By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Sam Adelman ('16) has been promoted to head men's soccer coach at Willamette University after serving as an assistant coach with the men's soccer team for two seasons and the women's soccer team for three seasons. He will begin his new duties immediately. Adelman replaces former Head Coach Jared Rust, who is leaving the Bearcats as his family moves to Florida.
In addition to coaching at Willamette, Adelman has been the performance manager intern for the Portland Thorns in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). He holds a "D" coaching license and is working on his "C" license. He has worked in the Timbers/Thorns ODP and RTC programs, coaching and directing regionally, and state-wide.
Adelman attended Willamette for four years and was a student-athlete on the men's soccer team from 2012-13 through 2015-16. He was an outside defender for the Bearcats. He graduated from Willamette in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science.
He was nominated for the Oregon Youth Soccer Association (OYSA) Competitive Coach of the Year Award for 2016-17. He has coached in several positions with the Capital FC Timbers soccer club in Salem. In the summer of 2017, he started as the assistant coach and fitness coordinator with the WPSL team, before finishing the season as the interim head coach.
"This new title comes with mixed emotions," Adelman said. "On one hand, I'm humbled and honored that Jared and the Athletics Department trust me to take on this program. On the other hand, a friend and mentor of mine is moving away. We will miss Jared and all he's done for Bearcat men's soccer and for me personally. I'd like to thank Jared, Rob Passage, Leslie Shevlin, and everyone involved in this transition for welcoming me with open arms. It truly is an honor."
While Adelman is thrilled to be taking on a new role at Willamette, he's also saddened about leaving his assistant coaching position with the women's soccer team.
"The other piece to this is leaving my role as assistant to Head Coach Hillary Arthur and the women's program," Adelman commented. "It's never easy saying goodbye to a team; it's almost never the right time. They are a special group, and I wish them all the success moving forward."
Adelman plans to keep Willamette competitive in the Northwest Conference and NCAA Division III. The Bearcats tied for the NWC Championships and advanced to the NCAA Division III National Tournament in 2017. WU was 11-7-2 in 2017, 11-4-4 in 2018 and 2019, and 8-0-0 in 2020-21.
"Having played my four years here, having coached both sides, you'd think I'd have our conference entirely figured out by now!" Adelman said. "The great thing about the NWC is the unpredictability it presents every year. I firmly believe coming out of the pandemic, everyone is going to be ready to battle. Our record from this past spring shows that we can get results. Our aim will be to remain consistent, to maintain our standard, and to not let previous success get to our heads. We have very high expectations and goals for our program, so I'm hoping we can continue to rise and get closer to those goals this season."
