Upper Iowa Elite ID
Head Coach
Brian Bahl
Head Coach - Men's and Women's Soccer
Brian Bahl enters his fifth season at the helm of the Peacock soccer programs.
Since arriving at Upper Iowa, the men’s and women’s soccer programs have seen drastic improvement and have been the most successful four-year period in Peacock soccer history
In his first two seasons he guided both the men's and women's programs to the most successful single season marks in school history.
In his first season, he led the Peacock Women to the most successful season in school history, winning 12 games and finishing 3rd in the NSIC. The 12 wins were an improvement in the win column of seven games from 2006 and allowed the Peacocks to finish 2007 as the 6th most improved team in the nation.
In Bahl's second season, he led the Peacock Men to their most successful season in school history and the first winning season in the history of the program. In addition, he again led the Peacock women to the NSIC conference tournament, their second straight appearance under Bahl.
Last season, in his fourth year at Upper Iowa, Coach Bahl once again led the women’s program to the NSIC tournament, their third appearance in four seasons. Also, on the men's side, he coached his first Daktronics All-America team award winner in Derek Oelmann, who earned Second Team All-America honors.
Under Bahl, Upper Iowa has placed 15 women’s players on the NSIC All-Conference squad, two women’s student-athletes on the Daktronics All-Central Region team and a pair of women’s players on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Region teams. Additionally, Coach Bahl has coached two men’s players to earn Daktronics All-Central Region accolades.
Prior to his arrival at Upper Iowa, Bahl spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Division 1 women's soccer program at the University of Northern Iowa. While at UNI, he was responsible for bringing in two of the top recruiting classes in the history of the program.
Before arriving at UNI, Bahl served as the Head Women's Soccer Coach at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, IA for three seasons. During his tenure at Mount Mercy, Bahl successfully turned around a Mustang program that had won only one game total in the four years prior to his arrival. Under his guidance his Mount Mercy teams set numerous school records and enjoyed the best seasons the program had ever experienced, improving in the win column each year.
Bahl has also served as an assistant at Upper Iowa University and Wartburg College, as well as various high school coaching positions, including head coaching positions for the Waterloo West High School Boys soccer team and Denver High School Girls soccer team.
During his ten-year stint at Waterloo West, his teams averaged over 12 wins per season and were one of Iowa's top high school programs, winning seven district championships, two sub-state titles and earning two trips to the state tournament. Bahl ranks as Waterloo West's all-time winningest men's soccer coach and recently was inducted into the Waterloo West Soccer Hall of Fame.
Bahl has served as the Iowa High School Soccer Coaches Association's representative to the NSCAA and has also served as a liaison to the NSCAA All-America Committee.
Bahl has also been a club coach with the Cedar Valley Youth Soccer Association, Midwest United Soccer Association and the Dubuque Soccer Club. From 2006-2010 he served as Executive Director and Director of Coaching for FC Midwest Soccer Academy.
Bahl holds a Premier Diploma from the NSCAA, the organizations highest coaching distinction. He also holds a national coaching license from the USSF and an NSCAA goalkeeping diploma. In addition, he holds a bachelors degree from the University of Northern Iowa and is currently working on a Master’s degree in sports administration.
He resides in Cedar Falls with his wife Jamie and three children, Aubrey 6, Colten 3, and Caden 1.
