ANDERSON, S.C. – Anderson University women's head soccer coach Julie Davis Carlson has announced the hiring of former head men's soccer coach at Georgia Southern Kevin Kennedy and Anderson interim assistant coach Jeff Hubbard as the team's new assistant coaches.
Kennedy was previously at the helm of the Georgia Southern men's soccer program for 10 years, posting an overall record of 65-99-12. In his decade in Statesboro, Kennedy coached 23 all-conference selections as well as two conference freshmen of the year and one conference player of the year.
"We are very excited to have Kevin on board with us," said Carlson. "We are extremely fortunate to have someone of his caliber that brings a wealth of knowledge and experience coaching collegiately at the Men's DI level. Kevin will bring many facets of ability to our program that will have significant value to our team's success. He has a good eye for talent on the field, he understands the game at a very high level and is an excellent teacher. He has an uncanny way to make players find the joy in the game. He has a great sense of humor and is down to earth. He knows what the commitment has to be to getting the best out of the players. I will be looking to Kevin to assist me in all components of the program and work closely with the training & development of players' growth."
Academically, Kennedy's student-athletes performed well in the classroom as evidenced by his teams earning five NSCAA Team Academic Awards for earning a team Grade Point Average above 3.0 for the year (2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015). In 2012, his team won the Georgia Southern Men's Team GPA award with a 3.42 team GPA and both his 2014 and 2015 teams won the Sun Belt Team Academic Awards with team GPAs over 3.0.
He had 30+ all-academic selections in his 10 years of coaching and while Georgia Southern was in the Southern Conference (SoCon), 30 Eagles earned SoCon Honor Roll plaudits, having earned at least a 3.0 GPA.
Kennedy earned his undergraduate degree in English in 1995 from Augusta College (now Augusta University) where he also played soccer. He then received his master's degree in Sport Management from Georgia Southern and then went back to Augusta to work as a men's soccer assistant coach during the 1999 season. He was a three-year team captain during his playing days for the Jaguars, twice was named to the Peach Belt Conference Presidential Honor Roll, and in 1995 received the Tommy Werrick Scholar-Athlete Award.
During his graduate work at Georgia Southern, he received a Teaching Excellence Award in 1999. A member of the GS club team, he was named to the All-Tournament Team at the National Club Championships.
A member of the NSCAA, he holds a United States Soccer Federation 'A' license and received from the NSCAA an Advanced National diploma and Director of Coaching diploma.
Hubbard has earned a Soccer Category 'E' Certification South Carolina Youth Soccer Association and the Soccer Category 'National D' Certification South Carolina Youth Soccer Association.
"Jeff returns to us after spending a spring season with the Trojan's soccer program," noted Carlson. "The team embraced his poise, charismatic and clear teaching style. He was also instrumental in improving the fitness base and showing the team that fitness can be enduringly tough but enjoyable at the same time. We are very excited to have him returning back to work with our team. He is a full-time PE teacher by trade and he is able to use that skill set to bring new and fresh ideas to the program."
Hubbard has previously been a head men's and women's high school varsity head coach at West Oak High School, as well as a club assistant and head coach with Clemson Soccer Alliance.
In 2013, Hubbard founded the Golden Corner Soccer Academy where he develops training curriculum and organizes camps.
Hubbard earned a bachelor of arts in physical education from Southern Wesleyan University in 2007.
