April 1
Scott Baker named DC Soccer Coach
DEFIANCE, Ohio—Defiance College has named Scott Baker the new head coach of the men’s and women’s soccer programs.
Baker, who served as the head women’s soccer coach at Flagler College from 2003 to 2004, spent the previous two years as the head men’s coach at Brookdale Community College. He brings the experience of building both previous programs to Top-25 national rankings after winning an NCAA National Championship as a student-athlete at Rowan University.
“Obviously we are very excited to get someone with the quality soccer credentials that Scott Baker has obtained,” said DC Athletic Director Dr. Dick Kaiser. “His collegiate coaching background and overall expertise were just the attributes we were seeking in a new coach.”
At Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, Baker led the Saints to the Regional Finals and the best record in the program’s history with a 12-5-3 mark in 2003. The Flagler women were ranked as high as first in the nation in the NAIA Coaches’ Poll.
As the men’s head soccer coach at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, New Jersey, Baker took the Blues’ program to the National Junior College Athletic Association Championship game in 2002 while winning the Garden State Athletic Conference Championship and being ranked in the national Top-5 in the NSCAA Coaches’ Poll.
As a student-athlete at Rowan, he was a member of the Profs squad that won the 1990 NCAA Division III National Championship, while garnering All-Conference, All-State, All-Region, and All-District honors as a midfielder. Baker set the midfield scoring record while also setting school marks for games played, and games started.
Kaiser continued, “Scott Baker has won a national championship as a player in college, coached college teams that played for a national championship or were in the NCAA play-offs and trains athletes on a daily basis that are some of the most highly recruited individuals in the country.”
“I believe he understands what it takes to be successful,” stated the Defiance A.D.
Baker was drafted to play professionally with the Eastern Indoor Soccer League following his playing career at Rowan.
“Coach Baker has extensive experience coaching both men and women at a variety of levels,” Kaiser added. “This type of vast experience should prove to be very beneficial in taking over the soccer coordinator's position for both the men's and women's program.”
The new DC coach earned his Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education from Rowan in 1993 before completing his Master of Arts in Educaiton from Phoenix University in 2004. He is a nationally certified soccer instructor with a NSCAA Naional Diploma, the National Youth Diploma and Online Certification, and also has a USSF (United States Soccer Federation) License.
The decision process for hiring Baker did not rest solely on Kaiser. “The soccer players for both the men's and women's team were heavily involved in the search process.” “The selection of Coach Baker by both the player representatives and the administration puts a heavy "stamp of approval" on his credentials and our hopes for the future for both programs,” said Kaiser.
Dr. Kaiser finished, “Coach Baker inherits both a quality men's and women's soccer program.” “Both teams have advanced to the play-offs during the past several years and there is no reason to believe both teams won't be fighting for the HCAC crown again in Fall, 2005.”
