Jef is coach of the year

(Published Evening News & Tribune, February 12, 2008)

Southern Indiana United coach Jef Fifer has won an Indiana Youth Soccer annual award for "making soccer fun."

In the spirit of recreational soccer, which encourages participation ahead of winning, he shared the prize with Jeff Thomas of Cutters Soccer Club in Bloomington.

Fifer has been involved in recreational youth soccer with SIU since the fall of 2001. In spring 2002, he became an assistant coach for a U8 coed recreational team and moved on to coach U10 and U8 girls' teams for two of his daughters in fall 2002. He later coached his youngest daughter’s team from her U5 to current U8 years.

Jef has also served as the SIU recreational registrar for the past two years and is involved with promoting SIU soccer and recruiting recreational coaches for Southern Indiana United teams.

SIU said his organizational and communication skills make him a vital asset to his club both on and off the field, but his players believe the key to his coaching is simple. “ He just makes soccer fun," they say.

Randy Trebing of Clark County Soccer Association was also a finalist in the same category. He began coaching soccer with CCSA in 1993 and has coached all age groups - both coed and girls’ teams - and is known for always going the extra mile for soccer.

He can be found mowing, picking up trash, refereeing, or taking kids to higher level soccer games. Although he did not grow up playing soccer, Randy has learned to love the game and appreciate its benefits for the youth in the community. He has also served on the CCSA board of directors, including three years as president.