A Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Coach of the Year, Jeff Leightman enters his sixth season as the San Jose State University women[apos]s soccer head coach.
In the program[apos]s 18-year history, Leightman is the only coach to lead his team to back-to-back regular season conference titles. His five-year record is 40-47-11, and his 2009 squad was the first since 1999 to post a winning record. In each of his first four years, he led the Spartans to a WAC Tournament bid.
In his 2010 campaign, Leightman led the team to its second-straight winning season. San Jose State broke a team mark for most single-season WAC wins with six. With a shutout victory at home on senior night, San Jose State clinched a share of the 2010 WAC regular season title. The program received numerous honors from the 2010 All-WAC women[apos]s soccer awards with the Freshman of the Year distinction and three players earning All-WAC honors. Three additional players were named to the WAC All-Tournament Team.
The Spartans set a single-season school record with a 14-match unbeaten streak, ignited by five-consecutive shutout victories. Four Spartans were first-team All-WAC selections and one earned second-team conference honors. In addition, Leightman became the second San Jose State women[apos]s soccer coach to be named WAC Coach of the Year.
Leightman[apos]s success on the pitch in his first five seasons with the Spartans parallels the team[apos]s academic success. San Jose State players have 52 Academic All-WAC awards since the 2008 season. In 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) recognized the Spartans with one of its Team Awards for achieving a team grade point average over 3.00 on a 4.00 scale. Since beginning his tenure at San Jose State, Leightman[apos]s athletes have earned three Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholar nods.
A COAST-TO-COAST PROGRAM BUILDER
Coaching at his alma mater, Leightman seamlessly transitioned Binghamton University[apos]s women[apos]s soccer program from a mediocre Division III team to a regionally-ranked Division I force in the east. Leightman left Binghamton for San Jose State as its winningest women[apos]s soccer coach, compiling an overall record of 102-66-1 from 1998 through 2007.
In 2004, Binghamton won the America East Conference title and earned an NCAA Championship Tournament berth in just four seasons competing at the Division I level. The Bearcats[apos] success resulted in Leightman receiving America East Conference Coach of the Year honors.
Through seven years of Division I competition, Leightman directed his squad to top-10 Northeast Region rankings by both the NSCAA and Soccer Buzz magazine. In 2001, Soccer Buzz ranked Binghamton as the top first-year Division I program in the nation. Respected by his coaching colleagues, Leightman served as the America East Women[apos]s Soccer Coaches[apos] Chair from 2005-07, the National Chairman for the NSCAA/Adidas rankings and the East Region Chairman for the NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-America Committee.
A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COACH & ODP EXPERIENCE
Leightman[apos]s coaching career began with a three-season tenure in 1993 as an assistant at Binghamton. The Bearcats went 39-13-8 overall during that span, earned a conference championship, was ranked second nationally in 1995 and played in the 1995 NCAA Division III Championship. He moved to the University of North Carolina for the 1996 season and was an assistant coach on the Tar Heels[apos] NCAA Division I championship team. After a year as a Villanova University assistant coach, he returned to Binghamton as the women[apos]s team head coach.
Since 1999, Leightman has worked for the Olympic Development Program. He is currently the head coach of the De Anza Force U16 team in Cupertino, Calif. The Force competes in the Elite Club National League (ECNL), an elite program in girls[apos] youth soccer. He was a United States Youth Soccer Region I staff coach and was the Director of Coaching for the BC United Fusion, a premier girls[apos] youth soccer program, from 2004-07. In 1999-2000, he was the girls[apos] head coach of the New York State West ODP U16 and U17 teams.
Leightman earned a bachelor[apos]s degree in biological sciences from Binghamton in 1995. He holds an NSCAA Premier diploma and a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) [quote]A[quote] license.
| Season | Record | ||
| 2012 | San Jose State | 6-11-1 | |
| 2011 | San Jose State | 6-12-1 | |
|
2010 |
San Jose State | 12-7-2 | Western Athletic Conference regular season champion |
| 2009 | San Jose State | 11-6-3 | Western Athletic Conference regular season champion; WAC Coach of the Year |
| 2008 | San Jose State | 5-11-4 | |
| San Jose State (5 seasons) |
40-47-11 | ||
| 2007 | Binghamton | 3-12-4 | America East Conference Tournament semifinals |
| 2006 | Binghamton | 7-8-3 | |
| 2005 | Binghamton | 10-6-4 | America East Conference Tournament semifinals |
| 2004 | Binghamton | 14-6-1 | America East Conference champion; NCAA Division I Championship 1st round; AEC Coach of the Year |
| 2003 | Binghamton | 9-8-2 | ECAC Division I Semifinals |
| 2002 | Binghamton | 9-7-2 | |
| 2001 | Binghamton | 12-5-2 | ECAC Division I Semifinals |
| 2000 | Binghamton | 11-5-1 | |
| 1999 | Binghamton | 13-6-1 | ECAC Division II Final |
| 1998 | Binghamton | 14-3-1 | ECAC Division II Champion |
| Binghamton (10 seasons) |
102-66-21 | ||
| Career (15 seasons) | 142-113-32 |