The sport of soccer could use more people like Sacramento State Men’s Soccer head coach Michael Linenberger.

Coach Linenberger, now in his 20th overall season with Sac State, brings the necessary passion, playing and coaching experience, and natural leadership. He has helped and witness the men’s soccer program grow from a Division 2 team with no scholarship money to a Division 1 contender in one of the most talented conferences in collegiate soccer.

Not only does Linenberger carry the coaching credentials, but also the perspective and experience as a former collegiate student athlete and pro soccer player in Europe. He was a four-letter winner and former captain for the Duke Blue Devils soccer team. After leading Duke in 1986 to win the NCAA Division 1national title, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology in 1987.

After playing soccer professionally overseas in Europe for prominent clubs such as FC St. Pauli and Norderstedt in Germany, he traveled back across the Atlantic and settled in the States. He then started coaching, jumpstarting his new career.

“The coaching job for Sac State actually fell into my lap,” Linenberger said as he recalled when he was invited to become co-head coach in 1989. “And I fell in love with it.”

Linenberger compared the present season to his first season as head coach and said “it’s like comparing apples and oranges,” Linenberger chuckled.

“This is the most prepared team in all my 20 years here at Sac State. The team has worked hard all summer, and by far, they are the fittest team I have coached.”

With the many benefits of a growing program, Linenberger has had the privilege of enjoying many memorable moments throughout his career.

“The year we won the regular season championship in 2001 is definitely at the top,” Linenberger noted. “Back in 92′, during our first Division 1 season, we upset Stanford in front of an audience of 12,000.”

Coach Linenberger has high hopes and goals for this year’s season. With the primary goal of winning the conference championship and earning a winning record, Linenberger also focuses on the players. He encourages the student-athletes with goals of academic success and graduation.

“This year, our biggest strength is how we are a solid and cohesive soccer team,” Linenberger said. “We as a team have a lot of character and our willingness to work hard all game.” Linenberger also praises that players are very understanding and accepting of their roles on the team.

Like any other soccer squad, no one team is perfect. “I would say our weakness is lack of depth right now,” Linenberger noted. “We only have two natural lefties to support the left side.”

Coach Linenberger has also carried his past soccer experience of playing under different coaches, teams, and even in different countries and cultures, with him to this day. “Playing for different types of coaches, I have taken bits and pieces from all, and have molded them into my own coaching philosophy,” Linenberger explained.

Linenberger has used his diverse coaching philosophy to benefit the Sacramento State Men’s team overall. “I aim to blend different types of players together to be successful for our particular conference. One example is mixing flashy and creative players like Fernando Cabadas and Ernesto Carraza with more blue collar and gritty players.”

Over 20 years of coaching, Linenberger also admits to having created special routines sacredly for game days. “It varies year to year,” he chuckles. “Some go away, new ones arise depending on whether we win or not.”

Besides leading and coaching the Sacramento State men’s soccer team to continuous success, Linenberger also promotes and encourages the future of soccer locally and nationally. He is also a scout for the U.S. Soccer Federation for Project 2010. Project 2010 is an initiative designed to make the U.S. national team a world-class squad by the 2010 World Cup.

“At Sac State, my vision for the future is to see the popularity of soccer grow here. Also, I would like to see growth in support from the student body and community. Of course more wins too.” Linenberger said. “Nationally as a country, soccer has grown tremendously with the rise of domestic pro soccer leagues. The sport is earning more TV exposure. More soccer specific stadiums are very encouraging.”

Not only has Michael Linenberger positively influenced the Sac State Men’s soccer program and players, but his assistant coaches as well. “The biggest thing I have learned from Mike is the importance of organization,” Assistant coach and former player, Jason Gantt said. “He is the most organized person I know, from his ability to breakdown games to organizing training sessions.”

Linenberger has helped former player and assistant coach Matt McDougal to be successful as a student-athlete, as well as teaching the game of soccer. “He has taught me so much about knowledge of the game. He has great communication with players, about soccer, and also on a personal level,” McDougal said.

Head Coach Michael Linenberger has influenced and directed the Sac state men’s soccer program to success. “It’s been a great journey.” Linenberger expressed. From players to assistant coaches, from the local region to a national spectrum, soccer needs more people like Linenberger.

Ronnie Nurss can be reached at [email protected]