Illinois Futbol Club

Background/Experience
Imants was born and raised in Colorado where he played club ball for “Colorado Rush”. Winning their league on a yearly basis along with winning several State Cups the team competed across the nation at the highest level. Imants then attended Earlham College where the team made the NCAA tournament for the first time and was ranked in the top 10 nationally. Throughout his playing career Imants has been a captain for every team he has played. Starting his coaching career back at the high school he attended Imants helped rebuild the competitive nature and tradition of the program. Imants then moved to Kalamazoo to attend graduate school and coach with the Kalamazoo Kingdom and Kingdom Reserves. Imants has a USSF “D” license, and he lives in Champaign with his wife Amanda and 2 boys Brady and Austin.

Coaching Philosophy
Imants believes that soccer is an athletic experience that helps players in all facets of daily life; problem solving, teamwork, dedication, leadership, adaptability and hard work are all experienced while playing soccer and this helps build positive character attributes. Soccer is and should be fun and as a coach it is important that players enjoy the game. Imants teaches the technical and tactical aspects of the game in an experiential manner while constantly demanding the best from every player. Taking a strength based approach to individual players Imants tries to bring out the best in every athlete.