Penn Hills’ new boys soccer coach Kevin Truman seeks to make impact beyond the pitch

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, July 6, 2024 | 1:59 PM

Kevin Truman would like to win soccer games when he takes over as head coach of the Penn Hills boys soccer team this fall. However, Truman believes his job will go beyond what happens in the field.

Truman, who is the senior pastor at McKeesport Alliance Church and has five sons, has plenty of experience counseling people about life.

“The way that I look at it, I coach soccer so I can help raise young men,” Truman said. “Most of the players, 99.9% of the players I work with are no-go pro. I realize that all of the young men I work with are going to be husbands and dads. I want them to be the best men they can be through soccer. I look at soccer as the medium of how I can invest in the community.”

Truman, a 1988 Penn Hills graduate, is taking over the program following Ryan Hankey’s long tenure. Hankey guided the Indians back to the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs in 2021, snapping a 17-year drought without a playoff appearance.

Penn Hills finished last season with a 6-11-1 record, which included a 3-10-1 mark in Section 4-3A play. The Indians lost nine of their 11 starters from last season, including both all-section players, Landon Hankey and Mack Byrnes.

Truman played club soccer in college at the Maryland Bible College & Seminary.

“I would like to play as direct as we possibly can,” Truman said. “One of the issues we have is personnel. We have roughly maybe 30 boys coming out for JV and varsity. We have just a handful of cup players playing on varsity. I want the boys to be the best version of yourself that they can be. We have a nice group of kids that are coming in. They are buying what we are talking about. We want to play good, technical soccer and play passionately to make up for any talent we may be lacking.”

Truman moved back to Pittsburgh in 1999 when he was offered an opportunity to work as a pastor in McKees Rocks.

Truman got back into coaching 11 years ago. He also coaches club soccer for the BVB International Academy. In addition to his various coaching duties, he was the team chaplain for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds from 2014-17.

Penn Hills was bumped up to Class 4A for the next two seasons. The Indians will have to try to tackle traditional powers Central Catholic and Norwin in section play.

“There’s a big leadership gap we are experiencing,” Truman said. “We just want to be the best version of ourselves. We want to train hard for six weeks and figure out what formation we will be. To me, if your first touch isn’t good, you can’t play fast. We want to learn how to possess the ball.”

Tags: Penn Hills