Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus San Diego State on September 25, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 2
W Soccer
vs San Diego State
L 1-2
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Players Mentioned
D
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's SoccerCoro: Cissell shares soccer spirit
5/6/2020 11:20:00 AM | Women's Soccer, Paul Coro
Born with 1 hand, GCU coach's lifelong love of sport shows
Chris Cissell truly was born to play soccer when he entered the world without a left forearm or left hand.
But he was destined to coach soccer.
The first-year Grand Canyon women's soccer head coach played all sports growing up, but his love affair with soccer started at age 5 and only grew stronger as the physical fit matched his fiery fervor for it.
Playing youth soccer in St. Louis for National Soccer Hall of Fame members Pat McBride and Al Trost, Cissell longed for validation as a great player but kept hearing what a great coach he would make someday.
Cissell became a collegiate standout player and captain for William Jewell in Kansas City and a semipro player for Grantham Football Club in England but his leadership repute as the 2017 and 2018 WAC Coach of the Year is what brought him to GCU.
Infectious with his presence and conscientious with his coaching, Cissell already is transforming the Lopes before their first game with him comes this fall. Since he joined GCU in December, Cissell connected with players with witty, wise ways.
"I won't get into my shark bite accident now," Cissell deadpanned at his first winter meeting with Lopes players.
"I think the whole team was like, 'Oh, God, do we laugh?' " said Hannah Edwards, who will be a GCU senior next season.
The answer was a resounding yes because Cissell said he probably tells more one-arm jokes than anyone in the world. He draws faces where his left arm ends below his elbow and tells players that Nike is marketing a hot new item, the "Cissell shirt" with one long sleeve and one short sleeve.
It is far removed from a childhood of being teased by classmates about it, especially as he wore a prosthetic until college. He was mocked, called "Captain Hook" and stared at constantly. The latter has never stopped for 48 years.
Cissell managed and thrived because his parents, MIke and Sherry, gave him no special treatment. He was the oldest of three siblings who relished being the one-armed kid beating friends at basketball.
"My parents made me do everything and learn everything on my own, which is exactly what I wanted," Cissell said, "They gave me a good sense of humor about it and helped me to not be self-conscious."
His arm became a coaching tool over 21 years as a collegiate head coach, helping him relate to adversities that his players face.
After his Grantham playing popularity as "The One-Armed Yank," Cissell entered the coaching realm as predicted. He was the William Jewell women's head coach from 1999 to 2011 and also ran the men's program there for his final nine years. Cissell is the only coach to guide men's and women's teams to the NAIA Final Four and was named the 2006 NAIA Men's Soccer Coach of the Year.
In 2011, he moved crosstown to Kansas City to take on a Division I challenge and built the women's program to the point that the Roos went 41-16-5 over the past three years. He is 384-169-44 as a head coach.
"I'm almost jealous of the younger girls," said Camryn Larson, who also will be a GCU senior in the fall. "I wish I had three more years to play for him. This is going to be really good for us as a program. I respect him as a coach a lot. I'm excited for my senior year because he can help us win."
The Lopes spent an abbreviated spring season under Cissell, learning about his emphasis on executing fundamentals, building relationships and fostering positivity. At the time of his GCU hire, his former Kansas City athletic director, noted that Cissell "is an educator at heart and has the emotional, psychological and physical welfare of his student-athletes as his highest priority."Â
"We always refer to ourselves as a soccer family," Cissell said. "I have four kids who played so I try to treat my players like I would hope someone would treat my kids. I see my players as kids of mine and part of my family. I'm able to talk to them about where we're going, what we're doing, what we're going to accomplish. I think they know that I care about them not only as a player, but also a person. Hopefully, we'll serve as mentors to them when they graduate and be there for them the rest of their lives."
Cissell has the players expecting more than an uptick in goals and wins.
"I expect the WAC championship," Edwards said. "His passion for the sport is awesome and contagious. He's like a die-hard soccer fan and he shows it as a coach. He just wants us to love the sport and get better. He makes the environment really fun and it's a good atmosphere for growth."
Cissell considers this GCU opportunity as a sign from God. His father and hero, Michael, passed away in October with one major regret – never seeing the Grand Canyon.
Cissell and his wife of 25 years, Heather, have three sons (Mitch, 25; Trevor, 22; and Zach, 20), a daughter (Sophie, 17) and an 8-month-old grandson, Seamus Michael, who was born a month before the death of Cissell's father and honors him with his middle name.
Life is rebooting as Cissell leaves Missouri for the first time outside his semipro season a quarter-century ago. He has answered every coaching challenge: being a new head coach, taking on men's and women's programs simultaneously and moving to Division I.
