Nick Funk takes over reins of his alma mater's boys soccer program
GODFREY - New head Alton High School boys soccer coach Nick Funk has achieved a lifetime goal in taking over the reins of the program.
Funk was a 2006 Alton High School graduate. He was a soccer player for four years at Alton High School before playing at the collegiate level at Illinois College and St. Louis Christian College.
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The new head Alton boys coach said he hopes to get Alton High School to the top echelon of the Southwestern Conference and push the Redbirds back to their winning ways of old. Last year Alton was 9-10-3. Funk coached Alton High’s junior varsity team for two years and said because of that, he knows the players and their ways.
“I am pretty confident I can come in and do something special with these guys,” he said. “I am trying to contain myself, but I am pretty excited about being the head coach. This is something I always wanted to do and I feel like I have accomplished a lifelong goal.”
Funk said he wants to see AHS compete each year for the SWC boys’ soccer title.
“I have a strong feeling we should be competing for the SWC Conference title every year and with the way the regions are broken, we have a pretty good chance of making some noise in the postseason,” he said. “Obviously, the end goal is always to win state, but our first goal is to win the regional and take it every game from there game by game.”
The new coach will be working hard to instill a proper mental fortitude in the team, which he said he thinks is necessary to become a winner.
“I think the program got away from that,” he said. “Fitness will be one of my main focuses. We will be a fit team.”
The summer workouts were excellent, Funk said, and he has solid expectations for the upcoming boys soccer season.
The Redbirds open their season at home on Aug. 24 against Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin.
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