Derrek Falor
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- Title:
- Head Coach
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- Phone:
- 687-4802
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- Email:
- d.falor@csuohio.edu
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- Previous College:
- Western Washington, 1992
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- Experience:
- 10th Year
Derrek Falor, who has built the Cleveland State women’s
soccer program from the ground up over the last decade, returns to
Cleveland State for his 10th season as the head coach of the
women’s soccer program with one goal in mind: continue to
climb the Horizon League ledger and win the league
championship.
The only coach in program history, Falor has steadily built the
program from winless seasons in the first two years to being one
victory away from the league’s regular season title in 2010.
In that time, he has coached three first team and eight second team
All-Horizon League selections, six All-Ohio honorees and the 2010
Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year.
Last year’s squad battled injuries from the start of the
season to finish 6-11. However, a total of 17 letterwinners return
from that youthful squad and combined with one of the top
recruiting classes under Falor, the Vikings are poised to show
improvement.
The 2011 team got off to the best start in program history,
winning seven of its first 10 matches. After a brief mid-season
struggle, Falor’s group rebounded to go 2-0-1 over its last
three matches, clinching fourth place in the Horizon League and a
first round league championship match at home for the second
straight season. Natalie Daniels also became the first player in
school history to earn all-league honors in four consecutive
seasons.
The 10 wins in 2011 continued the upward trend for the Vikings.
After winning no matches in either of the first two years of
existance, the Vikings won three matches in 2006 and pushed the win
total to five in 2007 and eight in 2008 season before winning nine
in 2010 and 10 in 2011.
Cleveland State has also started to build a home field advantage
under Falor, as the Vikings produced a program-best 7-2-2 record at
Krenzler Field in 2010. Over the last four seasons, CSU has posted
an 21-17-6 mark at home.
A big believer in ball control offense, Falor has steadily
improved his team’s scoring while concurrently tightening up
its defensive play.
After allowing 95 goals in 2004, the Vikings lowered the total to
68 in 2005, 54 in 2006, 51 in 2007, 39 during 2008, 25 in 2010 and
22 in 2011. At the other end of the field, the Vikings have
gradually increased their scoring total from four in 2004 to 23 in
2007, 19 during 2008, 24 in 2010 and 25 in 2011. Shots on goal have
surged from 112 in the inaugural year to almost double in 2007 with
197 and a school-record 211 in 2011.
When Falor was hired in February of 2003, he was charged with
developing the program from scratch. He implemented an 18-month
plan that culminated in 2004 when the Vikings began the inaugural
season of women’s soccer at CSU.
A sports psychology major in college, Falor knew that the success
of the team during the first several seasons wouldn’t be
based on wins and losses, but by how well the program was set up
for success in the future. Playing with a roster that has been
dominated by underclassmen - CSU had just two seniors during the
first three seasons - Falor knew that he needed to look to
gradually improve the Viking roster over the course of the
following seasons.
The passion that Falor displays for coaching has been evident in
the process that he has used in developing the Viking program,
following a step-by-step plan to address all the necessary growth
aspects of the program.
After coming to CSU, Falor focused the majority of his energy on
recruiting, searching northeast Ohio and the surrounding area for
players that he felt fit into his vision of the program. He
accomplished just that, signing an inaugural class of 12 players in
February of 2004 who he felt would be the cornerstone of the
program for years to come.
A two-year starter on the men’s soccer squad at Shoreline
College in Seattle, Wash. (1987-88), Falor transferred to Western
Washington in 1989, earning a bachelor’s degree in exercise
science and sports psychology in 1992.
Falor remained at Western Washington, serving as a graduate
assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s soccer
teams for two years (1993-94) while earning his master’s in
sports psychology in 1995.
Falor received his first collegiate head coaching position in 1995
when he was promoted to women’s head coach at Western
Washington. He compiled a 56-47-10 mark in six seasons, the second
highest win total by a head coach in school history, and helped the
Vikings to top-three conference finishes each year.
Falor moved to DePaul in 2001 where he assisted in all facets of
coaching, including recruiting, travel management, technical and
tactical player development, mental skills training, and
fundraising.
He helped the Blue Demons turn around a struggling program, as
DePaul won just three matches prior to his arrival but improved to
six in 2001 and 10 in 2002.
A native of Seattle, Washington, Falor married the former Camille
Anne Beatty in 1992. The couple has two sons, Mason and Elliot, and
reside in Lakewood.