Egbert Dijkstra, right, has been an assistant soccer coach at NorthWood High School for all but the first few seasons of the 30- year-old program. He is pictured with his son, Kyle, who has been the head coach since 2021. InkFreeNews photo by Keith Knepp.

By Keith Knepp
InkFreeNews

NAPPANEE — Ever since he was a toddler, Egbert Dijkstra has been connected to soccer, whether it be a a player, a coach or simply a fan.

A native of the Netherlands, Dijkstra first came to the U.S. as an exchange student at Concord High School. Several years later, at age 27, he returned to America and has been here ever since.

“Everybody in the Netherlands plays soccer,” he said. “So I started when I was 5 or 6. I played for my club and in college. I got my degree in social work. I worked as a social worker for about three and a half years for the Dutch government. I didn’t like it at all and decided to come (back to the U.S.) and see what happens.”

Dijkstra kept playing soccer wherever he could find a game or league. He started coaching in the youth leagues before high schools started adding the sport at the scholastic level.

“Brad Duerksen and I started coaching on the same day at NorthWood in 1997,” he recalled. “We had a really rough start. We went 0-16-1 in our first season. But gradually we turned athletes into soccer players … and look where we are today. We have a beautiful park with beautiful facilities.

“It’s a good thing you don’t realize that developing a program takes time. And it takes your time. We’ve put a lot of time into it. It’s not just the high school program, but it’s also what your feeder program is.”

Dijkstra is ready to begin his 28th season as an assistant soccer coach at NorthWood High School. The first 24 of those years were under Duerksen, who left the program after the 2020 season to take a teaching and coaching position in Florida. At that point, Dijkstra figured he would also end his tenure with the Panthers.

That planned retirement from coaching never came to fruition, however, when his son Kyle, who also was an assistant coach, was promoted to the top job. The elder Dijkstra put his whistle back around his neck and is preparing to start his fourth year working the sidelines for his son.

“Brad and I didn’t know each other when we started but became best friends through the years,” said Dijkstra. “When he moved down to Florida, it was my intention to be done with it. But then Kyle said he was interested in being the head coach. I’ve never had an interest in being the head coach. I like to focus on soccer. When he got it, I said I’d help out a couple of years, and it’s been fun so far.”

Dijkstra said the program has gone through a few stages. At first, they just had athletes who had never played soccer. The second stage included kids who had played some soccer before high school. The third stage was when players came through the feeder program and actually had developed some talent to play the game, along with some athletes who might not be soccer players as their first sport but who had assets that could be used.

“Support from the school and the community helps,” Dijkstra said. “When you put them in rec league, they look over at this turf field and want to eventually play out here. It’s been a whole development throughout the years.”

Dijkstra said coaching has remained fun for him throughout the years.

“If it’s not fun anymore, you quit doing it,” he said. “These kids make it fun; their personalities, the humor. They’re great players.”

When he’s not coaching soccer, Dijkstra said you can often find him watching a soccer game on TV in his Nappanee home.

He also works full time as the director of Elkhart County’s 9-1-1 service. He has been there for 38 years and has served as director since 2006.

“I’m on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. “Soccer is what helps me get my mind off that.”