The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have been adding more players to their roster since the arrival of Dave Brandt. Danny Earls came back, Jack and Nick Thompson (both brothers) both joined Pittsburgh in June and Ryan Adeleye joined up last week.
Now the Riverhounds have added a new member to their team. However, this time it’s not a player, but a new assistant coach.
Dan Visser was named the Riverhounds new assistant coach on Wednesday afternoon, the club announced. Visser and Brandt have history together. Visser came from The Naval Academy, where Brandt formerly coached before joining the Riverhounds. Visser also played under Brandt when he coached at Messiah College.
“I am really excited to be here,” Visser said. “I played for Dave at Messiah, coached under him at the Naval Academy. I fully believe in where the club is going, and I’m looking forward to being a part of that. I know it’s been a bit slow going this year, but progress takes time and I think we’re going to get there.”
The Riverhounds had Niko Katic as their assistant head coach, and will keep him in the position with Visser, said Brandt.
“Dan is somebody I’ve known now for 12 years,” Brandt said. “I’ve coached him and watched him grow in terms of his coaching career. He’s somebody who I think is a really sharp soccer person. He has some strengths where we need them, and I think he will complement Niko [Katic] and I really well.”
Besides the Naval Academy, Visser’s coaching experience includes being the head coach of Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts for two seasons (2013-14). His record at ENC was 8-26-1.
From 2011-2012, Visser was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Eastern University in Pennsylvania, which is a Division III school. The team’s record with Visser as the assistant coach was 21-11-2.
Visser’s college career was successful, as he helped lead the team to three national championships. During his four years at Messiah College, the team had an 89-6-2 record. He graduated from Messiah College in 2008.
Visser will get his first taste of USL coaching action when the Riverhounds face the Richmond Kickers on Thursday, July 14 at Highmark Stadium.
