Don't expect Collinsville boys soccer players to run out of gas in = the second=20 half this fall. Not if their new coach has anything to say about it.
Former Collinsville center midfielder Myles Hensler, who went on to a = four-year career at Southern Illinois University = Edwardsville, recently was=20 hired to be the Kahoks coach.
Hensler, 24, works for Elite FT and is assistant general manager = of the=20 Sports Academy in Glen Carbon, formerly known as The Game. Though he has = not=20 been a high school coach, he has worked with high school and collegiate = programs=20 through Elite FT for the last six years.
"I've done preseason prorgrams for the O'Fallon high school teams and = the=20 McKendree boys and girls," said Hensler, who lives in Maryville. "I = already have=20 worked with certain players at Collinsville, as well."
Hensler said he sent his resume in at the beginning of the month, = interviewed=20 for the position on April 9 and was hired last Monday. He was reached = last week=20 while on vacation in Biloxi, Miss.
A 2005 Collinsville graduate, Hensler was an all-sectional player in = 2003 and=20 2004 and a captain of the squad his senior season. That year he scored = three=20 goals, including a game-winner, and had a team-high 11 assists for the = Kahoks=20 and coach Chris Digirolamo, who stepped down in March after 10 seasons = with a=20 record of 121-77-26.
At SIUE, Hensler started more than 95 percent of the Cougars' games = at left=20 back and was named the team's 2009-10 Student-Athlete of the Year. He = holds a=20 Class D National soccer coaching license.
"=E2=80=98Dig' wasn't a teacher, either," said Hensler of his former = high school=20 coach, who works in the financial planning industry in downtown St. = Louis. "I=20 think they (Collinsville administrators) are aware I have a flexible = schedule,=20 and I am also right down the road.
"I'm grateful for the opportunity. I know the Collinsville boys have = had some=20 success, and I want to take the team to the next level."
Collinsville finished the 2010 season 15-7-1 overall and was 4-2 in = the=20 Southwestern Conference. Hensler, who has trained many players already, = will=20 make sure the Kahoks are physically fit.
"They have a lot of potential, and they have been doing well the last = couple=20 years," he said. "I'm excited to join them and see what we can do this=20 fall."
Collinsville athletics director Chris Kusnerick said Hensler was one = of six=20 people who applied for the job. Kusnerick said Hensler presented a very = good=20 plan, and the flexibility of his job at Elite FT was a plus.
"He's very qualified for the position," Kusnerick said. "He already = knows the=20 Kahok way."
Some Collinsville coaches and parents have expressed the desire for=20 Collinsville to replace its current field, which is shared with the = football=20 team. Cost is the major downside.
"I remember the field when I played there, and it was tough sometimes = to play=20 on a field that was used so much in the fall," Hensler said. "If we were = to=20 switch to a turf field, I definitely would not be opposed to it. If that = is in=20 the works, then that is great. If not, you have to work with what you = have. The=20 field doesn't matter; it's how you play on=20 it."
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