Coaching Staff
Jeff Kinney
Head Coach | University of Alabama at Birmingham
Jeff Kinney was named the fifthth Head Coach in UAB men’s soccer program history in the winter of 2018 after serving 9 seasons as the assistant coach at Virginia Tech.
Known for his keen ability to develop players, while at Virginia Tech, Kinney worked tirelessly to rebuild the Hokies’ program after significant recruiting restrictions hampered the program prior to his arrival. During his Tech career, Kinney was directly responsible for all aspects of the program including; recruiting, match analysis, training sessions and scheduling.
Before his time at Tech, Kinney was deeply involved in the club soccer scene in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, coaching numerous players who went on to the professional ranks such as Bill Hamid (DC United), Andy Najar (Anderlecht), Ethan White (DC United), Colin Martin (DC United) just to name a few. During his time with DC United, the youth program saw success at a scale never seen before going 26-6-5.
In his tenure in Blacksburg, Kinney developed six All-ACC selections and has seen three players from the program drafted by MLS; Devante Dubose (2014), Juan Pablo Saavedra (2017) and first round selection Ben Lundgaard (2018).
A 2003 graduate of American University where he featured on the Eagles’ back-to-back NCAA tournament teams in 2001 and 2002, Kinney was honored as a two-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll member and an Academic All-American.
Kinney is married to the former Kimberly Pardo and the couple has two twin boys, Finnley and Bennett
Kris Hazard
Camp Director
Kris Hazard enters his fourth season with the men's soccer program.
Hazard came to Birmingham after having spent the previous 10 seasons at American University in Washington D.C.
In his tenure at American, Hazard helped the Eagles to some of the best seasons in program history, including spending the majority of the 2014 season in the top-20 in the nation with a win over then No. 1 UCLA. The success continued into the 2015 campaign as American defeated the defending national champions in Virginia and had a 14-5-3 record, breaking the school’s shutout streak en route to being named the 2015 Northeast Regions Assistant Coach of the Year.
Hazard played an instrumental role in the Eagles’ three Patriot League Regular Season Championships in 2008, 2011 and 2016 and in their three consecutive trips to the Patriot League Tournament Championship Game.
Prior to his time at American, Hazard coached at Tri-State for two seasons in 2006 and 2007. Additionally, he spent four seasons at Wittenberg University, beginning as an assistant coach in 2002 before transitioning into the Associate Head Coach role for the 2005 season.
Hazard earned his undergraduate degree from Wittenberg in Speech/English where he was an All NCAC All-Conference Selection for the Tigers in 1991 while also serving as the team captain.
Hazard is also a published author, writing a book entitled Hazard of the Game: The Dangers of Over-Parenting in Sport and Life.