Joel Person was hired to lead the Northland College Men’s Soccer Program in the spring of 2017 and enters his first season at the helm of the Lumberjack soccer program.
Prior to joining the staff at Northland College, Person spent the last two years serving as the Director of Coaching for the Tuscaloosa United Soccer Club and the Head Coach for the Birmingham Hammers Semi-Pro team in Alabama (NPSL). He was a vital part of building the Hammers from the ground up as it was an expansion franchise in 2015. Person successfully built the team and they went .500 in their first season and won the “I-65 Cup” at the end of the 2016 season.
Previously, Person was the Elite Clubs National League Director (ECNL) for Birmingham United Soccer Association and the Head Coach for Alabama FC Women’s Semi-Pro Team from 2012-2015 (WPSL). During that time, he led an ECNL program that placed over 60 youth players into collegiate soccer programs, while his Alabama FC teams were the WPSL Southeastern Conference runners-up in 2013 and conference champions in 2014.
Person played collegiately at the University of Mobile and made three appearances in the NAIA National Tournament Semi-Finals, including national runners-up in 1999 and served as co-captain in 2001. Person also played semi-professionally in the Premier Development League (PDL) for the Jackson Chargers, Michigan Bucks, and Chicago Eagles.
After his playing career, Coach Person returned to the University of Mobile where he served as a Graduate Assistant coach for the 2002 NAIA National Championship Team as well as Women’s Assistant Coach in 2007. After coaching at the University of Mobile, Coach Person served as the Men’s Assistant Coach at Francis Marion University where his team won the 2008 NCAA Division II Peach Belt Conference Championship. Following the 2008 season, Person took over as Head Coach for the NCAA Division I FMU women’s team, where he had two players named to All American teams and one signed professionally in the NWSL.
Person was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska and holds USSF “A” and National Youth Licenses.
