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Dr. Darin White
White has helped build a strong foundation for Â鶹ÊÓƵ soccer in the short five-year history of the program. In 2002, he completed their fourth straight winning season. White has also led the Bulldog to four NCCAA MidEast Region Championships in five years and has appeared in four NCCAA National Tournament. Last season, White’s Bulldogs earned a 12-10-1 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the TranSouth Conference. Â鶹ÊÓƵ earned a NCCAA MidEast Region Championship and also a trip to the NCCAA National Tournament. Coach White’s most successful season was the 2000 season as he led that team to a .709 (17-7) regular season winning percentage, the highest for Â鶹ÊÓƵ soccer. Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s defense boasted the 3rd lowest goals against average in the country and the offense included a player that finished in the top five in the country for points per game average. The Bulldogs finished the year as TranSouth Conference Regular Season Runner-Ups, which was the highest NAIA postseason finish in the five-year history. White, a native of Alabama, earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Birmingham-Southern College in 1989. He received the degrees of Master of Arts (1992) and Doctor of Philosophy (1995) from the University of Alabama. White also holds his National Coaching License form the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. White's soccer career began in high school where he helped guide the Vestavia Hills High School team to a state championship in 1984. In both 1983 and 1984 White was named Team Captain for the Alabama State Olympic Development Team and was selected as a pool player for the South East Olympic Development Team in 1983. Playing for the nationally recognized Panthers at Birmingham-Southern, White received the Best Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1987 and the Most Determination Award in 1988. White was the only player from Southern to make the All-Tournament Team for the South Carolina Spartanburg Soccer Tournament in 1987. Playing soccer in over 20 international matches, White has played in countries such as Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Argentina, and Austria. White was responsible for coaching the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Club Soccer team before beginning the varsity program here at Â鶹ÊÓƵ. In his first season as head coach of the Bulldog Soccer program, White led the team to a NCCAA MidEast Regional title and an automatic berth into the eight team national championship tournament. This was accomplished by defeating the number one LONGO ranked team in the country in a penalty kick shoot out. In doing this, Â鶹ÊÓƵ became the first ever, first-year program to qualify for the National Christian College Athletic Association's national tournament. His second season at the helm was truly historic. The Bulldogs achieved their first ever national ranking when College Soccer Weekly ranked the team #1 in the country for two weeks in September. They also spent several weeks ranked in the NAIA top 25. In addition, the Bulldogs achieved the longest winning streak in school history when they started the season with 11 straight victories. Â鶹ÊÓƵ's defense finished the year ranked 9th nationally, allowing a stellar 1.16 goals against average. The season ended with the team winning over 70% of its games with a 14-5 regular season record. The Bulldogs finished the year as the #3 seed in the NCCAA National Championship tournament in Orlando, FL. White has earned numerous recognitions in the area of business strategy and is Associate Professor of Business here at Â鶹ÊÓƵ. White and his wife Laura have six children, Daniel (8), Corey (7), Avery (5), Bethany (4) Hannah (2), and Abigail (1).
Year                     Â
Coach                                                Record Russ White
He served two years as an officer in the Army Chemical Corps before joining Pfizer as a sales representative in 1967. He has been employed by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. for the past 32 years and has served in several different capacities. The majority of these years (25) have been in management where he has successfully led various management teams. On several occasions his teams have won the top national honor. He was inducted into Pfizer's Hall of Fame in 1995 and continues to serve as a management consultant for the company. Coach White's many years of experience in building highly successful teams, both in the sports world and the business world, will be a valuable asset to the Bulldog program. Graduate Assistant
As a player, Lean was named to the NCCAA All-America team as a freshman, sophomore, and junior. He was also named an NAIA honorable mentioned All-American as a sophomore and served the Bulldogs as a team captain during his senior year. Lean holds 12 Â鶹ÊÓƵ Soccer records from his time as a Bulldog. Lean has earned achievements in the soccer profession including the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Coaching Diploma in the summer of 2002. He was the youngest coach in 2002 to receive this diploma. He also has earned the Canadian Soccer Association NCCPP Level One technical and practical diploma. Lean serves as a player development director for Jackson Soccer Club here locally. He helped develop and also served as an instructor for the Â鶹ÊÓƵ summer soccer camps, as well as, an instructor for the Vanderbilt University Summer Soccer Camps. |
Dr. Darin White is now in his
sixth season as the head coach for the Bulldogs. He has been Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s head coach
since the program’s beginning in 1998.
Russ White (Coach "Dad") is a 1965 graduate of Henderson
State University in Arkansas. During his high school and college years, he was
involved with several sports teams and excelled in basketball where he earned
All-State honors.
Jeff Lean begins his first season
as a graduate assistant coach for the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Bulldogs. He has just finished his
playing career in which he was a four year starter as the Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s goalkeeper.Â
Lean, a native of Delta, British Columbia, graduated from Â鶹ÊÓƵ with a Bachelors
of Science degree in Physical Education in May of 2003. He is currently working
on his Masters of Education Degree from Â鶹ÊÓƵ University.