The Dartmouth Youth Soccer Association (DYSA) Board of Directors has selected Pat Cook as the new director of coaching.

“This director of coaching position is a new position. We’ve been looking for the right person to fill it,” said Ray Anderson, a member of the DYSA Board of Directors.

“The Director of coaching is where the instructional programs and competitive programs reach the coaches,” he said. “It’s how the soccer organization puts forth training policies, coaching policies, all the day-to-day procedures, like how many practices kids should go to.”

Pat Cook, an attorney by trade and a Dartmouth resident, is a 14-year veteran coach in DYSA programs as well as premier soccer clubs including the Vipers and the Nor’Easter Stringers. He's coached players of all ages.

Under his guidance, soccer teams have gone on to win a variety of accolades, including multiple Massachusetts Premiere League Division Championships, 3 v 3 National Championships, semi-finalists in the President’s Cup and semi-finalists in Region 1 Championships.

“He became involved with DYSA early on in his kids’ soccer career,” said Anderson. “Through self education and formal education, he’s gone through training and certification levels all the way to a National USSF B coaching license. He could coach college teams with the license he has.”

Pat starts in his new role in conjunction with the start of the Fall 2015 season and will have a seat on the DYSA Board of Directors.

“Pat’s got a hard job in front of him. He has to coordinate four different programs: our fall recreational, fall travel competitive, spring travel competitive and our Vipers program. He has to educate those coaches, getting them to teach the kids well,” said Anderson.

“He’s very well trained,” he added. “It’s unusual to have someone like that in a town soccer organization. They’re usually coaching colleges.”

The fall season for DYSA starts on Sept 12. Games are scheduled throughout the day on Sept. 12 and 13.