"The challenge here is building GCU to the kind of program we think it can be and will be," Cissell said. "We want to consistently compete for regular-season and tournament conference championships and get to the national tournament. With all the tools, amenities and phenomenal education that GCU offers and being in Phoenix, there are so many things in place for us to build a first-class soccer program on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
Â
"I feel fortunate that I get to do what I love every day."
Â
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
But he was destined to coach soccer.
The first-year Grand Canyon women's soccer head coach played all sports growing up, but his love affair with soccer started at age 5 and only grew stronger as the physical fit matched his fiery fervor for it.
Playing youth soccer in St. Louis for National Soccer Hall of Fame members Pat McBride and Al Trost, Cissell longed for validation as a great player but kept hearing what a great coach he would make someday.
Cissell became a collegiate standout player and captain for William Jewell in Kansas City and a semipro player for Grantham Football Club in England but his leadership repute as the 2017 and 2018 WAC Coach of the Year is what brought him to GCU.
Infectious with his presence and conscientious with his coaching, Cissell already is transforming the Lopes before their first game with him comes this fall. Since he joined GCU in December, Cissell connected with players with witty, wise ways.
"I won't get into my shark bite accident now," Cissell deadpanned at his first winter meeting with Lopes players."I think the whole team was like, 'Oh, God, do we laugh?' " said Hannah Edwards, who will be a GCU senior next season.
The answer was a resounding yes because Cissell said he probably tells more one-arm jokes than anyone in the world. He draws faces where his left arm ends below his elbow and tells players that Nike is marketing a hot new item, the "Cissell shirt" with one long sleeve and one short sleeve.
It is far removed from a childhood of being teased by classmates about it, especially as he wore a prosthetic until college. He was mocked, called "Captain Hook" and stared at constantly. The latter has never stopped for 48 years.
Cissell managed and thrived because his parents, MIke and Sherry, gave him no special treatment. He was the oldest of three siblings who relished being the one-armed kid beating friends at basketball.
"My parents made me do everything and learn everything on my own, which is exactly what I wanted," Cissell said, "They gave me a good sense of humor about it and helped me to not be self-conscious."
His arm became a coaching tool over 21 years as a collegiate head coach, helping him relate to adversities that his players face.
After his Grantham playing popularity as "The One-Armed Yank," Cissell entered the coaching realm as predicted. He was the William Jewell women's head coach from 1999 to 2011 and also ran the men's program there for his final nine years. Cissell is the only coach to guide men's and women's teams to the NAIA Final Four and was named the 2006 NAIA Men's Soccer Coach of the Year.
In 2011, he moved crosstown to Kansas City to take on a Division I challenge and built the women's program to the point that the Roos went 41-16-5 over the past three years. He is 384-169-44 as a head coach.
"I'm almost jealous of the younger girls," said Camryn Larson, who also will be a GCU senior in the fall. "I wish I had three more years to play for him. This is going to be really good for us as a program. I respect him as a coach a lot. I'm excited for my senior year because he can help us win."
The Lopes spent an abbreviated spring season under Cissell, learning about his emphasis on executing fundamentals, building relationships and fostering positivity. At the time of his GCU hire, his former Kansas City athletic director, noted that Cissell "is an educator at heart and has the emotional, psychological and physical welfare of his student-athletes as his highest priority."Â
"We always refer to ourselves as a soccer family," Cissell said. "I have four kids who played so I try to treat my players like I would hope someone would treat my kids. I see my players as kids of mine and part of my family. I'm able to talk to them about where we're going, what we're doing, what we're going to accomplish. I think they know that I care about them not only as a player, but also a person. Hopefully, we'll serve as mentors to them when they graduate and be there for them the rest of their lives."
Cissell has the players expecting more than an uptick in goals and wins.
"I expect the WAC championship," Edwards said. "His passion for the sport is awesome and contagious. He's like a die-hard soccer fan and he shows it as a coach. He just wants us to love the sport and get better. He makes the environment really fun and it's a good atmosphere for growth."
Cissell considers this GCU opportunity as a sign from God. His father and hero, Michael, passed away in October with one major regret – never seeing the Grand Canyon.
Cissell and his wife of 25 years, Heather, have three sons (Mitch, 25; Trevor, 22; and Zach, 20), a daughter (Sophie, 17) and an 8-month-old grandson, Seamus Michael, who was born a month before the death of Cissell's father and honors him with his middle name.Life is rebooting as Cissell leaves Missouri for the first time outside his semipro season a quarter-century ago. He has answered every coaching challenge: being a new head coach, taking on men's and women's programs simultaneously and moving to Division I.
"The challenge here is building GCU to the kind of program we think it can be and will be," Cissell said. "We want to consistently compete for regular-season and tournament conference championships and get to the national tournament. With all the tools, amenities and phenomenal education that GCU offers and being in Phoenix, there are so many things in place for us to build a first-class soccer program on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
Â
"I feel fortunate that I get to do what I love every day."
Â
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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