GAVIN RICHMOND, an elementary teacher at Glen Lake Schools, is taking over as the head coach of the boys soccer program. Gavin Richmond, a former assistant, is the new boys soccer coach at Glen Lake High School.

Richmond replaces Mike Hasselbeck, who stepped down last fall after seven seasons.

“I have been a head coach several times so it is nothing new to me,” said Richmond, who is also an elementary teacher in the G-L district. “I’m happy to finally put my own stamp on the program.

“There is no pressure on me either as GL is historically a football school and soccer has not been in the limelight so much. It is my job to change that, however!”

Richmond had nothing but praise for his predecessor.

“I have to thank Mike for taking this program on when he came up here,” Richmond said. “He kept the program moving forward.

“It is now my responsibility to take the program to the next level.”

Richmond said building the program at the middle school is pivotal to his future success.

“We really lack anything solid in the middle school,” he said. “This is an area where we must keep players involved and give them an opportunity to play, at a decent level, year round.”

Richmond, an assistant the past two seasons, is a Newcastle Upon Tyne, England native. He grew up playing soccer, starting at 3 years of age. He played competitive soccer for Newcastle until he was 22.

He has been coaching since 1996, starting out with the Newcastle City Football Development Scheme. He also coached the Newcastle United Academy and local teams in Newcastle.

In 1998, he came to America to coach the Chicago Fire, which was an expansion team in Major League Soccer. He arrived in northern Michigan in 2001, coaching at Traverse Bay Area Youth Soccer. He coached the Northstorm 92 team for four years, culminating in a Michigan State Premier Division championship.

“Glen Lake will be a new adventure for me,” Richmond said. “I hope to bring my passion, desire and enthusiasm to the sport in the community and build the program so we can have a team full of players who want to play year round.”