Troy, NY---The Sage Colleges’ rookie head women’s  soccer coach Caitlin Colfer earned her National “A” license from the U.S. Soccer Federation this past week.  The first full-time head coach of the Gators' women’s soccer program at Sage, Colfer garnered the highly coveted certification after completing the 80-hour certification and training course at the IMG Academy from January 5-13 in Bradenton, Florida.

"Obtaining the USSF "A" License has been a goal of mine from a young age,” said Caitlin Colfer. She added, “All of my playing experience, coaching courses and hard work over the years has allowed me to be prepared for the "A" License. I feel so honored and privileged to hold such a prestigious license and I look forward to sharing my knowledge of the game with our youth and college players."

The National "A" License course is designed to introduce concepts that are targeted toward coaching older players (college level and pro level players). The National "A" License focuses on recognizing the principles of the game and its technical applications in 11v11 game format and how these principles influence positional, group and team organization. The course also examines player, team and game management issues as they relate to the pro level player.

Colfer noted, "Coaching is my passion and being able to dedicate my life to learning the game, while also teaching it to our players is nothing short of amazing! I am very blessed that every day, I get to do what I love as my profession." 

In her first season at Sage, she guided the young Gators to their sixth consecutive appearance in the Skyline Conference Tournament, while also producing the 2012 Skyline Rookie of the Year as well as a pair of Skyline Conference All-Star Second Team honorees. She also placed five student-athletes on the 2012 Skyline Conference Scholar-Athlete Team for their outstanding efforts in the classroom.

Colfer, a two-time NSCAA/adidas All-American at nearby Colonie Central High School in 2003 and 2004, excelled collegiately as a Division I scholarship performer at The Ohio State University from 2005-2009. During her outstanding collegiate career, she tallied 11 career assists and ranked 13th all-time for career assists for the program when she graduated.  She earned four OSU Scholar-Athlete Awards, and in 2007 and 2008 she was an Academic All-Big Ten honoree, as well as a NSCAA/adidas Second Team All-Academic honoree in 2007.

Colfer earned her bachelor of science degree in human development and family science from The Ohio State University in 2009, and earned a master of education degree in athletic program leadership and administration from Goucher College in 2011. She was the recipient of the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) Bob McNulty Award of Excellence in 2010 awarded to the most outstanding coaching candidate at the USSF National “C” Licensing School and by January of 2012 had already completed her USSF National “B” License requirements.

She was a member of the Region I Olympic Development Program (ODP) from 2000-2005.  During this time, she represented the United States three times internationally in Ireland, Spain, and Portugal.   She continued her playing career with the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) and served as the team captain for the 2006 and 2007 Adirondack Lynx, which garnered the Northeastern Division Championship title in 2006.  In 2011, Colfer led the Baltimore, MD, ASA Chesapeake Charge to the Region I Championship.   She was a two-time bronze medalist in the Empire State Games as a member of both the Adirondack 2004 Scholastic Girls and 2008 Women’s Open soccer teams.