SAN LUIS OBISPO – Sixth-year head coach Paul Holocher and the Cal Poly Athletics Department recently announced that Kris Hall has joined the Mustang men’s soccer program as a volunteer assistant and goalkeepers trainer.

“We’re very excited about Kris joining our program. He comes highly recommended and after meeting and watching him work, it was clear that he’s a young coach with much potential,” said Holocher, whose 2011 Mustang squad set single-season program records for fewest goals conceded (17, in 18 games) and fewest goals allowed per game (0.94) and led the Big West Conference with a 0.90 team goals against average. “At 25, Kris is very mature and professional in his approach. The training he does on both the technical and tactical elements of the position and how it integrates into our style of play will be a real asset to the program. We’re all excited that he’ll have the opportunity to work with our terrific group of goalkeepers on a daily basis. We also realize that he’ll not only be an asset for the Cal Poly program, but for the wonderful soccer community we have on the central coast.”

In other recent coaching transactions with the Cal Poly program, former volunteer assistant Bernardo Silva was promoted as an assistant coach.

Hall arrives at Cal Poly after serving as an assistant and goalkeepers coach at Division II Cal State East Bay last season. Hall spent the 2009 season as a volunteer assistant with the Pacific women’s program. Under Hall, the Tigers goalkeeping corps finished third among Big West programs in goals allowed per game (0.89) and goals against average (0.85).

A native of Stockton, Calif., Hall also served as the freshman boy’s head coach at Foothill HS (Pleasanton, Calif.) between 2008-11 and as the goalkeepers trainer for the St. Mary’s HS girl’s program (Stockton, Calif.) from 2006-09.

At club level, Hall spent the summer of 2008 as the goalkeepers trainer for the Olympic Development Program ‘95 side. Since 2005, Hall has served as the Director of Goalkeeping and as a team coach for six different youth squads associated with Pleasanton Ballistic United Soccer Club.

A three-year varsity letterwinner at St. Mary’s HS (2002-04), Hall kept goal collegiately for Modesto Junior College (2005-06) and Cal State East Bay (2007-08). At club level, Hall rose as high as the U-20 Diablo Valley Soccer Club (2006-07) of the United Soccer Leagues and Sacramento Knights (2007-08) of the Professional Developmental League.

Hall, who graduated from Cal State East Bay in June with a degree in kinesiology, will have a wealth of goalkeeping talent to help refine when the Mustang program opens camp on Aug. 8. During his first collegiate start last year, sophomore Chase Hauser made eight saves during Cal Poly’s 1-0 upset of then-No. 7 UC Irvine on Sept. 28. Brett Finkelstein, owner of a career 1.37 goals against average, returns as a junior after redshirting the 2011 campaign. In February, Cal Poly signed Wade Hamilton (Murrieta, Calif., Murrieta Valley HS) to a National Letter of Intent. Hamilton, a member of the United States squad that reached the round of 16 at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, was ranked No. 22 (TopDrawerSoccer.com), No. 28 (ESPNHS) and No. 38 (CollegeSoccerNews.com) in the senior class of 2012 national rankings.

In total, the Mustangs are expected to return five starters and 13 letterwinners from last season’s squad. The remaining members of Cal Poly’s National Letter of Intent signing class, rated by TopDrawerSoccer.com as one of the top incoming units among Division I programs, include forward John Chronopoulos (Santa Cruz, Calif., Santa Cruz HS), midfielders Sean Dhillon (Mission Viejo, Calif., Tesoro HS) and Ruben Duran (Las Vegas, Nev., Eldorado HS), winger Jesse Ham (Englewood, Colo., Denver Christian HS), center back Mamadou Kebe (Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Los Angeles Teacher Preparatory), outside back Kip Colvey (Marlborough, New Zealand, Lincoln HS) and defender Kody Wakasa (Hillsborough, Calif., Burlingame HS).

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