PREP BOYS SOCCER: Kyle Dijkstra to take over NorthWood program

Austin Hough, Goshen News, Ind.
·4 min read

Jun. 15—NAPPANEE — Two families have been synonymous with the NorthWood boys soccer program for nearly its entire existence: Duerksen and Dijkstra. So, when one Duerksen stepped down as head coach after 24 seasons, it was only natural to look toward a Dijkstra to take over.

Enter Kyle Dijkstra.

The 2013 NorthWood graduate was officially hired as the new NorthWood boys soccer coach Monday, taking over for Brad Duerksen. Along with playing for Duerksen, Dijkstra also played for his father, Egbert, who's been an assistant coach for Duerksen all 24 years.

"It means a lot," said Dijkstra of becoming the new NorthWood head coach. "Duerksen and my father started coaching in 1997, and I was born in 1995. ... I have all of these memories of going to games. So, yeah, it definitely means a lot to be the head coach now."

New NorthWood Athletic Director Roman Smith said in a press release that "Kyle exemplified strong leadership, great structure, organization, a plan for youth development, and a process of success for our Varsity program. He is a hometown guy that understands our soccer community. Kyle is going to be able to provide continuity within the program, while adding to the standard of success and excellence that is in place. This is a great hire for NorthWood High School!"

Dijkstra was a four-year starting goaltender for NorthWood, winning a sectional championship as part of the Panthers' 2010 team. He was the team defensive MVP three times, an All-NLC player and still holds the program records for most shutouts in both a single season and a career.

After his playing career, Dijkstra attended Indiana University and earned a degree in computer science. He then started a job as a software developer in Fort Wayne in 2017, but still helped the NorthWood program as much as he could. He was then able to start doing his job remotely from his home in New Paris, allowing him to be more involved as a coach. In the past few seasons, Dijkstra has primarily focused on being the goalkeeper coach for the Panthers.

Now, Dijkstra gets to take over a program that's coming off its most successful season in its history. The Panthers finished with a 15-4-3 record, winning a sectional title and the program's first-ever regional championship as well.

"It's awesome," said Dijkstra of taking over a successful program. "That's just a credit to Duerksen and what he's done. His first season, I think they didn't even win a game. So, 24 years later, to win a regional — that's basically going out on top. To be able to take over what he's built and laid the foundation for is a great place to start off from. It definitely helps as being a new head coach, knowing I don't have to re-invent everything."

Duerksen, who went 194-175-6 in his 24 seasons at the helm, praised the move. The former coach will be moving to Winter Garden, Florida, with his family to become the head boys soccer coach at Horizon High School, which will be opening in the fall.

"I can't be more excited for Kyle and the entire Dijkstra family," Duerksen said. "Kyle is more than prepared to be the next head coach of NorthWood soccer. He has been a great assistant the past several years, and I look forward to seeing the program flourish under his leadership."

The 2021 NorthWood team will be replacing a lot of talent. The top two-point scorers in program history, Andre De Freitas and Sebastian Guillen, graduated, as well as starting goaltender Andrew Graber. On top of that, Duerksen's son, Chase, moved to Florida with his family, meaning he'll play his last two seasons under his dad in the Sunshine State.

One person who isn't leaving, though, is Kyle's dad, Egbert. The elder Dijkstra will remain as an assistant coach for his son.

"He's already made plenty of jokes about how I'm going to be his boss now," said Kyle of his father.

Despite the son being the one in control now, Kyle doesn't foresee any issues between he and his father.

"I think it'll be great," Kyle said. "That's one thing that me and my dad talked about with Duerksen: I think (Duerksen's) best ability as a coach, in terms of working with other coaches, was that it felt like the whole coaching staff was working together; it wasn't like Duerksen telling us what to do. So, that's definitely one thing I want to take and do as well. ... I know I'll technically be the head coach, but it's going to definitely be more of a co-coaching situation."

Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.