Dayton Dutch Lions FC has hired Dutch natives Hans Pascoal and veteran coach Jack Hermans as the 2022 coaching staff for the men’s team competing in USL League Two. Pascoal takes over the Head Coach position of Sid van Druenen, who accepted a job as Head Coach of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).
Hans Pascoal was born in Breda in The Netherlands and played for the youth academy of NAC Breda (1st division) before transferring to Xavier University, where he played from 1993 to 1996. After his playing career he turned to coaching. He was Assistant Coach at Xavier University and Lakota East HS. He is currently the Director of Coaching of Lakota FC in Cincinnati and works for ODP in OHIO. He holds the USSF D and C licenses, TOVO V1 and the United Soccer Coaches Director of Coaching diploma. Pascoal commented on his appointment: “I want to thank the Dayton Dutch Lions FC organization, Dr. Gupta, and Mike Mossel for the opportunity to coach the men´s team. I am looking forward to the challenge of providing an exciting brand of soccer to the community based on our principles of high press and good positional play. I am even more excited to work with Jack Hermans on my side as advisor and assistant. Jack has been instrumental in guiding me in my coaching path ever since he was my coach at Xavier University, and I took the first steps of coaching in his college course. I am looking forward to seeing a lot of fans, friends, and family at our games at DOC Stadium!”.
Jack Hermans is a familiar face to Dayton Dutch Lions FC. He was part of the initial coaching staff (with Champions League winner Sonny Silooy) in the inaugural 2010 season in USL PDL (now USL League Two). He was also Assistant Coach for the professional team that played in USL PRO (now USL Championship) between 2011 and 2014, and Assistant Coach at Cincinnati Dutch Lions FC between 2017 and 2019. Just like Pascoal, Hermans is also a native from Breda, The Netherlands. He played professionally before an injury forced him to stop at a young age. Hermans has been a coach in the USA for almost 40 years, bringing a wealth of experience to the team. He was also the Head Coach of Anderson HS and then Xavier University for 15 years (1990-2004). In 1992 he recruited Dutch Lions FC founder and CEO Mike Mossel to play for him at Xavier. They won the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC) Championship in 1992 and Hermans was voted “MCC Coach of the Year”. In 1993 he also recruited Hans Pascoal. Hermans is also the founder of Soccer Unlimited, with several thousands of kids joining his soccer camps every summer in the Cincinnati area. Today, he is still involved with many of the youth clubs in Cincinnati. In 2007 he was inducted in the OHIO Soccer Hall of Fame. He holds the USSF A license. Hermans had this to say on his return: “I really look forward to joining Dayton Dutch Lions FC again. Besides returning to the club where I worked for five years, I especially look forward to working closely with Hans Pascoal and be on the pitch with young talented players every day to develop them while implementing an exciting playing style”.
The men´s team kicks off the 2022 USL League Two season on May 14 at home vs South Bend Lions FC at 5pm.