Forrest Collier '95 is in his first season as Guilford's
head women's soccer coach after four years as the Quakers' assistant. He became the
seventh women's soccer coach in the program's 17-year history in May, 2000.Forrest Collier '95 is in his first season as Guilford's
head women's soccer coach after four years as the Quakers' assistant. He became the
seventh women's soccer coach in the program's 17-year history in May, 2000.
Guilford's assistant women's soccer coach from 1996-99, Collier becomes the first Guilford alumnus to coach the women's soccer team. He worked primarily with the defenders as an assistant and helped the Quakers to two of their most successful campaigns. The 1997 unit won 11 games, one of 13 individual team or school standards set that season. The 1998 club garnered 10 wins and posted a school-record 1.98 goals against average.
Collier coaches the girls' under-16 Twisters White team with the Greensboro Youth Soccer Association and serves on the Twisters' Executive Board. He also picked up coaching experience at camps hosted by UNC Greensboro, Tennessee-Chattanooga and the Charlotte Country Day School, his alma mater. He holds NSCAA state and national coaching diplomas. Collier served as Guilford's assistant women's lacrosse coach from 1997-99 and coached the team on an interim basis in 2000.
A Charlotte, NC, native, Collier played soccer and lacrosse at Guilford after transferring to the school from the University of Mississippi, where he played a season with the school's club soccer team. He captained Guilford's soccer team as a senior defender.
Collier is single and resides in Greensboro.
Assistant Coach Mark Johnston
Mark Johnston joins the Guilford after three seasons assisting the women's team at Greensboro College, the Quakers' cross-town rival. Johnston's deep ties to the North Carolina soccer community should help the Quakers' recruiting efforts.
Johnston earned all-state and all-conference honors at Greensboro's Grimsley H.S. before continuing his soccer career at Appalachian State for two years. He transferred to Greensboro in 1987 and played two seasons with the Pride before graduating in 1989 with an English degree. Johnston captained the team and earned All-Dixie Conference laurels as a senior.
After graduation, Johnston worked as an assistant director for the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association (NCYSA). He worked with coaching clinics and schools, which trained youth and high school soccer coaches throughout the state. He also oversaw the NCYSA's Classic youth soccer program.
Johnston started his coaching career in the NCYSA classic ranks and took the '76 Greensboro Aces' boys ' team from the B Division to the A Division and back-to-back state final appearances in 1992 and 1993. He also assisted the Greensboro Shamrock Rovers girls' club and now directs the U-15 Jamestown Jammers, an A Division boys' team.
Johnston holds a national diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and a "D" license from the United States Soccer Federation. His brother, Mike, is an assistant women's soccer coach at Central Florida.
