718-488-1530, kostecky@liu.edu

ABOUT COACH KOSTECKY
Architect. Tactician. Teacher. Builder. TJ Kostecky has restored Long Island University’s men’s soccer team back to glory. He’s done it by bringing in the top talent from the local pool of New York City and its neighboring boroughs and across the country to across the ocean in Finland and Scotland.

In 2004, Kostecky led the Blackbirds to their first NCAA College Cup berth since 1986. The trip to the dance and the Northeast Conference tournament title capped off an amazing season, a season which many had anticipated due in large part to the steady climb over the past few years.

LIU reached the NEC title contest in 2001 and 2002 -- losing on a pentitley kick both times -- but two years ago the crown and glory was all Kostecky’s.
The ‘rebuilding process’ is anything but new for Kostecky. Take in account, his accomplishments at Appalachian State University in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina

In the four years previous to his stint at Appalachian State, the program suffered four consecutive losing seasons. Kostecky’s 13-8 mark in 1998 not only ended the school’s bad run, but also marked the best first-year record for a coach in the program’s 40-plus years. For his efforts, he was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year.

Kostecky arrived in Boone following a successful run as head coach and director of athletics at Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, N.C. from 1994-97. He was handed the reins of a program that suffered eight straight losing seasons and immediately turned things around. During this tenure, the team boasted a 46-25-7 record, including two Virginia Conference championships.

His first taste of collegiate coaching came at New Jersey Institute of Technology from 1988-93. NJIT compiled a 67-37-11 mark in his six years, including conference championships in 1991 and 1992. What also was satisfying for Kostecky was his accomplishments at NJIT came in his native New Jersey, where he starred scholastically at Woodbridge Township High School.

In 1979 at age 20, Kostecky was named varsity coach at Jefferson Township (N.J.) High School. He founded and became president of the Jefferson Township Youth Soccer Club. In addition, Kostecky is Director of Coaching for new club called FC Copa in New Jersey.

Kostecky credits the success he has accumulated on the sidelines to his philosophies on game preparation and the involvement of his players in the program.

“My approach to coaching soccer is based on the fact that it is different from other American sports. It is really a player-directed game,” he said. “Most of my coaching is done in preparation for the game as opposed to in-game coaching.

By game time, it is usually too late to accomplish anything.

“I also encourage players to evaluate all aspects of the program and give me feedback. I am only one person and the players may have a different read on what is happening with the team.”

Tactically, Kostecky’s practice sessions involve a system called ‘Vision Training’ that he and partner Len Bilous developed several years ago. This method helps players make smart, well-informed decisions by improving their field vision.

Throughout his career, the 47-year-old Kostecky has been an instrumental figure in perpetuating the growth of soccer in America. From 1987-94 he was a coach for New Jersey’s Olympic Development Team, responsible for the training and selection of the state’s top players for the United States National Team.

When he accepted his post at Pfeiffer, he filled a similar role with North Carolina’s Olympic Development squad.

A featured clinician around the world, Kostecky conducted a coaching seminar in Masku, Finland in March of 2005 on ‘Vision Training.’ In early 2005, he released a DVD titled ‘Vision Training’ for soccer. Since its release, it has become one of the most requested coaching DVDs in the country and abroad.
Kostecky has worked with U.S. men’s and women’s National Team members, including Women’s World Cup ’99 champion member Julie Foudy. He conducted an instructional clinic for inner city children at the 1998 NCAA Division I Championships in Richmond, Va. for the NCAA Youth Education Through Sports (Y.E.S.) Program, and again was a guest clinician for Y.E.S. at the 1999 and 2000 NCAA Championships.

In 1989, Kostecky founded Soccer Start, a youth soccer program for inner city children. He served as the program’s National Chairman until 1993. The program continues to identify and cultivate the abundance of talent in the inner-cities. He was appointed World Cup ’94 Committee Chair by then New Jersey Governor Jim Florio and coordinated training site activities in the Metropolitan area for each international team.

Kostecky is holder of an ‘A’ license from the United States Soccer Federation and the ‘Premier Diploma’ from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)- Both are the highest coaching licences. Kostecky’s professional career began in 1981 as camp director for the Vision Training Soccer Camps. He serves as vice president of the camps that are running successfully throughout the East Coast. This year marks the 25 anniversary of the Vision Training Soccer Camps.

A former all-state performer at Woodbridge H.S., he was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1995. He eventually would go on to East Stroudsburg (Pa.) University, where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in health and physical education in 1983 as a midfielder on the soccer team. He completed his Master’s Degree at East Stroudsburg in the same field in 1992. Kostecky serves as adjunct professor in the Department of Sports Science at Long Island University.

He, his wife Donna and daughters Kate, 12, and Caroline, 8, reside in Basking Ridge, N.J.