Leader in his field
Listing off the accomplishments of Community College of Spokane’s men’s soccer coach Cor van der Meer becomes tiresome after a while.
The coach, who is retiring after 20 years at the helm of the Sasquatch men’s team, has led CCS to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community College playoffs 16 times. He won titles in the NWAACC’s Northwest Division five times, and captured the NWAACC title twice.
Van der Meer was named Coach of the Year in 1989, ‘92 and ‘96. In 1999, he became a charter member of the Washington State Youth Soccer Association Hall of Fame.
That’s not taking into consideration van der Meer’s 11 years in charge of the CCS women’s team.
But his success on the field – van der Meer leaves CCS with a combined record of 343-148-65 – pales in comparison to the success he had off it as an advocate and promoter of soccer in the Spokane area.
After moving to Spokane in 1982, van der Meer immediately joined the Spokane Valley Junior Soccer Association, coaching a U-16 boys team. He then became the first coach at East Valley High School, playing a key role in getting soccer recognized as a varsity sport.
Van der Meer, who turns 70 next month, took over the men’s team at CCS in 1985, its first year as a varsity sport, and turned it into an extremely successful program. What’s his secret?
“First of all, it’s recruiting,” said van der Meer. “You need good players to have a successful program. There was also the tremendous support from the athletic department, financially and so on. Other than that, I feel it’s good communication with the people around you, especially with the students and the community.”
Community ties are especially crucial at a two-year college, where the turnover rate is so extreme.
“Each year is a new challenge,” said van der Meer, whose 2004 team at CCS had 13 players from the Greater Spokane League and north Idaho. “Each team is new; we’re lucky if we get half the team back from the previous year.”
Van der Meer’s passion and advocacy had a positive effect on those he worked with and on the Spokane soccer community.
“He had success primarily with Spokane-area players,” said Stuart Saunders, head coach of the Spokane Shadow and a player under van der Meer during his first season at CCS. “He was committed to the local youth scene, getting local kids playing as much as possible. There has been a lot of success from that and a lot of that has to do with Cor.”
Van der Meer’s biggest success might have been as chair of the host organizing committee for the 2004 Far West Regional Tournament, held in Spokane last summer.
Featuring more than 240 teams from 14 western states (California is split into north and south), the tournament was the regional championship for U-12 through U-19 boys and girls.
“Cor’s impact has been tremendous,” said Gonzaga coach Einar Thorarinsson. “He crowned it last summer with the Far West, running that. People thought it couldn’t be done, but he pulled it off. … It was one of the best-run tournaments I’ve been to.”