Tim Vom Steeg

Timothy Harold "Tim" Vom Steeg is an American collegiate soccer head coach who is currently with the University of California, Santa Barbara men's soccer team. He has been with the Gauchos since 1999 and is the most successful coach in the history of UC Santa Barbara. He won the 2006 Division I Men's College Cup and was runner-up in the 2004 Division I Men's College Cup, as well as being named the 2004 and 2006 NSCAA Coach of the Year.

Personal life

Vom Steeg resides in Santa Barbara, California and is married to Almeria Vom Steeg. They have four sons together (Justin, Carson, and twins Caden and Jared). He graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1989 with a B.A. in history. In 2000, he received a master's degree from UC Santa Barbara.

Playing career

Vom Steeg played for UC Santa Barbara from 1985 to 1988 under coach Andy Kuenzli. He did not seek to go professional. Instead, he took his knowledge of the game and parlayed it into a coaching job.

Coaching career

Santa Barbara City College

Vom Steeg's first head coaching job came in 1992 when he was named head coach of Santa Barbara City College. With the Vaqueros, Vom Steeg won five Western State Conference as well as the 1996 California Community College State Championship. Vom Steeg also led SBCC to four State Final Fours. The team went 121-18-4 (.846) overall under Vom Steeg's reign, which ended in 1998.

Personally, Vom Steeg was the WSC Coach of the Year five times out of seven years. He was also named the State Coach of the Year in 1996 as well as the NSCAA Far West Region Coach of the Year in 1997.

UC Santa Barbara

Vom Steeg was hired as the head coach of UC Santa Barbara, his alma mater, in 1999. He took the program over from Mark Arya, who from 1992 through 1998 amassed a 40-84-6 (.331) record. Vom Steeg delivered immediate results, improving upon a 2-17-1 (0-8-1 conference) record under Arya's last year in 1998 to finish the 1999 season with a 13-7-0 (4-3-0 conference) record. The feat saw Vom Steeg named an MPSF Pacific Division Co-Coach of the Year.

The following seasons saw the Gauchos steadily improve, culminating in the school's first Big West Conference Championship in 2001, Vom Steeg's third year in charge. Not satisfied with the accomplishments of the team, Vom Steeg improved the 7-2-1 conference record from 2001 and turned it into a 9-0-1 conference record in 2002, giving UC Santa Barbara its second Big West title in a row. 2002 also saw the Gauchos reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, reaching the 2nd round. In 2003, Vom Steeg and UCSB lost the Big West title to rivals Cal State Northridge, but advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament.

In 2004, Tim Vom Steeg and UC Santa Barbara were firmly put on the map as a bona fide college soccer powerhouse. The Gauchos compiled an 8-2-0 conference record to recapture the Big West title from Northridge. Vom Steeg led the Gauchos into the 2004 Division I Men's College Cup, reaching the finals against Indiana University in Carson, California before falling on penalties. The showing led to Vom Steeg being named the 2004 NSCAA Coach of the Year.

Vom Steeg became the winningest coach in UCSB soccer history in 2005. He passed his former collegiate coach Andy Kuenzli (1981–89) with his 96th win when the Gauchos defeated UC Davis in double overtime October 26. He went on to become the first coach in program history to reach the 100-win plateau after he led that squad to a 2-0 victory over San Diego State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The crowning achievement of Vom Steeg's career came in 2006. UC Santa Barbara again won the Big West title and made the 2006 Division I Men's College Cup, however this time they were unseeded. After defeating San Diego State and #3 seed SMU among others, the Gauchos made it to the College Cup in St. Louis, Missouri to contend for the National Championship. UCSB defeated #2 seed Wake Forest in penalties, advancing to the championship match against #8 seed and Southern California rival UCLA. UC Santa Barbara won the title by a 2-1 scoreline, giving the Gauchos their first ever NCAA Championship in soccer and only 2nd NCAA title overall (1979 Men's Water Polo). Vom Steeg was once again named NSCAA Coach of the Year.

UC Santa Barbara had only one All-American player, Dave Hollingsworth in 1970, before Tim Vom Steeg took over the program. Since his tenure began, that number has jumped into double digits. Rob Friend, Memo Arzate, Alan Keely, Drew McAthy, Tony Lochhead, Dan Kennedy, Tyler Rosenlund, Andy Iro, Eric Avila, and Ciaran O'Brien have all won All-America accolades while at UCSB under Vom Steeg.

Honours

As Head Coach

Santa Barbara City College

Winner

• Western State Conference Championship (5)
• California Community College State Championship (1)
• Western State Conference Coach of the Year (5)
• California State Coach of the Year (1): 1996
• NSCAA Far West Region Coach of the Year (1): 1997

UC Santa Barbara

Winner

• NCAA Men's Soccer Championship (1): 2006
• Big West Conference Championship (5): 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010

Runner-up

• NCAA Men's Soccer Championship (1): 2004
• Big West Conference Championship (2): 2003, 2005, 2011

Personal awards

• NSCAA Coach of the Year (2): 2004, 2006
• Big West Conference Coach of the Year (4): 2004, 2005, 2010, 2013
• Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Co-Coach of the Year (1): 1999

Statistics

As a manager

As Of 12/4/2009

References

External links

• UC Santa Barbara coaching profile