Indiana women’s soccer adds Daniel Brizard to coaching staff

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Via Indiana University) – A 20-year college coaching veteran, Daniel Brizard has been named as an assistant coach for Indiana University Women’s Soccer, head coach Amy Berbary announced on Tuesday.

“I am honored and excited to be joining the Indiana Women’s Soccer program,” said Brizard. “I would like to thank head coach Amy Berbary, assistant coach Sandy Davison and Senior Associate Athletic Director Stephen Harper for this extraordinary opportunity to join a program with such deep tradition and history. I am looking forward to helping the coaches build upon the solid foundation they have established on the field and in the classroom and to start achieving the goals they have set for the future. It’s an exciting time to be a Hoosier and I can’t wait to get started.”

Brizard comes to Indiana after spending last season with LSU as a volunteer assistant and the previous three as an assistant with Rhode Island. His time with the Tigers marked the second stop in Baton Rouge as he served as an assistant with LSU from 2005-10. With the Tigers, he trained the goalkeepers while also scouting and assisting with team video. In addition, he was responsible for team recovery and heart rate monitoring. During his first stint with LSU, Brizard guided the Tigers to three NCAA Tournament appearances and three straight SEC Western Division titles.

“After an extremely thorough and specific search, Daniel was undoubtedly the right fit for my staff and this program,” said Berbary. “He has an extensive background at all levels of the game, including an incredible record teaching, training and producing goalkeepers. We are so excited to welcome him and his family to the amazing Bloomington community.”

During his three seasons at Rhode Island, Brizard saw a Second Team All-Atlantic 10 selection and guided goalkeeper Katie Nickles to 298 career saves, good for third-most in program history. Nickles posted a 0.76 goals against average during the 2014 campaign, the best single-season showing in the Rhode Island record books. The 2014 season saw the Rams earn a record of 12-5-2 en route to the team’s first appearance in the conference tournament since 2006.

Prior to his time at Rhode Island, Brizard served as head coach at Tennessee Tech from 2010-13. Brizard saw three All-OVC Second Team selections and off the field, led the program to an average GPA of 3.417.

Brizard has also spent time as an assistant at Florida International, University of South Alabama and University of Missouri-St. Louis.

A former goalkeeping instructor for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), he received an NSCAA Premier diploma and National Goalkeeping diploma. He also holds a United States Soccer Federation “A” Senior Coaching License and Goalkeeping license.

Brizard has also been active in the Olympic Development Program since 1994, including serving as the goalkeeping director for Rhode Island ODP from 2015-17 and as Region I coach from 2014-17. Prior to that, he was a head coach for the Tennessee ODP from 2010-13 and the goalkeeper coach for Region II (2009-10) and Region II (2001-08).

Before the start of his coaching career, Brizard was a four-year starter and team captain on the men’s soccer team at Berry College. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sports performance/exercise science from Berry in 1995 and spent two years in the Navy.

Brizard and his wife Julie have one daughter, Izabella.