May 19, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - A former professional soccer player and University of Louisville assistant coach, James Prosser was named an assistant coach for the University of Central Florida men's soccer team, head coach Bryan Cunningham announced Monday.
Prosser has spent the past two years as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Louisville. In his last season with the Cardinals, Louisville posted an 11-7-4 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. U of L defeated Duke in the first round before falling to Ohio State in the second round.
"We are pleased to have hired a coach with James' range of skills and experience," Cunningham said. "He comes from a very successful program at Louisville, having worked with a great coach in Ken Lolla. He has a good wealth of knowledge and will relate well to our young players."
With the Knights, Prosser will be involved in all aspects of the program, including team and individual training with a focus on attacking play, recruiting and various administrative duties.
"I am excited with the opportunity to coach at UCF, especially with the direction the athletics department is headed," Prosser said. "I am looking forward to building on the success and tradition that the men's soccer program has had in the past. I am excited to work with Bryan [Cunningham] and Jim [Cofer] and am looking forward to meeting the team and helping to take the program to new heights."
Prosser joined the Cardinals prior to the 2006 season after playing for the Minnesota Thunder of the United Soccer League 1st Division from 2004-05. During that time, he was a site coordinator for the Minnesota Thunder camps, overseeing more than 30 sites in the metropolitan Minneapolis area and surrounding cities. In addition to playing for the Thunder, Prosser also coached youth soccer at Shattuck-St. Mary's Academy, the Thunder's youth soccer academy, in Fairbault, Minn., the Wings Soccer Club and was the head junior varsity and assistant varsity coach at the Academy of Holy Angels.
Before moving to the Gopher State, Prosser played for the Indiana Blast, a United Soccer League 1st Division team, from 2001-03, where he played in 75 games with 46 starts, scoring five goals and dishing out seven assists. He served as a coach for the Blast Soccer Camps and headed the Crusade for Health, conducting clinics and appearances on behalf of the `Blast and Me, Tobacco Free' program. Prosser also coached for several area youth clubs, including the Noblesville Rowdies, Greenfield Strikers and the Indy Revolution.
He spent a year in Wilmington, N.C., in 2000, playing in 22 games with eight starts in helping the Wilmington Hammerheads, a United Soccer League 2nd Division team, capture the Southern Conference Championship and making a quarterfinal appearance in the US Open Cup. He began his professional career in 1999 as a member of the Myrtle Beach Sea Dawgs.
Prosser also has trained internationally with the National Soccer League of Australia's Northern Spirit, the Finnish Premier Division's HJK, the Dutch Eredivise First Divisions' Roda JC and the German Bundesliga's Werder Bremen.
Prosser is a 2001 graduate of Butler University, where he earned a bachelor of arts in education. He played in three NCAA tournaments as a collegian, including two appearances in the round of 16. His teams also claimed three Midwest Collegiate Conference Championships. He finished his college career ranked ninth on the school's all-time points list.
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