The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Women's Soccer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- johnrob@uab.edu
- Alma Mater:
- Maryville '13
- Experience:
- 3rd season
- Hometown:
- Fyvie, Scotland
John Robertson begins his third season with the Blazers as assistant coach and oversees UAB’s out-of-possession game model, goalkeeping, mental skills and recruiting strategy.
In a storied 2021 campaign, Robertson helped steer a gutsy, young Blazers side through a new team shape and its most difficult non-conference schedule in over a decade on its way to a best Conference USA performance in 12 years. The Blazers finished the regular season joint-second, at 4-3-1, and two points off a championship in the Western Division. They then went onto reach the Conference USA Tournament semi-final for the first time since 2009. Robertson led a stingy defensive unit which conceded just 0.88 goals per game in conference play and only gave up multiple goals in a game once on their run to the semi-final match. The Blazers ended 2021 with 9 underclass starters. Defender Asha Zuniga led the team in scoring, with 4 goals and was one of five Blazers named All-Conference along with Stella Kiss, Lexxe Lipsey, Kendall Page, Laura Zemberyova. Zemberyova also earned her 12th Slovakian National Team Cap and ended the year on United Soccer Coaches’ All-South Region Third Team.
A particular highlight for Robertson last year was sweeping the October 19th weekly individual conference awards for the first time in school history, as Eve Beyer (Goalkeeper of the Week), Zuniga (Defensive Player of the Week) and Zemberyova (Offensive Player of the Week) were all recognized after a quality 2-0 showing against North Texas and Middle Tennessee.
The Blazers squad also excelled in 2021 off the field, with no player in the squad ending the academic year below a 3.0 GPA and an outstanding Team GPA of 3.76. Stella Kiss, Audria Wood and Lexxe Lipsey were all named to the 2021 C-USA All-Academic Team and Junior Morgan Halliwill was awarded the Conference USA Fall Spirit of Service Award, after logging 78 hours of community service in her career to date.
Robertson heads up the Blazers’ high performance mental skills program and leads the goalkeeping unit. Last season, junior goalkeeper, Eve Beyer, ended the year in net averaging 0.69 goals against in Conference. Both she and sophomore Anika Toth combined across 8 games for a 0.82 Goals Against Average and registered 24 saves in 8 conference games. In 2020-21, Robertson helped freshmanToth rank 4th in the league in saves (42) and save percentage (0.778), while placing second in minutes played (1061:55).
The 2020-21 season saw Robertson play a pivotal role in what was a bounce-back year for the Blazers, where they doubled their win tally (8) and total goals scored (33) from 2019, despite playing 2 less games. The green and gold also made its return to the Conference USA championship quarter-final, all whilst navigating through the uncertainty of a world pandemic. Lexxe Lipsey led C-USA in points, shots and goals. Lipsey and Kiss earned All-Conference Second Team honors and in an exciting offensive unit which saw 9 different players score and 13 register assists, Slovakian freshman Zemberyova bagged 11 points and tied 3rd in assists (5) as she made the All-Freshman First Team.
Robertson spent the 2019 season as assistant coach in an historic, championship-winning campaign with NCAA DII University of Montevallo. The Falcons won the GSC Tournament and went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007 after posting a 14-4-4 record and spending a record 10 consecutive weeks in the regional rankings. He worked closely with defensive stalwarts, Mel Stevens, an All-Region defender, and Hannah Waki, an All-Conference First Team selection. Forward Romee Contreras also picked up All-GSC, D2CCA All-Region, First Team USC All-South honors. In that storied 2019 campaign under Robertson’s tutelage, Sophomore Goalkeeper Annie Mason led the league in overall save percentage (0.894) at the close of GSC play, and ranked 3rd with a 0.74 goals against average. She was named Gulf South Defender of the Week two times while posting five shutouts to double her career tally (10) and got named to the All-Conference Tournament Team for her efforts.
Prior to 2019, Robertson volunteered for Blazers Head Coach Erica Demers where he worked primarily with the goalkeepers and defenders. The Blazers secured the third seed in Conference USA regular season play and made it to the tournament quarterfinal. In that 2018 season in the Magic City, he trained Kelsey Daugherty, who would go on to become Conference USA Goalkeeper of the Year as well as being named First Team All-Conference, United Soccer Coaches All-South Region First Team and Conference USA All-Academic First Team. She was named Conference USA Goalkeeper of the Week two times while posting six shutouts and now plays professionally with NWSL side Racing Louisville after a spell in Sweden’s top flight with Djurgårdens IF.
The Fyvie, Scotland, native first joined the Blazers in 2018 after working as the men and women’s assistant coach at his alma-mater, Maryville College (TN), for the 2016 campaign. Robertson helped guide the Maryville men to both USA South Conference Regular Season and Conference Tournament glory for the first time in program history.
A former four-year lettermen with the Fighting Scots himself, Robertson played in defense for a team that was rated as high as 14th in the nation. During his collegiate career, he won three Great South Athletic Conference regular season and conference tournament championships. In 2011, he was named to the Great South Atlantic All-Conference team and voted Team Defensive MVP, and, in his 2012 senior year, Robertson captained his side as the Scots transitioned to the USA South, and he was again an All-Conference selection, the Overall Team MVP, as well as an All-Conference Academic Team and All-Region Team scholar.
Robertson earned a bachelor's degree from Maryville in English Literature with a minor in writing communications in 2013 and completed his Journalism Master’s from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen in 2015. He worked as a lead news reporter for daily newspaper, before travelling and working in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, where he continued his soccer career in Perth, WA, until coaching brought him back to the States.
In 2017, Robertson began his formal coaching education with The FA Level 1 & Level 2 badges in Manchester, England, as well as his FA Goalkeeping Level 1, before transitioning back to the USA to move permanently to Alabama with his wife, Rachel. He has continued to coach youth soccer locally during his time in Birmingham and is currently on staff for both Alabama ODP and South Region ODP, as well as helping with youth goalkeeping at Hoover SC.
He holds his USSF C License, and a United Soccer Coaches Level 1 in Goalkeeper coaching. During 2020, Robertson also completed former Manchester United and England coach Eric Steele’s inaugural GK Nexus Coaching Mentorship program and remains in the consultancy club with Steele.
