Sage names Keith Simons Head Men's Soccer Coach
Albany, NY –The Sage Colleges' has named Keith Simons (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) as the head men's soccer coach. Simons, replaces Kyle Clancy, who resigned last month after being named the head men's soccer coach at SUNY-New Paltz. Simons comes to Sage after serving the past three seasons as an assistant coach at Skidmore College.
Keith Simons said of his selection, "I'm very excited to become the new head coach for the Sage Colleges' men's soccer program." Simons noted, "The program has shown outstanding growth and success and I am looking forward to continuing that trend. I would like to thank Athletic Director Dani Drews and the search committee for giving me this incredible opportunity and believing in a young coach."
Director of Athletics, Dani Drews noted, "We are so fortunate to be able to bring such a fantastic young coach to Sage." She continued, "Keith has great Division III experience as a former student-athlete and as an assistant coach with two very successful programs. We are confident that he is ready to become a head coach and lead our program to even greater heights."
In addition to his role as assistant soccer coach at Skidmore, Simons also served as a physical education instructor and equipment assistant manager.
In his three years with the program, the Thoroughbreds have amassed a 32-18-6 record, reaching the Liberty League conference championship in 2013 and again this past season after an 11-6-1 campaign. During his tenure at Skidmore, the squad was twice recognized with NSCAA Team Academic Awards, while the 2015 team was ranked No. 22 in Division III, and held a No. 3 regional ranking as well.
A former Saratoga Springs High School standout, Simons assisted Skidmore head coach Jeremiah Kneeland at Elmira College for two seasons, helping guide the Soaring Eagles to the 2012 ECAC Upstate finals and the 2011 Empire 8 Conference finals. He was also the head junior varsity coach at Elmira.
Prior to his stint with Elmira, Simons was a volunteer men's assistant coach at Sage during the spring of 2010. He spent a year as an assistant coach at Saratoga High School. In addition, he has coached with the ENYYSA Olympic Development Program and NY Elite FC.
Simons is a 2010 graduate of Manhattanville College, where he was a co-captain his senior year and received the college's Male Scholar Athlete of the Year award. He was a three-time Middle Athletic Conference All-Academic selection and was honorable mention NSCAA Scholar All-East Region in 2009. Simons also earned a Masters' degree from Elmira College in general management in 2013.
Simons currently holds an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma, NSCAA Goalkeeping Level III Diploma and USSF National D License. He has served as the Head Boys U-12 Coach at First Touch Futbol Academy, and is the current head coach of the Blackwatch Premier Soccer Club, a Boys U18 Soccer program. The team was ranked in the Top 50 regionally and Top 150 nationally as of January 18.
Simons replaces Clancy, who led the program for six seasons and produced a career record of 65-39-11 during his tenure as the first coach for the Gator men's soccer program. Simons inherits a squad that went 13-4-3 this past fall while they established a school record for most shutouts in a season with 13 after winning the Skyline Conference Championship and collecting an NCAA Tournament bid, the first for the young program.
