The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Women's Soccer Names Jill Knottek Assistant Coach
1/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Jan. 8, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The UAB women's soccer department officially announced the addition of Jill Knottek to its coaching staff on Thursday. Head coach Paul Harbin named the former Blazer standout and All-Conference USA performer as the team's second assistant coach along with Summer Perala.
The position recently became available after UAB's previous assistant coach Ashley Hart moved on to be the head coach at Georgia Southern. Hart spent four years on staff at UAB as both a graduate assistant and as an assistant coach. She was promoted to the position of head coach at Georgia Southern on Dec. 30, 2003.
"In my search for a new assistant, it was of utmost importance was to find a loyal, quality person with a good understanding of soccer," said Harbin. "We needed someone with a strong desire to learn, the ability to communicate effectively, a belief in the overall philosophy of our program and a commitment to keeping our team moving in a positive direction. Therefore, Jill is a perfect fit, because she possesses all of those qualities."
Knottek, who helped guide UAB to the C-USA championship in 2003, was a team captain on the NSCAA Southeast Region's eight-ranked squad that finished with a school-record 13-5-1 overall mark. She was a Third-Team C-USA selection in both 2002 and 2003 and led the Blazers in scoring as a junior and a freshman.
In the summer of 2003, Knottek competed as a member of the Fort Collins Force in the prestigious W-League and was named a team captain. She also played for the North Texas State team and was only one of 18 players to be named to the honorable Region III squad.
A native of Midland, Texas, Knottek has compiled an abundance of experience as a youth soccer coach. Over the past several years, she has coached and mentored the U-11 Homewood Yellowjackets, the Core Soccer Camp in Colorado and at the Vestavia Training Camp. Knottek also spent time in the Adopt-A-Player program of the Fort Collins Force and worked alongside Coach Harbin during the 2001 and 2002 UAB soccer camps.
"I am extremely excited about what Jill brings to our program," Harbin said. "In addition to meeting the qualifications that I was looking for, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Jill has a strong personal investment in wanting to see our team succeed."
