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5/25/06 - Esterhuizen Takes Clarke College Reins
DUBUQUE, IA - Clarke College Athletic Director Curt Long announced today that Sean Esterhuizen has been selected as the college�s new head men�s and women�s soccer coach.
Esterhuizen, a native of South Africa and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin -Platteville, comes to Clarke from the state of Washington, where he has compiled 19 consecutive winning soccer seasons at the high school level. During that period, Esterhuizen�s teams have a combined 26 state, regional, district and league championships, and 18 runners-up finishes. He owns a 276-81-3 overall career coaching record, including a 170-30 mark in league play.
�We are excited that Sean has accepted our invitation to join the Crusaders,� said Long. �He brings a tremendous resume, with experience and success in soccer as a player and coach at various levels, and we look forward to benefiting from that experience here at Clarke.�
Esterhuizen has served as the head girls� soccer coach at Hanford High School, Richland, Wash., since 2001, and has guided the boys� soccer program since 2003. He led the girls� program to three league championships and two regional titles. The boys� team won its first league title in 18 years in 2004 and won the league, district and regional championships in 2005.
�I am absolutely thrilled to be coaching at Clarke College,� said Esterhuizen. �After meeting with the players, coaching staff and administration, I am deeply impressed. The student leadership is proud of Clarke academically, but clearly wants to build Clarke into a consistent regional soccer power.�
�After talking with Assistant Coach Andres Leza, I am convinced that we already have a foundation of talent and incoming recruits that bodes well for the upcoming season,� said Esterhuizen. �Andres and I are setting near and long-term seasonal and recruiting goals designed to turn Clarke into a magnet for local and regional talent, and we will enthusiastically drive Clarke soccer towards these goals.�
Esterhuizen served as the head boys� soccer coach at Pasco High School from 1992 to 2002 and guided his squad to the 1999 Washington state and NHSCA national high school championship in Georgia. His teams captured seven district titles in nine appearances and won five league titles.
Esterhuizen was named the National High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 1999, and is a nine-time recipient of the Eastern Washington Area Coach of the Year Award.
Esterhuizen�s teams were nationally ranked in the top 20 in 1996, 1999 and 2002.
Esterhuizen served as the coaching and recruiting director of Worldwide Soccer Tours and Northwest All-Stars from 1997 to 2001. His Northwest All-Stars U-19 men�s team won the 120-team Norway Cup in 2001 and went undefeated in Holland. Esterhuizen�s Northwest All-Stars U-19 women�s team took second place in the 2001 Dana Cup, competing with 86 teams from Denmark and Sweden. In 1997, Esterhuizen�s Northwest All-Stars U16 girl�s team took third in the 96-team Dana Cup.
A 2000 inductee into the University of Wisconsin � Platteville Soccer Hall of Fame, Esterhuizen was a four-year soccer letterwinner as a Pioneer and a four-time first team All-Conference selection. The two-time most valuable player tallied 53 career goals and had 35 assists. He was twice tabbed as an All-Wisconsin selection, which included NCAA Division I, II and III players, and was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America Northeast USA first-team selection in 1983.
Esterhuizen played for the Rangers Professional Soccer Club in South Africa in 1976 and 1977, and for the Highlands Power Professional Soccer Club in 1976 and 1978. He was a South African U-16 Schools Southern Transvaal provincial pick in 1973 and 1974.
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