Paul Holocher (born May 24, 1969 in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

) is a former U.S.

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

midfielder who played in Austria and

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. He also earned one

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with the U.S. national team in 1996. He was the Academy Director for MLS club

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

College

Holocher attended

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

where he played for future national team coach

Steve Sampson Mark Stephen Sampson (born January 19, 1957) is an American soccer coach. He is also the former head coach of both the United States men's national team and the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. Collegiate career Sampson attended UCLA ...

from 1988 to 1991. In 1989, the Broncos were NCAA co-champions with the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. In 1990, Holocher was a third team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n and ended his four seasons with the Broncos as the team's all-time career scorer.
/sup>

Professional

In 1991, Holocher turned professional with the

San Francisco Bay Blackhawks San Francisco Bay Blackhawks were a professional soccer team which came into existence in 1989 as a team in the Western Soccer League (WSL). The Blackhawks spent time in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and the United States Interr ...

of the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

(APSL). In 1991, the Blackhawks won the APSL championship. In 1992, the Blackhawks went 8–8. The owner decided to take the team to a lower division and so in 1993 the renamed

San Jose Hawks San Francisco Bay Blackhawks were a professional soccer team which came into existence in 1989 as a team in the Western Soccer League (WSL). The Blackhawks spent time in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and the United States Interreg ...

spent one year in the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. The San Jose Hawks won their division and went to the Sizzlin’ Six tournament where Holocher was named MVP. Despite this success the team folded at the end of 1993. Holocher moved to Europe where he signed with Austrian First Division club Admira Wacker. However, after spending only the 1993–1994 season in Austria, Holocher was back in the U.S. with the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

(APSL).
/sup> The Strikers folded at the end of the season and Holocher moved back west to the

Monterey Bay Jaguars California Jaguars were an American soccer team that played in Salinas, California at the Salinas Sports Complex. They joined the USISL in 1995 as the Monterey Bay Jaguars, but changed the name a year later. They played in the A-League in 1997 a ...

(USISL) which played in Santa Clara, California. The Jaguars won their division and went to the Sizzlin’ Nine tournament. In February 1996, the San Jose Clash of

(MLS) selected Holocher in the fifth round (forty-eighth overall) of the league's Inaugural Player Draft. In April 1996 Holcher injured his knee and did not play again until the post-season. He played in five more games and scored one goal for the Clash. Holocher began the 1997 season with the Clash, but they waived him on April 10, 1997. Holocher returned to the Jaguars, now known as the

California Jaguars California Jaguars were an American soccer team that played in Salinas, California at the Salinas Sports Complex. They joined the USISL in 1995 as the Monterey Bay Jaguars, but changed the name a year later. They played in the A-League in 1997 a ...

. In 1998, the Chicago Fire of MLS picked Holocher in the second round (sixteenth overall) of the

Supplemental Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

but did not sign him.

National team

In 1996, the national team players went on strike just prior to a game in Peru. Holocher was called into the U.S. national team for the game, a 4–1 loss to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

on October 16, 1996. Holocher was a second-half substitute for

Ted Eck Ted Eck (born July 14, 1966, in Springfield, Illinois) is a retired American soccer player who played for numerous clubs in the United States and Canada over a thirteen-year professional career. He is currently an assistant coach with Real Salt La ...

at forward.

Coaching

In 1999, Holocher entered the coaching ranks both at the collegiate and the youth soccer levels. He founded the Catalyst Soccer Club that year and coached in the Premier Futbol Club of Santa Cruz County. In 1999, the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...

(UC Santa Cruz) also hired Holocher as its NCAA Division III men's soccer coach. In January 2006, Holocher left UC Santa Cruz to become the head coach at NCAA Division I

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (California Polytechnic State University, Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, California or California State Polytechnic Univ ...

. In his eight seasons at UC Santa Cruz, Holocher compiled a 109–24–8 record. He also took the Slugs to the 2004 Division III

championship game In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

where his team lost 4–0 to

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...

. In 2004, Holocher was inducted into the Santa Clara University Athletic Hall of Fame.
/sup> Recently he was hired as a youth coach at the U-18 level for the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

, his former team
Source
He resigned from Cal Poly in August 2014. He spent years working with the

Academy for 3 years before joining the

Academy in July 2018 as the Academy Director.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holocher, Paul 1969 births Living people Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer coaches Santa Clara Broncos men's soccer players American expatriate soccer players United States men's international soccer players American Professional Soccer League players San Francisco Bay Blackhawks players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players USISL players San Jose Hawks players California Jaguars players San Jose Earthquakes players American soccer coaches Major League Soccer players Soccer players from Seattle American soccer players Expatriate footballers in Austria Chicago Fire FC draft picks San Jose Earthquakes non-playing staff Men's association football midfielders