NIU men’s soccer head coach Eric Luzzi announced the hiring Jesse Miech as an assistant coach for the Huskie soccer program on June 24, 2016. Miech comes to NIU following five seasons as head coach at Illinois Springfield.
“When I knew that we would be looking for a new assistant coach, I had a very specific profile of the kind of experience I wanted this person to have,” said Luzzi. “I wanted to make sure that we brought someone in that had either had very good experience as an assistant at a good Division I program, or someone that had the experience of being a head coach at the Division II or Division III level. In Jesse Miech, we are fortunate to have someone that ticks both of these boxes.
“His experience as both a head coach at the Division II level and an assistant coach at four very good Division I programs really helped to separate him from the rest of our candidate pool and makes him an ideal fit for this position within our coaching staff.
“Ultimately, I wanted someone that I felt would be able to add a different perspective, through being a part of other successful programs and someone that can challenge how we do things in our program. Jesse will be a great compliment to our current coaching staff and I am really looking forward to working with him to continue to move our program forward, give our student-athletes a great experience and ultimately challenge for trophies.”
During his time at UIS, Miech improved the Prairie Stars soccer program both on and off the field. In 2013, UIS recorded eight victories, its highest total in six seasons and its best season as a NCAA Division II institution.
Off the field, the Prairie Stars received a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award in 2015 and also earned the UIS Community Outreach Award after completing 720 volunteer hours across 13 different organizations.
Prior to his time at UIS, Miech was an assistant coach at Saint Louis University, where he helped the Billikens to a 9-7-3 mark in 2010 under first-year head coach Mike McGinty. Miech also worked for the Saint Louis Scott Gallagher club program, working as the Under-15 Pre-Academy head coach from 2012-13, as an assistant coach with the U16 and U18 Academy teams from 2010-12 and as Director of Goalkeeping from 2010-11.
Miech was an assistant coach at Missouri State for two seasons, beginning in 2006, during which time he worked with goalkeepers and was Missouri State’s lead recruiter.
Following his time at Missouri State, Miech moved on to Clemson University, where he served as an assistant during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Along with his coaching duties at Clemson, Miech also worked as Director of Coaching at the Clemson Anderson Soccer Alliance Club.
Miech also spent time coaching with the Springfield (Mo.) Soccer Club and the Wisconsin-Stevens Point women’s soccer program, he began his coaching career as the goalkeepers coach with the Morningside College women’s team.
As a player, Miech was a part of Creighton’s national runner-up team in 2000 before moving on to Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, where he was a NAIA All-American. Miech earned his bachelor’s degree from Morningside in 2005 and his master’s from Missouri State in 2007. Miech holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) “A” License as well as a USSF National Goalkeeping Diploma.
