NASL: Indy Eleven hires globetrotter Hankinson

by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Dec 2, 2015

Indy Eleven has named globetrotting American coach Tim Hankinson as its new head coach. Jurgen Sommer was fired in the middle of the 2015 season and replaced by Tim Regan on a temporary basis. Hankinson has coached in MLS (Tampa Bay and Colorado), the NASL (San Antonio) and old USISL (Charleston and Raleigh). He is one of the few American coaches who have worked abroad, spending time at clubs in Iceland, India and Jamaica and working in Guatemala with its U-17 national team.

Hankinson's most recent job was as head coach of Jamaican first division club Montego Bay United, which finished first in the Red Stripe National Premier League during the first half of their 2015-16 season. He also coached Montego Bay United in its first ScotiaBank Concacaf Champions League campaign.

“Experienced candidates were a focal point of our search, and few coaches have the knowledge of American soccer that Tim Hankinson does,” said Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir.

One of the first decisions made by Hankinson was to retain Regan as a member of Indy Eleven’s technical staff in his former assistant coach role.

“I am honored to be leading one of the great organizations of the North American Soccer League,” said the 60-year-old Hankinson. “I come to here determined to build a winner on the field and celebrate a future championship with our fans and the Brickyard Battalion.”

Indy Eleven has led the NASL in attendance in both of its seasons, but has struggled on the field with records of 6-12-9 and 8-13-9 in its two NASL seasons.

Hankinson has worked in the forefront of the American soccer scene at the college level as well as MLS and the NASL. He first made a name for himself as the coach of Alabama A&M in 1980-81. He was the first Nike Project-40 head coach as MLS started its first player development program. And he coached the expansion San Antonio Scorpions for their first year and a half, leading them to the 2011 NASL regular-season title.