Klaas de Boer (born 6 January 1942) is an American retired

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player and coach. He played professionally in the American Soccer League and was the 1977

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

Coach of the Year and 1985

American Indoor Soccer Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Coach of the Year. He coached his teams to two league titles, the 1985 and 1986 AISA championships.

Playing career

The son of Elisabeth Schaap and Lammert de Boer, a baker in Kollum,

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

, De Boer immigrated with his family to the United States in 1956. De Boer attended Holland Christian High School in

Holland, Michigan Holland is a city in Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa and Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in the West Michigan, western region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula, the city is si ...

before entering

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

. He played soccer in both high school and college. In 1973, he signed with the Cleveland Stars in the American Soccer League. At the end of the season, the Stars came under new ownership who changed the team name to the Cleveland Cobras. He played one more season in Cleveland.

Coaching career

Even while playing professionally, De Boer was coaching at the collegiate level. He was hired by

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in oper ...

in 1972 as head soccer coach. Over six season, he compiled a 55–25–3 record and was named the 1977 NSCAA Coach of the Year. He then served as an assistant coach with the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs were an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 North American Soccer League season, 1974 ...

and

Detroit Express The Detroit Express were a soccer team based in suburban Detroit that played in the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Its home field was the Pontiac Silverdome. The Express were co-owned by Roger Faulkner, Son ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. In 1979, he was hired as an assistant coach by the expansion

Detroit Lightning The Detroit Lightning was a Major Indoor Soccer League franchise which existed for only one season, 1979–1980. The Lightning finished that season at 15–17. The team's home arena was Cobo Arena. On May 28, 1980, at the end of the 1979–1980 ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League. In 1984, he became a head coach with the Canton Invaders of the newly established

. He took the Invaders to the league championship, winning Coach of the Year honors. In his two season in Canton, he compiled a 64-16 (.800) record and won two championships. His win percentage is the highest in U.S. indoor soccer history. Today he runs the Dutch Masters Soccer School in his hometown of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Boer, Klaas 1942 births Living people National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches American soccer coaches American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Cleveland Cobras players Cleveland State Vikings men's soccer coaches Cleveland State Vikings men's soccer players Boer, Klaas de Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) head coaches Boer, Klaas de Sportspeople from Holland, Michigan Boer, Klaas de Boer, Klaas de Men's association football players not categorized by position Footballers from Friesland Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's soccer coaches 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Dutch sportsmen