Timothy Harold Vom Steeg (born October 29, 1966) is an American collegiate soccer head coach who is currently with the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

men's soccer team. He has been with the Gauchos since 1999 and is the most successful coach in the history of UC Santa Barbara. Vom Steeg won the

2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship The 2006 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I who played for the NCAA Championship in soccer. The College Cup Final Four was held at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. All the other game ...

and was runner-up in the

2004 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship The 2004 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I. This year's College Cup Final Four was held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. All the other games were played at the home field o ...

with UC Santa Barbara, in addition to being named the 2004 and 2006 NSCAA Coach of the Year.

Early life and education

Vom Steeg was born in

Sacramento County, California Sacramento County () is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, California, Sacramento, which has been the List ...

on October 29, 1966. His parents were missionaries and Vom Steeg was raised at a young age in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

where he played and learned the game of soccer. As a teenager, he grew up in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

and was recruited by

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

. Vom Steeg ultimately enrolled at the

and played for the

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of student-athletes attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos play their home matches at Harder Stadium. Like most of th ...

team under coach Andy Kuenzli from 1985 to 1988. He graduated in 1989 with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in history. He later earned a teaching credential from UCSB in 1990. Upon graduation, Vom Steeg played for Real Santa Barbara from 1989 to 1990. He later went on to teach at

Laguna Blanca School Laguna Blanca School is a private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon nati ...

while he coached the soccer team at San Marcos High School.

Coaching career

Santa Barbara City College

Vom Steeg was named head coach of

Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is a public community college in Santa Barbara, California. It opened in 1909 and is located on a campus. History Santa Barbara City College was established by the Santa Barbara High School District in 1909, m ...

in 1992 after approaching the college regarding their lack of soccer teams and then raising $40,000 to start a men's and women's program. With the Vaqueros, Vom Steeg won five

Western State Conference The Western State Conference (WSC) is a college athletic conference that is affiliated with the California Community College Athletic Association. The conference was established in 1950, making it the oldest community college conference in Califo ...

championships, as well as the 1996 California Community College State Championship. Vom Steeg led SBCC to four California State Final Fours in total. The team went 120-18-7 overall under Vom Steeg's reign, which ended in 1998. Personally, Vom Steeg was named the Western State Conference Coach of the Year five times in his seven seasons. He was also named the California State Coach of the Year in 1996 as well as the NSCAA Far West Region Coach of the Year in 1997.

UC Santa Barbara

In January 1999, Vom Steeg was hired as the head coach of UC Santa Barbara's men's soccer program. He took the program over from Mark Arya, who from 1992 through 1998 amassed a 40-84-6 (.331) record. Vom Steeg delivered immediate results, improving upon a 2-17-1 (0-8-1 conference) record under Arya's last year in 1998 to finish the 1999 season with a 13-7-0 (4-3-0 conference) record. The feat saw Vom Steeg named an

MPSF The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the Western United States, although it has added members as far east as Massachusetts. The conference participates at the NCAA Division ...

Pacific Division Co-Coach of the Year. The following seasons saw the Gauchos steadily improve, culminating in the school's first

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

Championship in 2001, Vom Steeg's third year in charge. Not satisfied with the accomplishments of the team, Vom Steeg improved the 7-2-1 conference record from 2001 and turned it into a 9-0-1 conference record in 2002, giving UC Santa Barbara its second Big West title in a row. 2002 also saw the Gauchos reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, reaching the 2nd round. In 2003, Vom Steeg and UCSB lost the Big West title to rivals

Cal State Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge, Los Angeles, Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as o ...

, but advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2004, Tim Vom Steeg and UC Santa Barbara were firmly put on the map as a bona fide college soccer powerhouse. The Gauchos compiled an 8-2-0 conference record to recapture the Big West title from Northridge. Vom Steeg led the Gauchos into the

2004 Division I Men's College Cup The 2004 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I. This year's College Cup Final Four was held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. All the other games were played at the home field of ...

