 |
| The first public look at the 'indoor' renovations of Spokane Falls CC Stadium | Photos: Gerald Barnhart |
The Englishman, who has been coaching in Spokane since 2007, takes over as the club’s second head coach going into the team’s fourth season after the departure of Jason Quintero, who took a director of coaching position with Moscow United.
 |
| Dan Philp |
The new coach comes inherits a team that narrowly won the regular season division title last summer.
"It's going to be hard following Jason," said Philp via the team announcement.
“The short-term goal for me is having a winning season and playing some good stuff in front of the home fans,” Philp told INWsoccernews. “The long-term goal is to build a program where every girl from Spokane is excited to come back every summer and play for the Shine. I also want to get the many talented high school players involved with the program early. We have so much talent here now and in the pipeline and will be great to showcase these players.
Among the high school players in camp with the team last year, serving as the third-string goalkeeper, was Taylor Lang, who plays youth soccer for Philp. The Central Washington University-bound netminder said she was “very excited for this year’s season” and that Philp “will be a good coach for the Spokane Shine team.”
“I expect the player pool to be mainly local with some select out of town players who will compete to start,” Philp said of what the composition of the 2013 squad might look like. “I am hoping to work with Gonzaga, Eastern Washington, Whitworth, Idaho and Washington State University to bring in the bulk of players. The rest, hopefully, will be Spokane kids returning for the summer as well as the up and coming younger players already here.
 |
| Brittney Conway |
“I am planning on playing with the Shine this season,” Conway said after hearing the news. “I thought Jason was a great coach. He helped me become a better player so it is sad to hear he won't be coming back. But I look forward to meeting the new coach and to have another successful season playing with the Shine.”
One of the fixtures on the highly successful back line a year ago was Cheney, Wash. native and University of Idaho defender Chelsie Breen, who is also hoping to come back if things work out.
“I have always intended on coming back again this summer,” Breen said. “With Jason as coach I was able to go to practice once a week and play in the games since I spend a majority of my summers in Moscow. He was very understanding and knew I was still doing the work to stay in shape and be prepared for our games even when I was not able to make practices.
 |
| Chelsie Breen |
Staying in Moscow for school, however, will likely keep Breen working alongside Quintero for the short-term as well she noted. “As far as Jason leaving, I will still be in contact with him now that he is in my neck of the woods in Moscow. I have coached with the Moscow United soccer club and will continue to help out. This is a new an exciting opportunity for Jason, and I am glad I can be a part of it.
With the first game set for June 1, Philp has two months to line up a team and prepare for his debut.
“I am finalizing preseason plans, but hope to play at least one game. I prefer more of an evaluation week than a tryout. Players will be more relaxed and have more time to prove themselves.”
Taking the reigns of the Shine will give Philp a second go at coaching at the national amateur league level after spending one season as the coach of the Spiders in the USL Premier Development League back in 2007 when he first moved to Spokane.
 |
| Jeff Hohenthal |
Philp will be joined by new assistant coach Chris Windham, who served as the assistant coach at Lewis & Clark High School, North Central High School and at River City SC. The staff is rounded out by Jeff Hohenthal of Excel Sports Performance. He returns to continue as the club’s head trainer.
“I am super excited to be working with Dan again as I did with Spokane Soccer Club (now Spokane Shadow),” said Hohenthal. “He is a great coach and I feel the ownership group made the perfect choice in a coach. I also take a lot of pride in my job as the strength coach. I am really happy with my role in making sure the players are fit and in the best shape for this level of play.”
The New Home
With the CC Spokane soccer team kicking off spring training Monday afternoon, INWsoccernews got an exclusive look at the finished renovations at Spokane Falls CC Stadium that will be the new training facility and match venue for the Shine, who previously played at Joe Albi Stadium.
The Shine will not be the first non-collegiate team to call the Falls home as the Spokane Shadow PDL team previously played at venue prior to their move to a then newly-renovated Albi in 1997.
The Spokane Falls stadium and field underwent significant renovation over the past year with an estimated $1.5 million being used on the soccer and track complex. The facility’s overhaul is part of a larger $40 million renovation for both Community Colleges of Spokane campuses approved by the state legislature in 2009.
Last fall the men’s and women’s soccer teams were the first to utilize the new-look facility that includes a flat 70x115 yard turf pitch that replaced a old crowned grass field. The grandstand, which was still being worked on at the time, features a facelift on the stairs and inside the press box.
The bigger changes, aside from the field, took place out of sight beneath the grandstand, where a largely wasted space previously was completed gutted, barring the weight bearing walls of course. In construction work that extended through much of the winter, the renovation work rebuilt the soccer office – home to CCS men’s soccer coach Kenny Krestian – as well as adding additional office spaces, a fully-functional classroom, revamped mini weight room, locker rooms, restrooms and more. Among the non-soccer items built into the facility is a golf room, which jokingly also serves as a ‘stress relief room’ that has a driving area and an uneven floor with golf holes for indoor putting practice.
The only thing really lacking from the renovation was the inclusion of improved seating for the venue, which remains all aluminum bleachers. That, combined with the more distant relation to the pitch due to the encompassing track, are two factors that will have to be overcome by the Shine, which did little in the way of presentation previously at Albi. A third, and perhaps most important, will be public perception of the venue in the general public, which is largely unaware of any of the changes that have been made, though several high school state tournament games were played before decent-sized crowds late last fall despite chilling winter conditions.
The Shine, however, are excited for the move.
“The move to SFCC brings so many positive attributes and a perfect opportunity for a community oriented partnership that’s both intimate and polished," said Davis.
The New-Look Spokane Falls CC Stadium Facility
#INWsoccernews
