Hood Tabs Kenny Putnam as Head Coach
FREDERICK, Md. – Hood College has named Kenny Putnam as the new head coach of the Blazers' men's soccer program. Putnam, who had served as the Hood's assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, is making his collegiate head coaching debut.
"We are really excited to announce Kenny Putnam as our new men's soccer coach," said Director of Athletics Tom Dickman. "Kenny has experienced great success on the high school and club level and, most recently, been an important part of the Hood soccer program. I believe his knowledge, recruiting ability, and enthusiasm will help take our program to the next level of the competitive Commonwealth Conference."
Putnam is just the second head coach in the history of the program and takes over for Brian Wall, who guided the Blazers during their first 11 seasons.
"I appreciate the opportunity to step into the head coaching position and the confidence that Tom Dickman and the Hood Athletics family has in my ability to carry the team forward and be a strong contender in the Middle Atlantic Conference," Putnam said.
"Working under Brian's leadership has been a wonderful opportunity," Putnam continued. "I appreciate all the groundwork Brian Wall laid and his vision for a men's soccer program at the newly-coed Hood College. Brian's built this program from the ground up and on this strong foundation we will continue to grow. "
Putnam assisted on the 2013 Hood team that produced a pair of All-Commonwealth Conference selections and was alive in the conference playoff hunt on the last day of the season.
Prior to joining the Blazers' coaching staff, the Jefferson, Maryland native served as the varsity head coach at nearby Brunswick High School. During his final season with the Railroaders, he guided them to the 1A/2A Maryland State Championship. The state title earned him his third straight Frederick County Coach of the Year accolade. In 2011, he earned coach of the year honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, and was the Maryland Association of Coaches of Soccer Coach of the Year in 2010. His Brunswick squads won back-to-back Antietam Conference titles in 2011 and 2012, and also were the conference champions in 2006. The 2009 and 2010 squads each won the 1A North Region championship, with the 2010 squad advancing to the state championship match.
Putnam has also coached the U13-U17 team of the FC Frederick Soccer Club since 1999 with great success. The 2012 team was a State Cup finalist and his 2013 and 2014 clubs advanced to the semifinals.
He was an assistant coach at Frederick High School from 2000-04 and at Tuscarora High School in 2004-05 before taking over at Brunswick.
Putnam has a United States Soccer National 'C' License and a MSYSA 'D' License.
As a player, he was a three-time all-county and all-state selection at Brunswick and his scoring record with the Railroaders stood for 17 years. Putnam went on to play at Frederick Community College and was named first team all-conference and all-region in both of his seasons. In 1995, he earned All-America Third Team honors and set the school records for points and goals in a career, season, and game.
Putnam resides in Jefferson with his wife, Brandy, and their children, Anna and Graham.
