O’Brien and Steinbrecher to be Inducted into Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame
ROCKY HILL, Conn. – Two members of the Mitchell College soccer family were recently announced as part of the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
Jim O'Brien, the current head coach of the Mitchell women's soccer program, along with Hank Steinbrecher, an inductee into the Mitchell College Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2006, will be two of the eight individuals to be inducted into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame at a ceremonial dinner on March 1, 2025, in Bristol, Connecticut.
O'Brien, who recently wrapped up his first season coaching for the Mariners, has over two and a half decades of coaching experience at the Division I and II level. Prior to joining Mitchell, he most recently served as an assistant women's soccer coach at Stony Brook University from 2019 until 2024. During his tenure with the Seawolves the team captured two American East Championships and made a pair of trips to the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.
Prior to Stony Brook, O'Brien spent one season as the head women's soccer coach at Mercy College, leading the team to a 12-3-2 overall record in the fall of 2018, and from 2005-2017 he served as the head women's soccer coach at Division I Fairfield University. His tenure with the Stags was defined by success, as he departed Fairfield as the all-time winningest coach in program history, having captured the MAAC Tournament championship in both 2005 and 2008. O'Brien earned recognition as the 2012 MAAC Coach of the Year and the 2008 NSCAA/Adidas Northeast Region Coach of the Year.
O'Brien began his coaching career in 1995, founding the women's soccer program at Southern Connecticut State University, compiling a 105-56-8 record during his 10-year stint in New Haven. In addition to his collegiate coaching career, O'Brien has served as head coach of the Connecticut Football Club, the LI Slammers, and the Connecticut Junior Soccer Association: Olympic Development Program. He has also been the owner of the Academy of Excellence since 1995, where he conducts developmental camps, clinics, and training sessions.
Hank Steinbrecher was a strong defensive player for the 1967 and 1968 Mitchell men's soccer teams, who posted an overall record of 19-5-1 and earned berths each year in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region XV tournaments. Upon graduating from Mitchell with his associate's degree he then went on to Davis & Elkins College and played on their national championship team. Steinbrecher earned his master's degree in education from West Virginia University and then began a career in the world of sports.
Following a successful coaching career, he became involved with the 1984 Summer Olympic Games for the United States Olympic Committee and served as the venue director for the Harvard University site that hosted Olympic soccer contests. From that opportunity, he then became Director of Sports Marketing with Quaker Oats, directing their Gatorade brand in the mid to late 1980s.
Steinbrecher then served from 1990-2001 as the Secretary General/Executive Director of the United States Soccer Federation and successfully made the United States the stage for World Cup Soccer in 1994. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and has received the highest award bestowed by the National Soccer Coaches Association--the Honor Award.
More information about Class of 2025 Induction Dinner can be found here.
