July 15, 2009
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State men's soccer head coach Lev Kirshner has been named one of the most influential soccer people in San Diego County by the website XKSanDiego.com. Kirshner, who was picked as the 15th-most influential, joins incoming recruit Jose Altamirano (No. 38) (see recruit release) on the 50-person list. The top 10 will be released later this week.
Kirshner has hosted numerous free clinics and seminars for players and coaches across the San Diego area. Kirshner routinely does clinics before and after Aztec games, in which he and the coaching staff discuss tactics and game analysis. In addition, Kirshner maintains ties with the community through his involvement with the PQ Premier boys team for the past three years (U-12 and now the U-14's). Kirshner also has worked with the Hotspurs Soccer Club (1999-2002), where he was at one point the director of soccer operations.
Entering his 10th season at the helm of SDSU's program, Kirshner orchestrated the team's move to the Pac-10 in 2005, arguably one of the top soccer conferences in the nation. The move gave San Diego State its full allotment of scholarships for the first time in program history and the victories followed shortly thereafter.
The Aztecs have advanced to two NCAA tournaments since the move and have finished runner-up in the conference on three occasions. SDSU also had two top-20 recruiting classes in three years and three top-40 recruiting classes over the past four campaigns.
Kirshner has valuable experience working with all levels of soccer, including two stints with the U.S. national team at the Maccabiah Games, a celebration of Jewish heritage. Kirshner led the U-20 national team to a bronze medal at the 2003 Pan-American Games and a silver at 2005 Maccabiah Olympic Games. He also spent extensive time coaching at the Region IV Olympic Development Program (ODP) level, leading his teams to numerous championships.