HEat Coaches

Coach Yo joins the West Michigan Heat as the Varsity Head Coach, holds a USSF National B License, and brings years of knowledge and experience with him to the Heat. He has successfully worked with youth,  collegiate, and semi professional teams, and looks forward to help grow and develop the players in order to enable them to be successfull in their future endeavors on and off the pitch. 

Through coaching Yo has made it a part of his mission to help players navigate the trials they will inevitably encounter, and become spiritual champions in life. 

On the pitch, Coach Yo loves to see his players learn and grow in their technical skills and gain tactical knowledge to allow them to excel and see success as players within the Heat club. He strives to instill a passion and love for the beautiful game in every Heat player and family in our club.

Tim Kraal began as assistant Varsity coach for 2021 season. Coach Tim believes soccer is a tool for learning. Life lessons, teamwork, individual skills, and work ethic are growth opportunities.

After playing competitive soccer, Tim has many years coaching experience for local recreation soccer programs, training camps, indoor leagues, and sand soccer squads. He has been a Michigan Rangers elite team assistant for years   He brings experience with training, statistics tracking and analysis, scouting, strategy and tactics planning, and goalkeeping.

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** Bio coming soon **

Coach Scott was honored to join the Heat coaching staff in 2019 and assist in the JV State Championship.  

After playing soccer at a young age, Scott rediscovered a passion for the game as an AYSO coach. He decided to be a student of the game by studying books and consuming countless videos and podcasts as well as time on the field learning the techniques for himself in order to effectively train his players. He was honored to be one of the three inaugural coaches for AYSO United where he successfully coached his teams through two divisions in three seasons. Scott holds a U.S. Soccer E License.

Erik started playing soccer when he was six-years-old in the Netherlands where he was born and raised and played until his college years. While playing soccer, he enjoyed the technique, the teamwork and the sportsmanship aspects of the game.  

In this first year as an assistant coach with the Heat, Erik is excited to be part of the coaching team for the Junior High School teams and contribute to developing the players.  

Erik and his wife live in Jenison where they homeschool their children. He is the father of one girl and seven boys, of which three play for the Heat. In spare time, he enjoys playing soccer with his kids, reading, and being outdoors with his family.

Graeme has played soccer for ten years and enjoys the growth that comes from being part of a team. Learning how to move and operate as one is crucial. He focuses on seeing soccer from a perspective that is not limited to ground level, instead observing all aspects on and off the field from a bird's-eye view. 

Graeme has played soccer since his junior high days at Cityside Middle School, continuing on into high school at Zeeland East. He also played travel soccer for Kalamazoo Crew for three years.

Graeme lives in Zeeland, Michigan and attends Grand Valley State University, studying Secondary Education with a focus in Group Social Studies. In his free time he enjoys playing guitar, seeing his friends, and spending time with his family, aside from getting touches on the ball.

Andy is excited to join the Heat JH team as an assistant coach in 2023. He is so impressed with the "family aspect" of Heat and hopes he can contribute to it. He is passionate about how pushing oneself and communication on the field can translate into an incredible team effort and community on and off the soccer field.  Andy played soccer throughout high school and college and had his share of regional championships. He is excited about his first coaching endeavor. Helping young men to learn valuable life lessons and how to be more like Jesus through the game of soccer are just a few things he hopes to address.

Andy and his wife Lea have two boys and spend a lot of time being involved with their church family, homeschooling, and playing soccer at home. In his spare time, Andy loves fishing, hunting, cooking, and playing ping pong.
 

Kolten is a former West Michigan Heat athlete and homeschool graduate. He also Rangers FC (formerly Michigan Fire Juniors at the Directors Academy and Premier levels.

Kolten enjoys Studying theology, Serving in his church, Archery, and Video games.

I appreciate connecting with the boys on the soccer pitch and encouraging their passion for the game.