The 2014 season will be Chris Bergmann's sixth at Lake Forestand 10th as a collegiate head coach.
Under Bergmann's direction, the 2013 Foresters defended theirMidwest Conference championship and qualified for the NCAA DivisionIII Tournament for the first time since 1981. They finished theseason with a 14-7-0 overall record and a second consecutive 9-1-0mark in league play. Lake Forest outscored opponents 42-17 on theyear and Mahir Mameledzija finished among the top 20 in the nationin goals and points.
Bergmann was selected by his fellow league coaches as the MWCCoach of the Year for the second straight season and Mameledzijawas the MWC Offensive Player of the Year for the third time.Mameledzija was one of the team's five All-MWC selections and heand fellow first teamers Steven Johnson and Kyle Kraus also earnedAll-North Region honors from the National Soccer CoachesAssociation of America. Mameledzija, who set team and conferencerecords for career goals and points, capped off his four seasons bybeing named Capital One Academic All-American of theYear® by the College Sports Information Directorsof America and earning a prestigious NCAA PostgraduateScholarship.
Lake Forest is now 60-31-5 (.651) overall and 31-13-3 (.691) inleague play during Bergmann's five seasons as head coach. Duringthat time he has directed players to 18 All-MWC and 23 AcademicAll-MWC honors, including a program record 10 in 2013.
Prior to coming to Lake Forest, Bergmann was an assistant coachat Northwestern University where he helped lead the Wildcats to aBig 10 tournament quarterfinal finish.
Bergmann's previous head coaching position was at TrinityInternational University in Deerfield, Illinois. He led the Trojansto an overall record of 20-16-3 in 2006 and 2007 combined andearned Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference honors his secondseason with the team. Under Bergmann's direction, TrinityInternational was ranked as high as #21 in the nation (NAIA), wereCCAC runners-up two years in a row, and were NAIA RegionalSemi-Finalists in 2006. His players earned six All-American honorsand seven Academic All-American distinctions from the NationalChristian College Association of America.
Bergmann was also the head coach at Hope International Universityin Fullerton, California, for two years. His 2005 squad postedseven more victories than in the previous season and he was namedNational Christian College Athletics Association West Region Coachof the Year and a fourth-place finish at the NCCAA NationalTournament.
Prior to college coaching, Bergmann spent several years with theUnited Soccer Leagues as the General Manager for the Chicago EaglesSelect PDL team, and was involved with the player development withthe Southern California Seahorses PDL team.
Bergmann also worked at the club level for the LincolnshireLightning, Pegasus, Lindenhurst Soccer Club, the Chicago Eagles,Kopion F.C., and SURF Soccer Club along with the SouthernCalifornia Olympic Development Program. He is currently theDirector of Coaching for the Lincolnshire Lightning soccer clubwhere he oversees the day-to-day operations of the competitivetravel soccer teams ages U8-U18, specifically focusing oncurriculum and player development.
Away from soccer, Bergmann and his wife Kelly currently own andoperate AIM Academic Mentoring Services in Gurnee, Illinois. Theorganization focuses on the mental, emotional, and personalwellness of primarily middle and high school students throughacademic support in all subjects. He founded and operated a similarbusiness in San Diego from 1996-2000.
Bergmann graduated from Westmont College in Santa Barbara,California, and added a master's degree from Wheaton College inIllinois. Bergmann holds USSF & NSCAA coachingcertificates.
The Bergmanns, including children Aidan and Mackenzie, reside inGurnee.
