UNC Pembroke Names Hindson New Men's Soccer Coach

PEMBROKE – Athletic department officials at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke announced the hiring of former Clemson and Winthrop coach Phil Hindson as its seventh men’s soccer coach on Wednesday afternoon.

Hindson joins the Braves after serving the last six seasons on the Clemson coaching staff, including a stint as the head coach for the Tigers in 2009. He also boasts a 5-year term as a Clemson assistant coach, as well as four seasons as an assistant coach at Winthrop. He will assume his duties at UNCP in January which also include serving as a lecturer in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) department.

"UNC Pembroke is thrilled to have Phil join our athletic family at UNCP,” said UNCP athletic director Dan Kenney. “The search focused on hiring someone who had a demonstrated ability as a collegiate recruiter, teacher and coach. Phil has lots of energy and a proven track record of helping college soccer programs elevate their level of success. We are excited to have him on board.”

Clemson amassed 55 victories over the course of Hindson’s tenure, including 14 triumphs over nationally ranked competition (including a road victory over eventual national champion Virginia as interim head coach in 2009), while also booking a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. In just his second season on the coaching staff, the Tigers tallied a 5-game turnaround from the previous campaign, rattling off a 15-6-3 record, an appearance in the 2005 NCAA Final Four and a No. 3 national ranking in the final polls. Clemson also advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 the following season en route to posting a 13-5-2 final record. That same season, the Tigers also achieved the nation’s top ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association Top 25.

Individually, Hindson helped mentor four all-Americans and 11 all-ACC selections with the Tigers, and was also involved in overseeing the classroom progress of 18 academic all-ACC honorees. In addition, a handful of Hindson’s former players are currently on the rosters of four different Major League Soccer rosters, including Nathan Sturgis who was drafted with the 12th overall pick in the 2006 draft by the Los Angeles Galaxy, as well as Stuart Holden who has stints with both the MLS’s Houston Dynamo and the U.S. National Team.

During Hindson's four seasons with Winthrop, the Eagles amassed a 47-28-5 cumulative record, included in which was the 2002 Big South Conference regular season and tournament championship in 2002 and the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Following the conclusion of that incredulous 2002 run in which the Eagles ranked fifth in the nation in scoring, Winthrop was ranked among the top 48 teams in the nation by Soccer America. The 2003 squad was ranked as high as seventh in the NCAA South Region and 36th nationally.

Hindson was a 3-time all-conference, all-region and 1995 all-America selection while playing for perennial NAIA powerhouse William Carey in Hattiesburg, Miss. He still holds several scoring records at WCU after booking 130 points on 54 goals and 22 assists in just three seasons.

“I am just very excited about the challenge ahead and the potential that this program has,” Hindson said. “(Former UNCP head coach) Mike (Schaeffer) has done a great job with this program and I am now looking to progress it forward from there. We want to build the program as quick as we possibly can and, ultimately, we want to be competitive with everybody in our region and, eventually, on the national level. It is a progression and you take one step at a time, but that is the goal.”

Prior to joining the Crusaders, he was among the final pool of 50 players for selection to the U-18 Scottish National Team. He also served as an apprentice with St. Johnstone of the Scottish Premier Division. His professional playing experience includes a two-year stint with Arbroath F.C. of the Scottish Second Division from 1993-94. He was on the roster of two United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues clubs from 1995-97, first as a member of the Nashville Metros (1995-96), and then with the Cocoa Expos (USISL) which reached the national tournament both seasons. He closed out his professional career with the Pensacola Flyers of the Eastern Indoor Soccer League.

Hindson graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physical education from William Carey in 1999 and his master’s degree in physical education from Winthrop in 2005. Professionally, he holds a Premier Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and a "C" Coaching License from the Scottish Football Association.