The Grace Christian University Athletic Department is excited to announce the hiring of Mike Riemersma as the new head coach of the women’s soccer program. If you have browsed the entry way at the Aldrich Athletic Center this name may ring a bell, as Riemersma is a member of the Grace Athletic Hall of Fame, already having a rich history in the sport of soccer at Grace.
Riemersma was a three-time All-American goalkeeper (1989, 1990, 1991) for the Tigers, and still holds the school record for shutouts in a season with 10. He also was a three-time Regional Coach of the Year for the men’s soccer team (1998, 2000, 2001).
Riemersma has extensive experience in coaching the game of soccer, dating back to 1992 when he coached JV girls at Jenison HS and assisted the Men’s soccer team here at Grace. Riemersma worked his way up to becoming the Head Coach of the Grace men’s soccer program from 1997-2002. He then switched over to the girls side, taking over as the Head Varsity Girl’s Soccer Coach at Byron Center High School and held that position for 7 seasons. Since then, Riemersma has spent time as the Head JV Boy’s Soccer Coach at Byron Center High School and as the Head Coach of the Michigan Fire Juniors Premier Team (U19 & U17).
“We are very excited to add Coach Riemersma to our awesome staff off coaches,” said Grace Athletic Director Gary Bailey. “He brings a great amount of experience and a strong knowledge of who we are at Grace. It is infectious to talk to Mike and hear of his plans for the team and the culture he hopes to continue to build. Mike's connection to Grace and it's tradition of athletics will make it an easy transition.”
“I am thankful and excited to come on board as the new women’s head coach,” said Coach Riemersma. “It is my goal to establish a family culture built on hard work, attention to detail and 'being there' for one another. We will strive to build a program that honors Christ by how we act and how we compete. We serve an excellent God who deserves nothing but excellence from us, not only on the field, in practice and in games, but in the classroom as well. As the great Vince Lombardi once said, ‘Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.’ That is exactly what we will do. This program has the potential to be something special."
Prospective women’s soccer student-athletes, please contact Coach Riemersma at
mriemersma@gracechristian.edu.
