July 18, 2012

James Kusak, who recently finished his first season as the assistant men's and women's soccer coach at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., has been named the men's assistant soccer coach at Centre College.

A native of Louisville and a graduate of the 2010 class, Kusak will return to his alma mater and help with the men's soccer program. Kusak served as a volunteer assistant coach at Centre after his graduation in 2010 before taking the position of assistant coach for both the men's and women's soccer programs at Hendrix.

"The chance to return to my alma mater and help the program transition into the new conference is a great opportunity," Kusak said. "I want to thank both Coach Doug Mello and Coach Jim Evans for the opportunity they gave me. Both Doug and Jim taught me a lot about the game but also about life, and I can't thank them enough for their support.

"I am tremendously excited about coming back to Centre and joining Coach (Jeb) Burch and the men's program. It is an honor to work with Coach Burch and I know my goal of being a head coach will be achieved, following in the footsteps of previous assistant coaches Mark Hudson, David Horne and Adam Boyer. I believe Centre has the pieces in place to go and compete for the inaugural SAA crown."

As a player, Kusak was a three-time captain for the Colonels, leading them to three second place finishes in the SCAC while earning all-conference accolades as a senior. Kusak was also twice named to the SCAC All-Academic Team.

"James was an important part of our program from 2006-2010," said Burch. "I was equally impressed with his efforts as our volunteer assistant coach after graduation. He could not have been with two better coaches in the past year than Jim and Doug. So we expect a smooth transition for our program as we say good-bye to Coach Boyer and welcome James back.