Joe Brefczynski enters his first season as an assistant coach with Gettysburg’s women’s soccer team. Brefczynski adds a tremendous amount of experience to the staff both as a former professional player and a long-time coach at the youth level. This fall, he will work specifically with the Bullet goalkeepers.
Brefczynski comes to Gettysburg by way of California where he served as the Assistant Director of Coaching for Real California F.C. As a member of Real’s staff, he acted as the Goal Keeper Trainer and Coach for the Girls U15 White and U17 Black teams. He was also an instructor with the Wynalda Soccer Academy, owned and operated by American soccer legend Eric Wynalda.
Brefczynski has been involved in coaching youth soccer for 10 years, beginning when he was just 15 years old. From 17 to 19, he owned and operated the Stealth Soccer Academy in Dyer, Indiana, and he was a member of the Chicago Fire Juniors coaching staff prior to joining Real California F.C. He and his sister owned and operated the Ambition Soccer Academy, a camp company targeted at providing sound training to children who could not otherwise get to larger camps located outside their communities. Brefczynski has received numerous accolades during his time as a coach, including milestone awards from a pair of Major League Soccer teams – Chives USA and L.A. Galaxy – for his 10 years of dedication to youth soccer in addition to being named the 2003 Coach of the Year in the South Suburban Youth Soccer Association.
Also an accomplished player, Brefczynski earned all-conference and all-area awards in high school and helped his club team, the Chicago Magic Soccer Club, win a national championship in 1999. He spent one year at the University of Dubuque before opting for a career at the professional level. Brefczynski spent three years with F.C. Kimke in Russia and two years with the Cincinnati Excite, helping the latter win the 2005-06 American Indoor Soccer League championship. While with the Excite, he also acted as the club’s Assistant General Manager of Player Operations.
A native of Chicago, Brefczynski holds numerous certifications from the Nationals Soccer Coaches Association of American, most notably in the area of goalkeeping.
