OUR STAFF TIM WARD, CAMP DIRECTOR looks forward to his eight summer with Malibu
Soccer Academy. With more than a decade's worth of experience as the head coach of the Pepperdine women’s soccer program, Tim Ward has taken the squad from obscurity to among the nation’s elite.
Since first assuming head coaching duties in 1998, Ward has led his team to eight winning seasons and five NCAA Tournament berths, including two Sweet 16 appearances. In addition, the Waves have finished the year with Top 25 recognition four times and shared the West Coast Conference title in 2002.
During his first 11 seasons as head coach, Ward has led the Waves to an overall record of 124-68-29 (.627), with seven seasons of double-digit victories. His players have earned All-American status four times, All-West Region honors 12 times, All-WCC notice 54 times
|
and WCC All-Academic awards 15 times.
In 2002, Ward was named the WCC Coach of the Year and earned West Region Coach of the Year honors from both the NSCAA and Soccer Buzz. In addition, he was awarded runner-up status for National Coach of the Year from Soccer Buzz.
Along with his staff, Ward has worked diligently to advance Pepperdine’s recruiting efforts, and it has not gone unnoticed. After having classes that were ranked 30th in the nation by Soccer Buzz in both 2003 and 2005, that ranking rose to 18th in 2006 and 15th in 2007.
Ward's 2008 recruiting class was ranked ninth out of 49 West Region teams by Soccer Buzz and his 2009 group is considered by TopDrawerSoccer.com to be one of the best of the West Coast Conference.
Ward has been with Pepperdine from nearly the beginning, as the women’s soccer program was established in 1993 and he came aboard as an assistant coach in 1994. After four years as an assistant, he was elevated to the head coaching spot in 1998.
After his teams produced winning seasons in 1999 and 2000, the 2001 campaign proved to be a breakthrough year for Ward and the Pepperdine women’s soccer team. The program received its first-ever top 25 national ranking and made its debut in the NCAA Tournament. One other season highlight was a 1-0 overtime victory against second-ranked and eventual national champion Santa Clara.
The Waves concluded the 2001 season ranked with a 12-5-3 record and ranked #20 nationally by Soccer Buzz, #22 by the NSCAA and #24 by Soccer Times. Playing in their first-ever NCAA Tournament match, the Waves recorded a 1-0 first-round victory over crosstown rival USC.
That success catapulted Pepperdine to even greater heights in 2002 as the Waves opened the season with a school-record 12-match unbeaten streak. Pepperdine ended the season with a remarkable 18-2-2 overall record, defeated both perennial powers Santa Clara and Portland and shared a first-ever WCC championship.
In the 2002 NCAA Tournament, the Waves went on the road to defeat Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wisconsin to move Pepperdine into the Sweet 16 for the first time. The Waves finished in the Top 10 in all four major soccer polls, including a program-high #5 ranking by Soccer America.
The Waves continued their run of success in 2003, posting an overall mark of 14-6-1 and earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. For the third straight year, Pepperdine won its first-round match with a 1-0 victory over USC.
In 2004, Pepperdine concluded the season with a 9-7-3 overall record and received another at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Despite suffering a first-round 1-0 setback to UCLA, the Waves set single-season records for fewest goals allowed (12) and lowest goals-against average (0.60).
The program continued to see success in 2005, as Ward led the Waves to an overall record of 15-4-3, its second Sweet 16 appearance and a top 20 final ranking. Pepperdine was ranked as high as #7 at one point during the season by Soccer Buzz. In the NCAA Tournament, fourth-seeded Pepperdine traveled to Nashville, Tenn., and posted first and second-round victories over Mississippi and Samford, respectively.
The 2006 squad had another successful year with an overall mark of 11-6-3 and a third-place finish in the WCC, but was unfortunately left on the bubble when NCAA Tournament at-large bids were awarded. A young team and a challenging schedule led to a 5-8-6 record in 2007.
Pepperdine won its final three conference games of 2008 to finish fourth in the WCC at 4-3 while posting an overall mark of 9-9-2.
A 1989 graduate of Agoura (Calif.) High School, Ward earned All-CIF Southern Section first team honors as a senior and was tabbed the Frontier League’s Most Valuable Player after leading the Chargers to a dazzling 23-3-1 record.
Ward continued his soccer career at nearby California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif. During his four-year tenure, the Kingsmen compiled a record of 57-18-8 (.735). Cal Lutheran won or shared the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in 1991, 1992 and 1993, and advanced to postseason play in 1990, 1991 and 1992.
The 1992 team established a single-season school record by winning 15 matches, and the Kingsmen advanced to the NCAA Division III Far West Regional championship match before losing to Colorado College. Ward was recognized on the Adidas All-Academic team after his senior year in 1992, and was a All-SCIAC first team selection in 1992 after earning second team honors in 1991.
Ward earned his bachelor’s degree from Cal Lutheran in December of 1993, graduating magna cum laude while specializing in the fields of biology and psychology.
Ward served as the head coach for the junior varsity boys’ soccer team at Agoura High for five years from 1989-93. In 1994 he was named the school’s varsity coach. In their most successful season since joining the Marmonte League, Ward directed the Chargers to a 12-7-3 record.
Ward possesses a United States Soccer Federation “B” coaching license.
An accomplished musician, Ward is a talented singer and acoustic guitarist. He was a member of the band “Your Moose,” a group that performed original contemporary folk rock and released its first compact disc in 1997. His new group, “Ward & Egertson,” will release a CD in the near future.
Ward, 38, resides in Moorpark with his wife, Shelby, and their three children — Abigail, Nathaniel and Charlotte.
oined Pepperdine, the Waves are 49-34-17 (.575) in five seasons and have been to two NCAA Tournaments, including the 2005 Sweet 16.
In the winter of 2009, Kaufman was hired as the new head coach for the Los Angeles Legends. The Legends compete in the USL W-League, which represents one of the highest levels of competitive women’s soccer in the U.S. and Canada.
Kaufman also has worked as a staff coach for the Region IV ODP program and with the Camarillo Eagles Soccer Club. She previously had stints with the Cal South ODP system.
Before coming to Pepperdine, Kaufman served as a volunteer assistant coach at Northern Arizona. Kaufman also served as co-director of the Northern Arizona Training Academy in Flagstaff, Ariz., and accumulated three years experience as an assistant coach for the Arizona ODP system. While living in Arizona, Kaufman also had coaching jobs with Salpointe Catholic High School, The Foothills Soccer Club and the ASUSC Black Hawks.
Kaufman was a four-year starter at the University of Arizona, where she served as team captain and finished her career ranked in the top 10 in eight different statistical categories, including #1 in matches played. She was selected to the Pacific-10 Conference’s All-Academic team three times and was a Mary Roby Award recipient for four years. Kaufman was also named the Wildcats’ Rookie of the Year in 1998.
She reached the pinnacle of her playing career while competing for two seasons with the Arizona Heatwave of the W-1 League, which was affiliated with WUSA.
A native of Los Angeles, Kaufman attended nearby Harvard-Westlake High School. As a club player, she played for the Las Virgenes Blazers (now Real Southern California) before moving to the Southern California Blues Soccer Club, where she played for Hugh Donald and won two state championships (1997 and 1998). Kaufman was also a member of the Cal South and Region IV ODP teams and was in the national pool.
Kaufman graduated from Arizona with a bachelor of arts degree in 2003. She holds a USSF National “B” license. She currently resides in Calabasas.