Veteran head man Barry Christmas kicks off his ninth year as the founding head coach of WLU’s women’s soccer program but the Manchester, England native has spent more than a decade on the Hilltopper campus since coming aboard to get the sport off the ground during the 2010-11 school year.
Christmas has seen his program enjoy success at the team and individual levels. Several WLU women have earned All-Conference and All-Region honors and the 2018 squad checked off a series of post-season “firsts.”
The 2018 Hilltoppers won four of their last five matches to not only clinch a Mountain East Conference Tournament bid but lock up the first home playoff match in program history as the No. 2 seed in the MEC North Division.
West Liberty made history in that match, battling Fairmont State to a scoreless draw through regular time and two extra-time periods before notching the first post-season win in program history in a thrilling penalty-kick shootout.
The Hilltoppers’ success on the pitch has been more than matched by their accomplishments in the classroom. Senior defender Caitlin deVries earned back-to-back NCAA Division II Academic All-America honors in 2018 and 2019 while multiple West Liberty women have been named to the MEC All-Academic Team every year since its inception.
Christmas arrived on the hilltop following a successful head coaching stint at nearby Bethany (W.Va.) College. In just four seasons, Christmas led the NCAA Division III program back to PAC prominence with a defense that posted a school record 6 shutouts in 2008 and matched that number in 2009 and 2010.
A total of 11 Bethany players earned All-PAC honors during those four seasons and Christmas saved his best for last. The 2009 Bison squad went 9-8-2 for the school’s first winning season in a decade and the 2010 team finished at .500 with an 8-8-2 mark.
Before taking the women’s reins at Bethany, Christmas spent two seasons as an assistant with the men’s program. The Bison men were 26-10-4 over that span – 13-3-2 in PAC play. In his final year with the men, Bethany set a school record with 8 consecutive shutouts en route to a 14-4-3 record that included a PAC regular-season title and an NCAA Division III playoff berth.
The Hilltopper coach initially came to America in 1997 to serve as a coach at soccer camps. He returned to England in 2001 to take a position with the professional club Northwich Victoria FC as head coach of their youth team before returning to the United States in 2005.
In addition to his UEFA and NSCAA advanced coaching certifications, Christmas is a member of the West Virginia Soccer Association’s Olympic Development coaching staff and is part of the state’s Coach Education staff. Christmas earned his bachelor’s degree in Sports Science and Coaching Psychology at Staffordshire University and holds a master’s degree in Education from Manchester Metropolitan University. He resides in Wheeling.
