Derek Leader - Women's Soccer Coach - Grand Canyon University Athletics

Derek Leader

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
derek.leader@gcu.edu
Phone:
602-639-6883
Alma Mater:
Akron (1995)
Year at GCU:
Fourth Season
Career Record:
46-72-17

Year	School	Record
2012	Georgia State	4-11-2
2013	Georgia State	6-10-1
2014	Georgia State	6-10-4
2015	Georgia State	11-6-4
2016	GCU	7-9-2
2017	GCU	6-13-2
2018	GCU	6-13-2
(7 seasons)		46-72-17

Derek Leader enters his fourth year with Grand Canyon in 2019 after being named the fourth head coach in GCU women's soccer program history on Feb. 10, 2016.

Leader led the Lopes to a 6-13-2 record in 2018, depsite injury plaguing the Lopes at all positions. Senior midfielder McKenzie Cook earned All-WAC first team honors for the second-consecutive year. She was a four-time All-WAC honoree for GCU.

In 2017, Leader and the Lopes also finished 6-13-2 in their first season of full Division I eligibility. GCU earned the No. 6 seed in the WAC Tournament and defeated No. 3 UT Rio Grande Valley for a spot in the tournament semifinals. The Lopes then fell to No. 2 Utah Valley to end the season. The Lopes pair of Cook and Blakely Fraasch were part of the All-WAC first team.

In his first year, Leader led the 2016 Lopes to a 7-9-2 record and finished third in the WAC with a 3-2-2 record. His team posted six shutouts on the season and outshot opponents 248-168. The Lopes ranked second in attendance in the WAC that season. His inaugural recruiting class featured 10 student-athletes, five of which were out-of-state and two were international.

Leader brought more than 20 years of coaching experience to the Lopes, including four years as an NCAA Division I head coach and 12 years with the IMG Soccer Academy.

Leader joined the Lopes from Georgia State, where he spent three seasons. Under his direction, Leader improved the Panthers’ RPI from No. 235 in 2013 to No. 95 in 2015. The Panthers were ranked in the top 10 in the Southern Region, one of only two non-SEC teams on the list. Leader also coached the first two NSCAA All-South Region players in program history. In just their second year in the Sun Belt Conference, the Panthers finished as runner-up to 22nd-ranked South Alabama in the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Championship.

As assistant director at the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Leader made his mark in the soccer community while also serving as women’s soccer head coach from 1996 to 2008. He was inducted into the IMG Soccer Academy Hall of Fame in 2010.

Leader coached the 2005 MLS Rookie of the Year, Michael Parkhurst, and the 2013 NWSL Rookie of the Year, Erika Tymrak, among many other future professional soccer players, during his time with IMG. During his tenure in Bradenton, he also coached local semi-pro teams, serving as an assistant coach for the Bradenton Academics PDL men's team from 2001 to 2004 and as head coach for the Bradenton Athletics W-League women's team from 2004 to 2008.

Prior to taking the head coach position at Georgia State, Leader was the associate head coach at SMU for four years. Leader assisted the Mustangs to four consecutive Conference USA Tournament appearances, including two double-digit win totals in his last two seasons there.

Leader is a graduate of Akron in 1995 and is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and the United States Soccer Coaches Organization. He also holds several coaching licenses that include a United States Soccer Federation National "A" License, an NSCAA Premier License and an International Coaching Diploma from the Victoria Coaching Institute in British Columbia, Canada.

Leader is a native of Stow, Ohio, and his wife, Kim, hails from Millen, Ga. The couple has a daughter, Jacqueline.

DEREK LEADER: WHAT’S BEING SAID
Robbie Church, Duke women’s soccer head coach
"I think this is a home run hire for Grand Canyon with Derek Leader. Derek is one of the best soccer minds in the college game and he did a phenomenal job of building the Georgia State program up. Not only is he very, very good on the field, but he genuinely cares for his student-athletes. He makes sure they do the right thing in the classroom and that they do the right thing in the community. I think everyone at Grand Canyon will really enjoy Derek and I think he will become part of the community as the program continues to grow under his leadership."

Schellas Hyndman, GCU men’s soccer head coach
“We are going to be very pleased having Derek Leader as our women’s soccer coach. I have known him through reputation and people that I respect greatly in the game think a lot of him because he is extremely hard-working and he is a grinder. He has a can-do mentality and is very knowledgeable about soccer and is very committed to his team and university. He has been very involved with the IMG Academy in Florida, so he has been around some great coaches from national teams and that have given him the foundation to be a great soccer coach. He will be a great hire for us here at GCU.”

Tom Durkin, former IMG Academy director of coaching and player development
“I am really pleased that GCU decided to hire Derek as head coach because he has worked at almost every level of U.S. Soccer on the women’s side. He has certainly put in his time in the trenches and I think this is his time. Derek is going to do a wonderful job with the opportunity presented at Grand Canyon.”