Longtime soccer coach Ken Veilands resigns

ALBANY — Longtime Darton State College soccer coach Ken Veilands has resigned, the Albany Herald learned on Thursday.

Veilands, who started both the men’s and women’s programs in 2000, is the only girls soccer coach the program has ever had. He is stepping away from the soccer field to re-enter the corporate world as a pharmaceutical sales representative.

“Where I am right now, I believe the right thing for me to do is to make a move into the corporate environment,” Veilands said.

With Darton State scheduled to merge with Albany State, this would have been Veilands’ final season coaching the Darton women’s soccer team. Since women’s soccer was retained during the merger, the longtime coach was scheduled to coach the program at the new Albany State University in 2017.

While he is stepping away, Veilands said he will still be around.

“It’s going to be hard to let things go,” he said.

Under Veilands’ guidance, the Darton women’s program ranks as one of the best in the nation. His teams have compiled a 267-44-15 record with eight region championships and seven region runner-up finishes. Three of his teams played in the national championship game only to finish as runner-up.

Since 2005, the Lady Cavaliers have lost just nine regular-season games. Veilands has the second-highest win total among active coaches in NJCAA Women’s Division I soccer.

The 2015 squad finished with a 16-3 record and a No. 5 national ranking.

Veilands also coached the men’s program from 2000-06, where he was Region Coach of the Year twice.

Veilands said he doesn’t want to make much of his resignation, but he said he would like to use the team’s first game on Sept. 9 against Gordon College as a platform to express his farewell.

“So many people have been a part of this,” he said. “I’d just like to have a chance to say good-bye.”

Veilands said he hopes assistant Alex Pickrell will take over for the program’s final season.