Longtime college soccer coach to appear at clinic

PALMER — Local soccer coaches will have the chance to work with a top college coach at the Division II level during a coaches clinic tonight from 6-8:30 p.m. at Colony High School.

Longtime West Texas A&M head coach Butch Lauffer will lead the clinic, which features an hour of on-field training and 90 minutes of work in the classroom. The cost is $30 and the session is open to any soccer coach.

Jeremy Johnson, head coach of the Colony boys soccer team, invited Lauffer to Alaska. In addition to the coaches clinic, Lauffer will also work with the Colony boys, Colony girls and Palmer girls teams during clinics this week.

Lauffer was an instructor during a national clinic Johnson attended early in his prep coaching career and has kept in touch with Lauffer since.

Lauffer recently completed his 19th season with WTAM. For the bulk of that time, Lauffer coached both the men’s and women’s teams at the Texas university. Lauffer has received a number of coach of the year honors during his career. He led the Buffaloes men’s team to more than 200 wins and the women’s team to 175 victories.

Lauffer holds a United States Soccer Federation “A” license, the highest of its kind in the US. He also holds multiple international licenses. In 1994, Lauffer was part of the USSF national coaching staff during the World Cup.

Lauffer is also a published author, with three books about coaching to his credit.

— Jeremiah Bartz