May 8th, 2025

Skyline Elite SC Hires New Boys ECNL Director ­

Bill Koeppen becomes new Director of Boys ECNL for Skyline Elite Soccer Club.

Skyline Elite has hired Bill Koeppen as the club’s Boys ECNL Director.  Bill will direct the boys side of the club, managing the six elite teams U13-U19 in the ECNL National League.  In addition to his role as Boys Director, Bill will serve as head coach for two Skyline Elite teams in Fall 2025.

This will be Koeppen’s second stint with the organization having previously served as a Travel Program Coordinator and Staff coach with SOCA prior to Skyline Elite’s founding.  During his first tenure Bill led the U16 boys to the league championship and developed 8 future Division 1 collegiate players.

Most recently Koeppen has been coaching in Nebraska where he coached the 06 Sporting Nebraska ECNL NL team to the Heartland Conference championship and a national championship berth.  At the youth level Koeppen has experience coaching all ages and has served in multiple roles with youth clubs from Technical Director to Executive Director over a 35-year coaching career.  Originally based in Virginia as a youth player, Koeppen has spent the bulk of his career in the Midwest coaching at the youth, high school, collegiate and semi-professional levels.

He helped build Creighton University into a national Division 1 powerhouse in the early 90s as part of Bob Warming’s staff including leading the team to an undefeated regular season and #1 national ranking in 1993.  He also served as an assistant at Drake University as well as the head coach at Bellevue University where he was the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1997.

As a player, Koeppen grew up playing youth soccer in Virginia Beach and played four years at Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia.  He holds a USSF B License, National and Advanced National Diplomas from the NSCAA as well as the Director of Coaching Diploma.

Skyline Elite was launched in 2020 as an outgrowth of the SOCA club and has been a part of the Virginia Soccer Alliance since 2021.  The club has a regional footprint drawing high achieving players from communities throughout western VA.  Skyline Elite is a pre-eminent club in the Mid-Atlantic region competing in the Elite Clubs National League, a national league of many of the most competitive clubs in the country.

You can welcome Bill to the club at his email address:  [email protected].

New Boys ECNL Director, Bill Koeppen said:

“It is a privilege to return to the Charlottesville area, as I’ve always considered Virginia home. I’m excited to serve the Skyline Elite SC and Virginia Soccer Alliance communities.  From organizational leadership and player development to game-day operations, I regard Skyline Elite SC, in partnership with Virginia Soccer Alliance, to be among the premier soccer organizations in the United States.”

Virginia Soccer Alliance Technical Director, Jimmy Tharpe said:

“It’s been a privilege to serve as the Skyline Elite Technical Director for the past 5 years.  I am pleased to hand off the leadership role of the boys’ program to Bill.  Bill’s deep experience at multiple levels of the game and particularly with high level boys’ players will serve the club well.  I look forward to seeing the teams thrive under Bill’s leadership.”

Executive Director of the Virginia Soccer Alliance, Matt Wilson said:

“I’ve known Bill for many years since he first worked with us over a decade ago.  Bill is a student of the game and a coach’s coach, always learning himself and passing along his knowledge to the players.  I am excited to welcome him back to Charlottesville and know our players and teams will benefit from his knowledge, experience and competitive drive.”