Church to Lead Rustler Women’s Soccer Program

Doyle Church, a  men's soccer alum, will step into the role of head coach for the 2023 – 24 season  after serving as an assistant coach with both the male and female Rustlers teams this past year, taking over from head coach Wendy Wagner.

Church said he initially didn't consider this opportunity possible, but became excited about the chance to helm a program after talking to the Wagner's and Athletic Director Al Rogan over the past month.

"I'm super grateful to Al Rogan, Kevin and Wendy Wagner for helping guide me and giving me this opportunity," he said. "I'm going to work very hard and hope to be here a long time."

"It has been great having Doyle on staff as an assistant with the program for the past year and it's a great opportunity for Doyle," Wendy Wagner said. "Our current and recruited players already have familiarity with Doyle and he will be a great fit for the program."

In hiring Church, this is the first time in several years Lakeland has brought in a former Rustler as a head coach. Men's soccer bench boss Kevin Wagner, who mentored Church ever since he first came to Lakeland, said it's wonderful for Rustlers Athletics to be able to have a locally developed, homegrown talent to be added as a head coach.

"It's not often you can add a person of high quality whose also played for Lakeland Soccer & Futsal as a student athlete," he said. "Doyle has made a huge impact within our men's program and this will allow him to start making even bigger strides and future impact with our women's players and program."

"If there had been a new coach coming in, they would have to start from zero," Church said. "I have relationships with these players, I know what they can do on and off the field and we're going to keep building."

The Lloydminster Comprehensive graduate played five seasons for the Rustlers from 2016-2022. In his final year, he scored three goals and helped lead the squad to a fourth-place finish at the ACAC Championship.

While originally hailing from Irthlingborough, a small town in England, Church has lived in Lloydminster since 2012 and became a permanent resident prior to attending Lakeland. He learned about leadership and culture from talented players during his first few seasons with the program and was able to implement a number of ideas and concepts.

"I like to help a single individual at a time," Church said. "I had a shift in the last few years in finding a coaching identity and found that I was more comfortable being myself in trying to relate to players, taking my mindset from when I was a player."

While this role is new, the rookie coach doesn't come without some managerial experience in youth soccer. Church has coached multiple age groups in Lloydminster since 2016, starting with U7 girls and progressing to U16 boys, prior to joining the Rustlers staff last year.

"I preferred coaching the older teams, as I was able to experiment with stuff that I would do with a college team to see if the players could understand it, knowing then that it would translate well to a higher level," he said.

"We have players capable of taking the leap from strong starters to all-stars, the question is can they make the jump and can our new players step in and contribute right away? I believe so and it's a huge positive [heading into the season]."

Church reiterated that he wants to be at Lakeland for a long time, pointing to the examples of other Rustler coaches who've stayed at the College for years and built programs to be contenders.

"If I wasn't coaching for Lakeland, I can't imagine myself coaching elsewhere," he said. "That loyalty and passion drives me. I've been coaching for seven years, I'm a fast learner and my peers around me will be honest with me."