Upon Athletic Director Jack Surridge鈥檚 retirement last spring, longtime Men鈥檚 Head Soccer Coach John Born was the logical choice to replace him. Born has been a coach and teacher at North Park since 1999, and he worked closely with his predecessor.
鈥淛ohn is faithful, intelligent, creative, driven and successful in everything he undertakes,鈥� says Surridge. 鈥淭he future of Viking Athletics is in good hands.鈥�
Born was officially named Assistant Vice President for Athletics and Sports Management, the latest of many roles he has served since joining the staff including adjunct professor and assistant athletic director.
Surridge lauded Born for developing North Park鈥檚 academic program in sports management and for having the 鈥渞elational and recruitment skills to elevate our men鈥檚 soccer program from one win to 18 consecutive winning seasons and a national reputation for excellence.鈥�
For his part, one of Born鈥檚 favorite aspects of North Park is its intercultural population. He loves walking through campus and seeing Scandinavian, Latino, and first-generation Polish students who are best friends.
鈥淭hat does not happen at a lot of our rival schools,鈥� Born says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e proud of the diversity we have cultivated, and it鈥檚 one of the things that makes North Park great.鈥�
Born has been around long enough to watch his players graduate and embark on successful careers as doctors, lawyers, business owners, pastors, and teachers.
鈥淚 attended the wedding of an alum from 10 years ago and was surprised to see 30 North Parkers at the wedding,鈥� Born recalls. 鈥淚t was a wonderful celebration and picture of the depth of relationships that are built here.鈥�
Born is quick to point out that excellence in coaching is prevalent across all Viking sports programs.
鈥淚 have never seen a coaching staff this committed and united. We are one team as an athletic department; we all support one another and have the same vision: work harder, longer, and smarter than our competition,鈥� Born says.
The goal for North Park鈥檚 athletic program? It鈥檚 always a goal to win conference, Born says, and from there, the hope is to win the NCAA championship.
鈥淲ith new coaches and young teams, it may not be realistic to win conference or the NCAA, but if they do not have those goals, they鈥檒l never get there,鈥� Born says. 鈥淚f they don鈥檛 talk and think about it, the goal will never come to fruition.鈥�
The sense of winning expands beyond the playing field or basketball court, of course. Born says it鈥檚 vital that students are successful 鈥渙n and off the field.鈥� ( The 2018-19 men鈥檚 soccer team GPA average, for instance, was 3.3 among 50 players).
North Park鈥檚 updated facilities, Born says, 鈥渁re at the top half of the conference,鈥� as well as unparalleled training and medical assistance. That, and North Park鈥檚 city-centered location, have made it easier to recruit top-notch athletes. Under Born, the athletics department will also ramp up game-day marketing efforts and promotions so that students, alumni, and visitors have great game experiences.
It all adds up to an exciting future for Born and North Park Athletics.
鈥淭he transition to this new position has been exciting,鈥� Born says. 鈥淚 am learning a lot and am learning all the roles and responsibilities of this position. I was a college head coach for 24 years and, while I will miss aspects of coaching, it was time for a transition, and I have always wanted to challenge myself in this type of position.鈥