PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College director of soccer and head men’s soccer coach Andrew Chapman is stepping away from coaching for a year.
After leading the Pirates to back-to-back Northwest Athletic Conference championships, Chapman, who started his career at Peninsula in 2003, is taking a year off to pursue a professional development opportunity at Custom College Recruiting in Elizabethtown, Ky.
Peninsula has appointed Kanyon Anderson to serve as head coach for both the men’s and women’s teams this fall, said director of athletics Rick Ross.
Anderson started his career as an assistant men’s coach in 2005 and was named women’s head coach in 2010.
“Andrew has been such a big part of our soccer program’s success, I can’t imagine looking across the pitch and not seeing him,” Ross said.
“This is a great opportunity for his professional development. We wish him well.”
Chapman amassed a record of 137 wins, 66 losses and 33 ties in his 11 years of coaching at Peninsula. He is 61-2-4 in his last three years.
The school’s soccer trophy case includes six West Division championships and three NWAC (formerly NWAACC) titles.
“He is an outstanding coach and an outstanding recruiter, so it makes perfect sense to me that a recruiting agency might be knocking on his door,” Ross said.
“Thankfully, we’re blessed to have two outstanding head coaches and some pretty outstanding assistants, so our players are in good hands.”
Anderson, a long-time friend of Chapman, joined the Pirates as a men’s assistant coach in 2005, which was the first year Peninsula made the playoffs, placing second in the West Division with an 11-8-4 record.
The two Eastern Washington University graduates quietly built a powerhouse program that led to an NWAC championship in 2010.
Anderson, was then awarded the women’s head coaching position, but the two great soccer minds continued to collaborate, resulting in five NWAC titles in the last four years.
Tim Tucker joined the ranks as a men’s assistant in 2008 and also has contributed greatly to the team’s success. He was named as Regional Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in 2013.
“I know our players are going to be disappointed that Andrew is stepping out for a year, but we are confident that they won’t miss a beat with Kanyon and Tim stepping up, as well as the possibility of [assistant] Omar Anderson returning in a bigger role,” Ross said.
Kanyon Anderson said he is looking forward to maintaining the Pirates’ run of success.
“I will miss coaching with Andrew but mostly I am happy for him,” Anderson said.
“He has done incredible things with the program and now he has a chance to try something new. It sounds like it will be good for him and his family.”
Ross said it is too early to know if Chapman will return to coach at Peninsula College next year.
“We won’t know until later in the year, but Andrew expressed an interest in leaving that door open,” Ross told the Peninsula Daily News on Monday.
Anderson has been on the phone with Chapman’s incoming freshmen to roll out the plan for 2014.
“Andrew has a wonderful group of returners and incoming recruits,” Anderson said.
“Both teams have set high goals for next year. There is no reason we shouldn’t be able to continue to move the program in the right direction.”
While Anderson will be guiding the men’s team, he won’t be diverting attention away from the women’s program, Ross said.
“The recruiting is done and it’s now just a matter of managing a coaching staff, practice sessions and games,” Ross said.
“We’re very confident we’ve put Kanyon in a position to be successful with both programs.”
Anderson agreed to help with the men’s program with the understanding that he wouldn’t take any time away from his women’s team, which is rewriting record books with back-to-back NWAC championships and playoff appearances in every year since the program started in 2010.
“The college has been very flexible with my teaching schedule so that I will have time to give both the women’s and men’s programs the attention they deserve,” Anderson said.
And at the Anderson household, coaching is a family affair.
Anderson’s wife, Amanda, who played Division I soccer, brings expertise and outstanding coaching ability to the program as a volunteer assistant. It’s also common to find the Anderson children on the pitch.
Chapman begins his new job in August. He sent a message to his players late last week.
“Even though I will not physically be here, I will be watching and helping as always,” Chapman said.
“Peninsula College has asked Kanyon Anderson, our women’s coach and longtime assistant men’s coach, to fill the role as head men’s coach.
“For those of you who have had the chance to interact with Coach Anderson, you know he is a stand-up guy who works hard and will help you any way he can.
“He is a great coach who will push you and continue the success we have created here at PC.”
The Pirate men and women open their 2014 season at the NWAC Friendlies at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila Aug. 26-27.
