Jim Herlinger, a graduate from Richland High School and Slippery Rock State College for both undergrad and graduate programs, now lives in Johnstown and has two sons; Logan James, an eDiscovery Career Associate with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and James Gabriel, a Community Theatre Director and Actor, Pittsburgh, PA.
Reflecting back on his time at the Rock, Herlinger played on the soccer team from 1970-1973 and by 1977 he was the Graduate Assistant Coach and received the Coaches Award in 1972 and soon enough, he became the Head Coach in 1988 for the men’s soccer team as well. From then until 1993, he was also an Instructor of Physical Education at his alma mater.
Before coaching and teaching however, Herlinger continued his soccer career and followed it all the way to the London Amateur Leagues of Hayes FC and Barnet Wood FC in 1976. He played in those leagues until he was 42 years old and in the end he was a competitive shooter for 42 years and participated in three Team National Championships.
He also started the Johnstown Youth Soccer which became the AYSO Region 142, is a member of the NSCAA Ethics Committee where he helped write the NSCAA Code of Ethics with Greg Myers, was the Executive Secretary for the APISC, the President of the PSAC Soccer Committee, and on the NCAA II Regional Ranking Committee.
Not only did he coach and lecture at SRU, but he did the same at Pitt-Johnstown as the Assistant and Head Coach of Men’s Soccer. His coaching experience did not stop there. He picked up another sport; tennis, at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina in addition to being the Head Soccer Coach there.
Continuing to coach as the Assistant Coach or in the Head Coach position, Herlinger made an impact on the soccer programs at Appalachian State, Wheeling Jesuit College, Gannon University NCAA DII, and is currently the Women’s Soccer and Track Coach at the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown.
He was also the Club Manager at FC Richmond, the Ropes Course Manager at Camp Kenbridge Boot Camp for Adjudicated Youth, an At Risk Student Advisor and Testing Coordinator at West Johnston High School in North Carolina where he also began the boys and girls soccer teams and assisted with the wrestling team, and started both the boy’s and girl’s soccer teams along with the wrestling team as well as coaching middle school and high school football at Nottoway County Schools in Virginia.
Within a total of 15 years as Head Coach, Herlinger had 55 All-conference players, 6 All-Region players, 1 NSCAA Senior Bowl Players, 1 All-American, 55 Academic All-conference, and 3 Academic All-Americans.
Herlinger also won the Coach of the Year Award in 1998 for the Southside Athletic Conference in Virginia and also in the Big East Eight Athletic Conference in North Carolina in 2004.
As a staff member of 102 weeks of soccer camps he has demonstrated his knowledge at camps ranging from UPJ, Smokey Mountain, Chesapeake, Navy, AYSO, IUP, Gannon, Mercyhurst, SRU, Appalachian, and is currently working summer clinics at Pitt Johnstown on an hourly basis where he already contributed over 1100 hours of community service in the last three years.
