Valparaiso men's soccer head coach Mike Avery announced today that Kelly Altman has joined the Crusader coaching staff as the program's lead assistant coach.  In addition, Brendan Roth, who spent the 2012 season as a volunteer assistant, has been promoted to the program's second assistant position.

Altman comes to Valpo after serving as an assistant coach at High Point in 2012, helping the Panthers to 12 victories and the program's first-ever national ranking.  Prior to his time at High Point, Altman spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Division III Trinity University, helping to lead the Tigers to a winning percentage of nearly .900 over his five seasons on the bench.  In his time as an assistant at Trinity, the Tigers made the NCAA Division III Tournament all five years and were national runners-up in 2007.

During his time coaching at Trinity, Altman was also head coach at Central Catholic H.S. in San Antonio, Texas, where he led the Buttons to three district championships and a pair of TAPPS state championships.  In 2008, he was named the TAPPS 5A State Coach of the Year across all sports.  

Altman played as a defender for Trinity from 2001 to 2004 and was integral in the Tigers’ NCAA national championship season of 2003. A team captain in 2004, Coach Altman contributed to the success of a squad which amassed an overall record of 79-5-2 and set an All-Divisions record with 43 consecutive wins.

"I am very confident that Kelly will be a tremendous addition to the program," said Avery.  "Trinity is consistently one of the very top college soccer teams in the country at any level, and his experience there, plus his time at High Point, will serve us well.  Kelly is a good person, one that embraces our TS11 philosophy, and is a very sharp and intelligent soccer mind. I am thrilled that he is on board as my right hand man."

Roth enters his second season as a member of the Crusader coaching staff and earns the promotion to the second assistant position after serving as a volunteer assistant in 2012.  In his role, Roth will also be head coach of Valpo's reserve squad.  Roth joined the Valpo coaching staff after a successful four-year playing career with the Crusaders, appearing in 66 contests and serving as a vital cog in the midfield for Valpo's 2011 Horizon League regular season championship side.

“I'm excited to have Brendan on staff for another year,” said Avery.  “He was one of my first recruits when I started at Valpo and had a great playing career. It's been fun to watch him develop since the end of his playing career as a coach, and he's become a very talented coach who our players will learn an awful lot from.”