Jeff Pill joined the Maranatha athletics department as college soccer coordinator in 2008. He currently serves as the men's soccer coach and oversees the women's soccer team as well. In his first year at Maranatha, Coach Pill led the men's team to its first NCCAA Midwest Regional Championship since 1990 and a fifth place finish in the national tournament.
Before coming to Maranatha, Coach Pill served as Women's National Staff Coach for U.S. Soccer and assistant coach for the U19 National Team with an international record of 11-0-1.
Since 1994, Pill has been part of the National Instructional Staff, including helping to train the 1996 U.S. Women's National Team Olympic team and coordinating the Under-14 Girls National Team program.
Jeff Pill's forty-year career in soccer also includes coaching college soccer at New Hampshire College and high school soccer at the Derryfield School in New Hampshire. For seven years in a row (1986-1992), the boys' team at Derryfield School won the state championship. Under Pill, Derryfield's record included a 69-game winning streak and 122 games without a shutout.
In addition to his USSF "A" License, a NSCAA Advanded National Diploma, and a National Youth License for coaching, Jeff Pill's awards include five New Hampshire Coach of the Year awards, Sportsman of the Year, New Hampshire Senior All-Star Coach, and the President's Award from the New Hampshire Soccer Association. Pill has served on the New Hampshire Senior All-Star Selection Committee, Vice President for the New Hampshire Coaches Association, a technial reporter for FIFA during the 1994 and 1999 World Cup games, and Director of Coaching for New Hampshire. During his seven years as Director, player registration increased from 5,000 to 30,000.
Jeff Pill's family includes his wife, Shari, and his three children, Sarah, Hannah, and Taylor.
What is your goal in working with the soccer team at Maranatha?
- To engage the players in a “process of excellence” in such a way as to inspire them to give themselves wholeheartedly to the task. (1 Cor. 10:31)
- To encourage and equip the players to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord and worthy of His calling in their lives. (Deut. 30:19-20)
- To model a life, before the players, that will stand as a testimony of God’s goodness, and to encourage the same of them. (John 13:15)
- To encourage and equip the players to use their God given talents to serve in a local church ministry. (Eph 4:12)
I told the interview board that if they were “looking to hire a guy that was just all about winning soccer games, they had the wrong guy. But if they were looking to hire a guy who would be thrilled to hear that one of the players was perhaps using what he or she had learned on the soccer field to impact others for the cause of Christ, then, they had the right guy for that!”
What do you consider to be your most important professional achievement?
This is a very difficult question as the Lord has given me so many great opportunities. If I may, here is a short list of “top memories”:
- Seeing many of the players I have worked with go on to coaching positions and seeing many of the coaches that have come through the coaching programs have an impact on the state, regional, and national levels.
- Having 11 players on the current National Team roster be players that I have had coached at the Youth National Team level.
- Coaching the first ever female games in two huge and famous stadiums: Maracana in Brazil and Jalisco stadium in Mexico.
- Working for FIFA during the 1994 Men’s and 1999 Women’s World Cups.
- Being asked to assist the Men’s National Team program as they prepared to play Mexico.
- Coaching the U19 Women’s National Team.
- Scoring the winning goal in the Dunbarton, NH 2v2 basement league championships against my son’s team!