, reaching the finals against

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Carson, California Carson is a city in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and the Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor regions of Los Angeles County, California, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International ...

before falling on penalties. The showing led to Vom Steeg being named the 2004 NSCAA Coach of the Year. Vom Steeg became the winningest coach in UCSB soccer history in 2005. He passed his former collegiate coach Andy Kuenzli (1981–89) with his 96th win when the Gauchos defeated

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

in double overtime on October 26. He became the first coach in program history to reach the 100-win plateau after he led that squad to a 2–0 victory over

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The crowning achievement of Vom Steeg's career came in 2006. The team started slowly with a 7–6 record, but Vom Steeg was able to turn around the fortunes after threatening to start younger players in preparation for the 2007 season. UC Santa Barbara again won the Big West title and made the 2006 Division I Men's College Cup, however this time they were unseeded. After defeating

and #3 seed SMU among others, the Gauchos made it to the College Cup in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

to contend for the national championship. UCSB defeated #2 seed Wake Forest in penalties, advancing to the championship match against #8 seed and Southern California rival

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. UC Santa Barbara won the title by a 2–1 scoreline, giving the Gauchos their first ever NCAA Championship in soccer and only 2nd NCAA title overall (1979 Men's Water Polo). Vom Steeg was once again named NSCAA Coach of the Year. With his success at UC Santa Barbara, Vom Steeg was sought after by other collegiate programs. The

NC State Wolfpack men's soccer The NC State Wolfpack men's soccer team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is part of the National ...

team made an offer for him to replace their long-time coach, George Tarantini, in 2011 but was not accepted. On October 8, 2015, Vom Steeg became the first

men's soccer coach to reach 100 wins in league play. UC Santa Barbara had only one All-American player, Dave Hollingsworth in 1970, before Tim Vom Steeg took over the program. Since his tenure began, that number has jumped into double digits.

Rob Friend Robert Douglas Friend (born 23 January 1981) is a Canadian former professional Association football, soccer player, the president and Organizational founder, co-founder of Vancouver Football Club, Vancouver FC, the chief executive officer, ceo ...

, Memo Arzate,

Alan Keely Alan Vincent Keely (10 May 1982 – 3 May 2021) was an Irish footballer who played as a defender for several League of Ireland teams between 2001 and 2009, including Shelbourne F.C., Finn Harps F.C. and Waterford United F.C. He was a member of ...

, Drew McAthy,

Tony Lochhead Tony James Lochhead (born 12 January 1982) is a New Zealand former professional footballer who appeared with the New Zealand men's national football team. Early life and education Lochhead was born on 12 January 1982 in Tauranga, New Zealand. ...

, Dan Kennedy,

Tyler Rosenlund Tyler Robert Rosenlund (born September 13, 1986) is a Canadian soccer player currently playing for Whitecaps FC 2 in the USL. Early life and education Rosenlund played college soccer at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He was a memb ...

, Andy Iro,

Eric Avila Eric Humberto Avila (born November 24, 1987) is an American professional soccer player who has played as a midfielder and defender. Early life and education Avila who is of Mexican descent, was born on November 24, 1987, in San Diego, Califor ...

, and

Ciaran O'Brien Ciaran Patrick O'Brien (born November 17, 1987) is an American former soccer coach and player. Early life and education O'Brien played center midfield for four years at Decatur High School in Federal Way, Washington, where he earned NSCAA All- ...

have all won All-America accolades while at UCSB under Vom Steeg.

Personal life

Vom Steeg resides in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

and is married to Almeria Vom Steeg. They have four sons together (

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

, Carson, and twins Caden and Jared). In 2000, he received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from UC Santa Barbara.

Awards and honors

Santa Barbara City College

;Winner * Western State Conference Championship (5) * California Community College State Championship (1) ;Personal awards * Western State Conference Coach of the Year (5) * California State Coach of the Year (1): 1996 * NSCAA Far West Region Coach of the Year (1): 1997

UC Santa Barbara

;Winner * NCAA Men's Soccer Championship (1): 2006 *

Championship (5): 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 ;Runner-up * NCAA Men's Soccer Championship (1): 2004 *

Championship (2): 2003, 2005, 2011 ;Personal awards * NSCAA Coach of the Year (2): 2004, 2006 *

Coach of the Year (4): 2004, 2005, 2010, 2013 *

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the Western United States, although it has added members as far east as Massachusetts. The conference participates at the NCAA Divisio ...

Co-Coach of the Year (1): 1999

Statistics

As a manager

''As Of October 9, 2015''

References

External links

UC Santa Barbara coaching biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vom Steeg, Tim 1966 births Living people American men's soccer players Soccer players from California Men's association football defenders UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer players Real Santa Barbara players Western Soccer Alliance players American Professional Soccer League players UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer coaches American soccer coaches 20th-century American sportsmen