Men's Soccer Coach
Head Coach: John Cossaboon (1st season)
Email: jcossaboon@ozarks.edu
Veteran coach John Cossaboon begins his first season at Ozarks.
Cossaboon, a native of Rochester, New York, brings a wealth of coaching experience to Ozarks, including head women’s coaching stints at NCAA I Southern Methodist University and University of San Diego. Cossaboon has spent the last two years as the assistant women’s coach at Gonzaga University.
Cossaboon joined Gonzaga from Southern Methodist University where he spent four seasons and earned Conference USA Coach of the Year twice. SMU won conference titles in each of those seasons, including 2006 when SMU went 17-5-1 overall and 8-1-0 in Conference USA for its seventh straight regular-season title. The Mustangs, tied for 24th in the final SoccerTimes.com poll, and received an at-large bid into the College Cup, advancing to the second round in their sixth straight College Cup appearance that year. In his first season at the helm, SMU recorded a 17-3-2 mark, finished 22nd in the nation and won the Western Athletic Conference.
Prior to SMU, Cossaboon spent six years as the head women’s coach at University of San Diego, guiding the Toreros to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (1999-2002) while compiling an overall record of 73-43-6. His West Coast Conference mark was 25-15-2. Additionally, Cossaboon served as the women’s head coach at UC Santa Barbara from 1995-1996.
He also gained international head coaching experience as one of very few Americans to coach abroad professionally in the Japan’s women’s professional league from 1993 through the begin¬ning of 1995. Before his stint in Japan, Cossaboon’s coaching experiences included the following positions: top assistant coach for the men’s program at Santa Clara University (1992-1993), the head men’s coach at Cal State Hayward (1991) and assistant coaching jobs at Duke (1978-82) and the North Carolina (1977).
He served as the Director of Coaching for the North Texas State Soccer Association from 1982-90, directing and training Olympic Development players and designing and implementing the state’s coaching education program. With a United States Soccer Federation “A” License, he has been a National Staff Coach for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America since 1983. From 1983 to 1985, he was a National Staff Coach for the USSF.
A 1977 graduate of State University of New York-Cortland, Cossaboon earned his bachelor’s degree in physical educa¬tion with an emphasis in sports psychology and exercise physiology. During his senior year at Cortland, he garnered first team All-Conference honors as a center midfielder. Cossaboon earned his master’s degree in physical education in 1978 from the University of North Carolina with an emphasis in exercise physiology, coaching, biomechanics and psychology. He received his Intermediate Level Coaching Certificate from the Brazilian Football Academy in Rio de Janeiro. He has authored five soccer publications, has studied soccer techniques in Brazil, Belgium and Holland, and has taught Martial Arts and Self-Defense classes for Women.
Assistant Coach: Matt Torok (1st season)
Email: mtorok@ozarks.edu
Matt Torok begins his first season as the assistant men's coach at Ozarks.
Torok, a native of Reading, Pa., was the assistant coach at Southwestern University for three seasons where he helped the Pirates to their three most successful finishes in school history. Last season, the Pirates went 12-6-2 overall and 7-3-0 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, marking the third straight year the team finished among the top two teams in league play. In 2007, the Pirates posted a 7-2-1 conference record, and the year before, they ended with a 6-2-1 mark in league play. During his time at Southwestern, 15 players made the All-Conference Team.
Prior to Southwestern, Torok served as the assistant men's and women's soccer coach from 2003-2005 at Defiance College. He was later promoted as interim head men’s coach. At Defiance, Torok helped the team to a school record 14 wins during the 2003 season. He also coached a pair of conference Freshmen of the Year as well as the conference Goalkeeper of the Year. He spent one year as the assistant men’s coach at Albright College.
Torok played at Syracuse University four seasons and then played two seasons professionally with the Reading Rage. He holds a NSCAA Advanced National Diploma, a NSCAA Goalkeeping Level 2 Diploma, as well as a USSF National D License.
Torok received his bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from Syracuse University in 2001. He has a master’s degree in education from Defiance College.
He and his wife, Carol, were married in December 2008.