LAWRENCEVILLE — While he was being introduced to his new team, even before the official press conference, Chris Kouns had his name on the plaque outside his office.
Chris Kouns (left) was named head coach of the Georgia Gwinnett College women’s soccer team on Wednesday by Athletic Director Dr. Darin S. Wilson (right). (Special Photo)
#The Georgia Gwinnett College athletic department was definitely ready to announce its new women’s soccer coach.
#Kouns made his first official appearance with the media at the Grizzlies plush athletic complex Wednesday afternoon. Many of the school’s other head coaches were in attendance, including men’s coach Steve DeCou, as well as a few of Kouns’ new players.
#“We’ve been through an extensive national search,” athletic director Darin Wilson said. “We had, really, a quality field of applicants for this position. My feeling is that we have already assembled the best coaching staff in the country, bar none. So it was important for me, in our women’s soccer hire, that we did a great job with that as well.”
#GGC hired Kouns, an Atlanta native, with 22 years of coaching experience, including nine as a head coach.
#Kouns spent the last four seasons as the head coach at Division III Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and won three conference championships.
#In 2013, Capital University was a national semifinalist and Kouns was selected as the state’s coach of the year. He was also a finalist for the national coach of the year honors that season.
#“The (hiring) committee did extensive research on all of our applicants with phone interviews, as well as on-campus interviews,” Wilson said. “Today is the culmination of a lot of hard work over the last several weeks. It’s with great privilege and pleasure that I introduce Chis Kouns.
#“He’s been at virtually every level of college soccer, which is important to me. He’s been at the NAIA level and won. He’s been at the Division I level and won.”
#Kouns replaces Domenic Martelli, who guided the Grizzlies to a 34-17-4 record over the program’s first three seasons.
#“It was an opportunity to not only come home, but an opportunity be at a place where I really felt like my philosophy belonged and where I could really make an impact,” Kouns said. “This program is very young and it has a world of potential ahead of it. That’s something that’s extremely attractive — to help them get to the level that we’re already seeing with the (other) programs.”
#This is the first coaching change for the GGC athletic program and first on Kouns’ agenda is getting to know the team.
#“That team deserves the opportunity to expand and grow from where they’ve been,” he said. “At the same time, of course, we’re recruiting. You look at the needs of any program and we probably need to beef up a little bit in our goal scoring. But that’s also going to be a philosophy — and that’s going to be how we play.”
#Kouns admitted there’s always a certain amount of trepidation when a new coach is introduced to the players. His first chance to talk to the team came about an hour before the press conference.
#“I think, or I hope, the meeting went well,” Kouns said with a smile, looking at the players in attendance and getting nods of affirmation. “They’re worried about what the changes might bring.
#“But the message really was, ‘Here’s who I am. Here’s who this program is going to be. And I hope you will want to be a part of it and I hope you will see yourself within the core values of this program.’ Because if you do, we’re going to win.”
#Kouns, a graduate of Mars Hill, served as head coach for Division I Jacksonville University from 2004-08 and won the 2006 Atlantic Sun championship to advance to the NCAA tournament.
#He also has worked as an assistant at the University of Cincinnati, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgia State University and Samford University.
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