Derek Bell has been named the new soccer coach at Cornell College. Bell had been an assistant for the women’s team at Wisconsin-Stevens Point the past two seasons. Bell played at Knox College and at that time Cornell was a member of the Midwest Conference.
Bell says he’s long respected the school and he played in that type of environment and says it’s a great place to coach and an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Bell will serve as head coach for both the men’s and women’s teams. He says they teams will end up traveling a lot together, and it’s something he says happens a lot in Division 3 programs.
Bell says there are advantages to coaching both teams. He says it allows a concentration of effort into soccer at the school, and he says you have to divide your time wisely. Bell says he loves coaching both men and women and it is exciting to be able to coach both.
Bell says as the sport gains popularity the talent pool in Iowa is becoming larger. He has been part of the Wisconsin Olympic development program and he says Iowa’s programs have been expanding at all levels.