MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Following a nationwide search, Faulkner Women's Soccer found its new head coach. Colby Phillips will take the touchlines in the fall as the sixth head coach in program history as announced by VP of Athletics Hal Wynn Wednesday.

"We are excited to welcome Colby to Faulkner," Wynn said. "His knowledge of and passion for the sport is contagious and gives him an opportunity to continue to build upon the successes that our women's soccer program has experienced. Most importantly, he possesses the tools to help our student-athletes grow personally, spiritually and academically while they continue to develop their skills within the sport."

"My family and I are extremely excited to be a part of Faulkner! I am most looking forward to getting out on the field with the girls and getting to be in a Christ centered environment," Phillips said. "I am very grateful for the opportunity to coach at a school like Faulkner. My family and I feel very blessed and we are ready to get the ball rolling." 

The bulk of Phillips's coaching career came in north Alabama where he was a consistent state contender in his 11 years of experience at the high school level. He started his coaching career at Athens Bible School as the boys coach before going to Athens High where he took the Golden Eagles to back-to-back Final Fours in 2013 and 2014 with a runner-up finish in 2013. He also had coaching experience at Madison Academy where he was also the cross country coach. He later coached the Monroe County boys team to their first ever district championship. In his latest high school coaching stint, he led 1A Mars Hill Bible School to the 1A-4A Final Four after a 12 year drought for the program in 2021. Overall, he accumulated three final fours, one state runner-up and seven area or region titles.

"I was lucky enough to graduate from Athens Bible School in Athens, Ala. Being there showed me how impactful a Christian education can be on someone's life. Playing at Freed-Hardeman and then coaching at Mars Hill has only strengthened my view that emphasizing the Christian walk while attending school can only be a positive thing. Those experiences have shaped my coaching views and how I try to conduct myself and the teams that I am a part of both on and off the field."

Phillips, a native of Athens, Ala., returns to the Yellowhammer State after a stint in Maine where he served as the head coach of NCAA DIII University of Maine at Presque Island last season. 
"My time at UMPI has taught me to never give up. I learned that simply by being around the girls that I had on the team. They had been through so much adversity but still showed up everyday with a smile on their face. Being around them made me a better person and a better coach."

Phillips's work experience extends well beyond the pitch and into more traditional Kingdom work. He served as the pulpit minister at the Mt. Gilead Church of Christ for three years and the youth minister at the Lone Cedar Church of Christ in Florence, Ala. and he plans to use that experience to help the Lady Eagles succeed on and off the field. "Coaching or teaching of any kind gives you a type of platform. It's a gift and a chance to influence others. It's ultimately up to you as to how you use that opportunity. I try my best to show by example how we should treat others. It gives me a chance to tell others why I make the decisions that I do and to share my faith by not just my words but by my actions also."

He is no stranger to NAIA athletics as he spent some of his college days as a two-sport athlete at Freed-Hardeman competing in both soccer and cross country. He later transferred to North Alabama where he ran cross country and achieved a bachelors of Liberal Studies/History. 

He also has obtained an Advanced National Diploma and a Game Analysis Diploma from United Soccer Coaches.