Bob O'Connell, SLUH social studies teacher who has coached high school soccer for the past 15 years, has been named SLUH's new varsity head coach. He replaces Charlie Martel '73, who recently retired from a 25-year career as head soccer coach, and assumes his new role heading in to the 2018 fall season.

"We are fortunate to have Bob O'Connell as our next varsity soccer coach," says Athletic Director Chris Muskopf '91. "His experiences as a player and a coach at both the collegiate and high school level made him stand out among the candidate pool. Add to those experiences his full-time status as a faculty member at SLUH and his track record of building meaningful relationships with students in the classroom and student-athletes on his teams, and it became clear that Bob was the right person to be the next varsity soccer coach at SLUH."

A graduate of DeSmet Jesuit, O'Connell played on the Spartans state championship team in 1997 before his college career at Saint Louis University from 1998-2001. His coaching experience includes 10 years on SLUH's B-team, three years at Kennedy High School (three-time conference champions, and two-time AAA Conference Coach of the Year) and one year at Parkway North.

"I want to thank Chris Muskopf and the selection committee for giving me this incredible opportunity," says O'Connell. "I'm also grateful to former SLUH administrators Dick Wehner, John Moran and Craig Hannick for allowing me to coach these last four years outside of SLUH. The experiences at Kennedy and Parkway North have been amazing and incredibly formative. I'm excited and feel well prepared to lead this outstanding program."