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Aaron Patrick
Head Coach
Arron Patrick is entering his fourth season as the head coach of Grace College men's soccer in the fall of 2022. He has experienced immediate success guiding the Lancers in his career.
The Lancers claimed the 2020 NCCAA national championship, the first national title in the program's 54-year history. Grace throttled Bethel 4-0 in the championship rout. As a result, Patrick was named the NCCAA National Coach of the Year.
Patrick, who is originally from Grimsby, England, also led Grace to the NAIA National Championships for the third time in program history during the spring of 2021. Patrick guided four players to All-American recognition in 2021, including Ulisses Miranda who was the Crossroads League Player of the Year and NCCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Patrick is the 14th head coach in the history of the program. He came to the Lancers from Goshen College, where he coached for five seasons (40-43-11 record).
He helped the Maple Leafs reach the Crossroads League semifinals in 2017 with a 12-6-2 record, and Goshen was also the CL tournament runner-up in 2014.
Patrick has also led his squads to academic success. Both Goshen and Grace have been named NAIA Scholar-Teams in every season under his leadership (minimum GPA of 3.00 as a team).
Patrick takes the helm of one of the most successful programs in NAIA history. Grace has racked up 539 all-time wins, sixth-most among NAIA institutions.
Patrick excelled as a student-athlete in the Crossroads League. While playing at Bethel, Patrick won multiple All-Conference accolades and was the league’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and the overall League Player of the Year in 2009.
The Pilots won a pair of conference titles with Patrick in the starting lineup, and he was named All-American by both the NAIA and NCCAA during his career.
He also earned All-American honors as a track and field standout.
“We are very excited to have Arron Patrick lead our men’s soccer program. He comes with a very extensive, successful background at the NAIA level. He is committed to Christian excellence and has a strong desire to impact and shape lives through the game of soccer,” said Grace Director of Athletics Chad Briscoe. “His background both as a player and college coach in the Crossroads League will serve him well in this role. His coaching philosophy and goals fit the mission at Grace College. His passion to succeed and his ability to communicate effectively will serve him well as he leads. We look forward to him and his wife and children joining our family.”
Patrick grew up in the Grimsby Town F.C. system (English 2nd Division) before playing semi-professionally with Spalding United F.C. He also played semi-pro in the United States with the Cascade Surge of Portland, Ore.
Upon graduating with a degree in Sports Studies, Patrick returned to Europe to continue his soccer career. He played against teams from the Russian Premier Division, Turkish First Division and Romanian Premier Division, and he had a trial with Nuremburg of the German Bundesliga. He also had a professional stint in the USL Pro with the Wilmington Hammerheads.
Patrick owns a C license with the United States Soccer Federation. He also holds a special topics diploma in Mental and Physical Player Development from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Patrick and his wife Callie have a son (Oliver) and a daughter (Zara).
Joe Kateule
Assistant Coach
Joe Kateule enters his 16th season as an assistant coach for the men's soccer team and 17th overall, serving as an assistant for the women's team for a year.
Kateule is a 2005 graduate of Grace College, where he was a two-time NCCAA All-American player in 2003 and 2004. Kateule, who also served as team captain, finished his three-year playing career in the top 10 of Grace's all-time leading goal scorers (33 goals).
He graduated with an undergraduate degree in general business and business administration and went on to obtain a master's degree in intercultural studies.
Kateule brings a different perspective to the Lancer bench having coached soccer at numerous youth levels in Lusaka, Zambia, for Ambassadors in Sports in Ohio, and for Soccer Extreme in both Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Born and raised in Zambia, South-Central Africa, Kateule obtained a diploma in electrical engineering at the Copperbelt University in Kitwe, Zambia. He represented his country on multiple occasions in the Southern African regional soccer competitions while playing club soccer as an amateur in the Zambian league.
Austin Altimus
Assistant Coach
After wrapping up his playing days for the Lancers in 2014, Austin Altimus will transition to the sidelines for his eighth year as an assistant coach this fall. He helped guide Grace to the 2020 NCCAA national championship, the first national title in program history.
Altimus was one of Grace's top goal scorers during his career from 2011-14, racking up 22 goals with 12 assists. He also produced five game-winning goals, including two game winners as a senior in 2014.
He notched a personal-best 10 goals as a freshman, needing just 21 shots on goal to reach that mark. He started his career with a bang, producing a hat trick in his first collegiate game against Andrews.
In 2011 Altimus scored three goals in three matches at the NCCAA National Championships, including the game-winning strike in the 88th minute against Southwestern Assemblies of God.
In 2012 he scored a game winner in the 89th minute against Crossroads League foe Mt. Vernon Nazarene. He also assisted two game winners against Huntington and Indiana Tech.
Altimus has a USSF D license for coaching. He married his wife Carrie in 2022.
Josiah Osborn
Graduate Assistant Coach
TJ White
Graduate Assistant