WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary head coach
Chris Norris announced the addition of
Kyle Symczak to the Tribe men's soccer staff as an assistant coach. Symczak spent the last seven years at Centenary College of Louisiana, including the last five as the Gents head men's soccer coach.
"We are excited to have Kyle join us," Norris said. "Having grown up and attended university in Virginia, Kyle has a familiarity with William & Mary, the types of student-athletes we seek, and our most common recruiting areas. In addition, his experiences in college coaching will significantly benefit our players and staff. In his most recent role, as a first-time head coach, he displayed the ability to assess the circumstances, develop a well-conceived plan, and work hard to see it through, resulting in a significant improvement in culture and results. We are confident he can apply these same abilities to multiple areas of Tribe Men's Soccer."
Last season, Symczak led the Gents to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) tournament title, its first in the program's Division III era (since 2012). Centenary avenged regular-season setbacks in all three rounds, including topping St. Thomas a penalty kick shootout in the championship round. The Gents finished last season at 4-5-3. For his efforts, Symczak became the first Centenary head coach in the Division III era to be named SCAC Coach of the Year.
In total, Symczak mentored seven All-SCAC players, including the programs first player to be named to the first team in Wil Escobar in 2019. A program-record three players earned All-SCAC honors in 2021, including Andres Bautista being named to the first team. Over the last five years, 50 Centenary men's soccer student-athletes have been named to the SCAC Academic Honor Roll. This past season, Jaron Petras became the program's first selection as SCAC Men's Soccer Elite 19.
A native of Woodbridge, Va., Symczak served as the interim head coach of the program in 2016 after he was the graduate assistant coach in both 2014 and 2015. He led the Gents to seven wins in his first season. In 2019, Centenary finished the year at 8-8, posting five shutouts. The eight wins were the second most in the program's Division III era, and the Gents were 7-3 at home.
In his two seasons as the only assistant at Centenary, Symczak worked in all facets of the program, including day-to-day operations, team travel and workouts with individual players as well as with recruiting. During his time at Centenary, Symczak earned his master's degree in education in 2017.
Prior to his time at Centenary, Symczak was a four-year member of Lynchburg College from 2008-11, including serving as the captain his senior season. In his career, Symczak appeared in 88 matches and had eight goals, including three game-winning goals, with four assists. In 2010, he helped unranked Lynchburg reach the NCAA Division III title game as the Hornets lost a heartbreaker in overtime to No. 3 Messiah, 2-1. He graduated from Lynchburg with a degree in business administration in 2013.