The next year will be full of change for new South Albany High School soccer coach Hans Schneiter.

Besides taking on the Rebels’ post, Schneiter, 33, is moving away from Newberg and transplanting his family of four (soon-to-be-five in February) to a farm house outside of Brownsville, next door to his mother and father in-law.

His sons, Bren, 3, and Coen, 1, along with expecting wife Rebekah, 30, are not worried about the transition. They are more concerned with his growing dependency upon the game Schneiter loves.

“My wife calls me an addict,” Schneiter said. “My first love is soccer. I use to keep up on football and baseball and now I don’t pay much attention to any other sports.“

Schneiter was not only a fan of American football, but also a player. Before committing to George Fox University to play soccer and track, he was a defensive back for his high school in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, where he was born. His multi-faceted skills gave him an option to attend the University of Montana as a place-kicker but he decided to follow in his father and older sister’s footsteps to become a Bruin.

Choosing the private, Christian college was a pivotal decision, as George Fox became the place where he would earn a bachelors degree and win the heart of his better half of nine years.

His days as an athlete came to an abrupt end.

“Hurting my knee kind of swayed me away from athletics. We just finished our last game of the season the night before I played in an intramural basketball game when I went for a layup and came down and blew out my knee. My coaches weren’t too happy with me,” Schneiter said.

While former coaches and on-the-field experiences helped shape the strategic mind of the young coach, he says that his spiritual side is what aides him in teaching important aspects such as sportsmanship.

His production and presentation did not go unnoticed as he soon landed the head coaching job at Newberg High School after earning his master’s degree teaching biology and horticulture.

While teaching biology classes and guiding the Tigers’ program over four years, Schneiter also helped to build the Newberg Soccer Club before making the move to South. Now with the same responsibilities, he will also be helping to resurrect SAHS’s horticulture program.

While Schneiter is excited to begin the upcoming soccer season and school year, he seems most excited to begin his new life outside of the city.

“We love it out here. My wife and I were both farm kids growing up and we really like the small community,” says Schneiter. “It’s good to get out of the city and get more rural.”

The community aspect is what Schneiter has stressed in all of his clubs and says he will continue to push that onto his current players.

“I want to help the guys become aware that they are athletes and role models within a community and always present integrity on the field,” said Schneiter.

“That’s what I did in Newberg; what decisions you make when nobody is watching. I just want our guys to be classy.”

While Schneiter hopes to exhibit the art of winning graciously, he knows that goals are not scored with pre- and postgame handshakes.

“The first aspect I’m addressing is fitness. Basing that on how we played in college, you have to be at a certain level of fitness to compete,” says Schneiter. “Today, we did a real hard workout.”

Rebels midfielder Rian Surendra will attest to that.

“We’ve been doing a lot of weights and conditioning,” said Surendra following a post-practice nap. “It’s helped me get faster with all of the running and conditioning drills. He doesn’t get on us that much and he understands when we are tired.”

Surendra says that the coach has kept the team optimistic despite a winless performance in last week’s exhibition tournament.

“We talk about what we are going to do (this season) in every practice and how we are going to achieve it,” says Surendra, 16, a junior and three-year varsity player. “I hope to go to the playoffs and I think we can do it, but it’s going to be hard.”

As a coach in the Pac-9 conference with Newberg, Schneiter feels more comfortable than most first-year coaches would. While he may be coaching in a new town, his foes remain familiar.

“After coaching against teams like Woodburn and Dallas, I know what we are up against. Right now our goal is to make playoffs and we will go from there,” said Schieter.

“And I plan on being here for a long time.”