club soccer championships. Cofer and his wife, Meghan, have two children, Jim (7) and Jack (4).
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--UCFAA--