Cincinnati State coach records 100th victory
September 25, 2009
Mike Combs, head coach of the Cincinnati State men’s soccer team, notched a personal milestone Friday when the Surge defeated visiting Schoolcraft College.
The 1-0 win over Schoolcraft, a community college based in Livonia, Michigan, marked Combs’ 100th career victory as a college coach.
Cincinnati State currently leads the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference. Its overall record is 8-1-1; its OCCAC record is 3-0-0 with three league games remaining.
Combs is a graduate of Mariemont High School, where he played varsity soccer and was named CHL Player of the Year in 1991. Combs later soccer (center midfielder) for Northern Kentucky University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in education and was named to NKU’s All-Academic team, Honor Roll and Dean’s List. In 2005 he earned a master’s degree in Sports Management from Xavier University.
Combs coached at the high school level for seven years before becoming an assistant coach at Cincinnati State in 2000. In 2001 he accepted a full-time position at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., as an assistant men’s soccer coach.
In the fall of 2002 Combs became the head coach of the men’s team at Cincinnati State. In his first six seasons as head coach at Cincinnati State, his teams had a record of 91 wins, 20 losses, and four ties.
Combs led the Surge to four Ohio Community College Athletic Conference championships in his first six seasons as head coach at Cincinnati State, and the Surge qualified for the national tournament each season.
In those six seasons, the Cincinnati State program produced seven All-Americans. Combs was named OCCAC “Coach of the Year” in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.
After parting company with the program for the 2008 season, Combs returned to Cincinnati State in 2009 to again coach the men’s team.
Combs holds a USSF “C” National Coaching License, and is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. In addition to his work at Cincinnati State, he directs the Playmakers Soccer Academy, which provides youth soccer camps in Cincinnati.
Combs and his wife, Lange, reside in Madeira with their two-year-old daughter Zimmer.
