Derek Leader begins his fourth year (2011) on the SMU staff - his first as Associate Head Coach - after spending 12 years as the women's soccer head coach and assistant director of the prestigious IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
He is among the nation's elite coaches, serving as the U-16 girls' head coach for the Region III Olympic Development Program (ODP) since 1997, head coach of the Bradenton Athletics of the United Soccer League (USL) and a coaching license instructor as a member of the national staff of the United States Soccer Federation; as a member of the SMU staff, Leader will continue working with the Region III ODP program and USSF, and also will assume a position with the Dallas Texans club program.
"I've known Derek for a long time and have always respected him as one of the top coaches and people I have been around," head coach Brent Erwin said. "Since he joined us at SMU, he has been instrumental in helping to rebuild our program. We have undertaken a fantastic project at SMU and Derek has embraced our vision. He is vital to our success and growth as a program with his work with our wonderful players, both on and off the field. We're proud to have him at SMU."
Before moving to Florida to work at IMG, as well as with the ODP and Bradenton Athletics, Leader held multiple positions in Ohio, where he simultaneously was an assistant coach for the men's and women's teams at Ashland University, head coach for the Ohio-North ODP team, a clinician with the Ohio state staff and head coach with the Emerald Soccer Club in Cleveland.
A 1995 graduate of Akron University, Leader is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and the United States Soccer Coaches Organization, and holds several coaching licenses, including a United States Soccer Federation National "A" License, an NSCAA Premier License and an International Coaching Diploma from the Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) Coaching Institute.
Leader and his wife, Kim, have a daughter, Jacqueline, and reside in Richardson.
