Leader Derek Leader was named the fourth head coach of the Grand Canyon women's soccer program hisory on Feb. 10, 2016.   Leader brings over 20 years of coaching experience to the Lopes, including four years as an NCAA Division I head coach and 12 years at the IMG Soccer Academy.   Leader joins the Lopes from Georgia State where he spent the last three seasons. Under his direction, Leader improved the Panthers RPI from 235 in 2013 to 95 in 2015. The Panthers were ranked in the top-10 in the Southern Region, one of only two non-SEC teams on the list. Leader also coached the first two NSCAA All-South Region players in program history. In just their second year in the Sun Belt Conference, the Panthers finished as runner-up to No. 22 ranked South Alabama in the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Championship.   As assistant director at the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Leader made his mark in the soccer community where he also served as womens soccer head coach from 1996-2008. He was inducted into the IMG Soccer Academy Hall of Fame in 2010.   Leader coached the 2005 MLS Rookie of the Year, Michael Parkhurst, and the 2013 NWSL Rookie of the Year, Erika Tymrak among many other future professional soccer players, during his time with IMG. During his tenure in Bradenton, he also coached local semi-pro teams, serving as an assistant coach for the Bradenton Academics PDL men's team from 2001-04 and as head coach for the Bradenton Athletics W-League women's team from 2004-08.   Prior to taking the head coach position at Georgia State, Leader was the associate head coach at SMU for four years. Leader assisted head coach, and current GCU mens assistant, Brent Erwin to four-straight Conference USA Tournament appearances, including two double-digit win totals in his last two seasons with the Mustangs.   Leader is a graduate of Akron in 1995 and is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and the United States Soccer Coaches Organization. He also holds several coaching licenses that include a United States Soccer Federation National "A" License, an NSCAA Premier License and an International Coaching Diploma from the Victoria Coaching Institute in British Columbia, Canada.   Leader is a native of Stow, Ohio, and his wife, Kim, hails from Millen, Ga. The couple has a daughter named Jacqueline. DEREK LEADER: WHATS BEING SAID   Robbie Church, Duke womens soccer head coach "I think this is a home run hire for Grand Canyon with Derek Leader. Derek is one of the best soccer minds in the college game and he did a phenomenal job of building the Georgia State program up. Not only is he very, very good on the field, but he genuinely cares for his student-athletes. He makes sure they do the right thing in the classroom and that they do the right thing in the community. I think everyone at Grand Canyon will really enjoy Derek and I think he will become part of the community as the program continues to grow under his leadership."   Schellas Hyndman, GCU mens soccer head coach We are going to be very pleased having Derek Leader as our womens soccer coach. I have known him through reputation and people that I respect greatly in the game think a lot of him because he is extremely hard-working and he is a grinder. He has a can-do mentality and is very knowledgeable about soccer and is very committed to his team and university. He has been very involved with the IMG Academy in Florida, so he has been around some great coaches from national teams and that have given him the foundation to be a great soccer coach. He will be a great hire for us here at GCU.     Tom Durkin, Former Director of Coaching & Player Development at IMG Academy I am really pleased that GCU decided to hire Derek as head coach because he has worked at almost every level of U.S. Soccer on the womens side. He has certainly put in his time in the trenches and I think this is his time. Derek is going to do a wonderful job with the opportunity presented at Grand Canyon.