Briercrest College is excited to have Cody Vigeant join their Athletic Department this fall as he will be the inaugural head coach of the Briercrest men’s soccer program.

Briercrest Athletics Director Nigel Mullan is excited to have Vigeant fill this role.

“As we kick off our soccer program we are excited to have Cody come in and help solidify a program at Briercrest,” Mullan said. “I believe he has the energy and character that will attract players to come and be a part of the program.  I think he has a great determination to see the program thrive at Briercrest.”

Vigeant will be moving from BC to Caronport with his wife Richelle, who will be women’s volleyball junior varsity coach.

“I'm originally from Vernon, British Columbia,” Vigeant explained. “For the past 11 years I've called the Lower-Mainland of BC home.  The last few years I've been working at a few various jobs, ranging from the oil and natural gas sector to Sales and service.”

The Vigeant’s journey to Briercrest has some distinct Briercrest Athletics connections.

“Personally I don't have any Briercrest connections myself,” Vigeant explained. “However, my wife has been a life-long friend of Natalie Mullan, Briercrest Athletic Director Nigel Mullan's wife.  Natalie was even the Maid of Honour at our wedding!  Her and Richelle have had a great relationship for years and have been able to stay well connected even while living in different cities. So, we're extremely excited to further our existing relationships and to make new ones with the Briercrest community and Caronport as a whole.”

“I come from a Christian family where I have one older brother,” Vigeant continued. “My parents have always been loving and supportive of me but also allowed me to make and learn from my own mistakes.  My extended family is large and I come from both French and Dutch ancestry, so I guess you can say that football is in my blood.  I've been lucky enough to be married to the most beautiful, hilarious, smart, supportive and hardworking girl I've ever had the opportunity to lay my eyes on.  While we currently don't have any children, we have a 15 year old Tabby named Andy, and he's pretty excited for the opportunity to move to Caronport.”

Vigeant shared a bit about his playing and coaching experience.

“As a player, I played on various select youth teams and then continued on to play in the States for a brief period and then at Columbia Bible College (CBC),” he explained. “I played with a premier club in Abbotsford after my college days were done. As far as my coaching resume, I have experience at the grassroots level as well as having assistant coaching experience at the JV (CBC) and club level.”

Vigeant explained his coaching style.

“In terms of a ‘coaching philosophy’ I think I look to define three things to be able to develop an overall philosophy: The purpose as to why you're coaching in the first place, what your leadership style looks like and the values you want your team to exhibit," he explained. “I feel that I've taken this position to not only help and develop young men into good footballers, but to help them develop off the pitch both spiritually and in their relationships with others.  As a whole I think I will bring a dedicated mindset and approach; one that will unearth anything and overturn any rock to have my boys be successful, both on the field and off.  As for soccer specifically, I think my personal experience as a player, as well as my coaching experience and analytical approach will bring a complete understanding to the college and the team; an understanding that is essential for a new program to be sustainable to succeed.

Vigeant explained what type of team he would like to help create.

“Starting a program is a very unique thing,” he explained. “So, personally I think the team will look different in the first couple years than it did the year previous, and that's to be expected from a program that is growing and developing in to what it needs to be to be successful.  However, from a ‘Cody Vigeant’ team you'll see a team that utilizes it's strengths while recognizing and minimizing it's weaknesses.  You'll see a team that uses analytics to best find and play to it's strengths and will be adaptable to different formations; always progressing and never remaining static.  Most importantly you'll find a family.  You'll find a group of guys that will not only battle for God's glory, but they'll battle for each other.  As with any tight-knit group, you'll find internal competition.  You'll find guys who want to be the best players that they can be while pushing everyone around them to be at their best, unaccepting of anything but.”

Vigeant is excited to be moving to Caronport to work at Briercrest.

“There are many things that excite me about this opportunity,” he said. “I'm excited to be a part of this from the ground up; to be able to mold and implement this program from scratch.  While that essentially may mean that it's infinitely more work, the success of the program will be that much sweeter.  I'm also excited for the opportunity to invest in the livelihood of the young men who have the privilege to play at Briercrest.  Some of my greatest football memories are the ones I made in college and some of my best friends to this day are guys I have the privilege to play with in college and now also in men's leagues.  This is an amazing opportunity for these guys to both grow as footballers and as people, and I hope they take this opportunity by the horns, because God will surprise them with how he can both use them and develop them at the same time.”

Vigeant has been working remotely from his home in Langley since being hired in early 2016, and will be moving to Caronport in August.

For more information on Briercrest Athletics follow us on Facebook or at gobriercrest.ca. For more information on the Briercrest Men’s Soccer team contact Cody Vigeant at cvigeant@briercrest.ca, or fill out the recruitment form here.