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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

PELHAM – Magic City SC named current Alabama Soccer Association Executive Director Jennifer Pfeiffer as the first head coach of its men’s and women’s teams on Wednesday, Sept. 27.

Pfieffer joins the club ahead of the start of its inaugural season in the National Indoor Soccer League in January when both teams will call the Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena home.

“We are excited to bring Jennifer on board and start fielding our team on all fronts,” Magic City SC managing partner and co-owner Andrew Haines said. “Our coaching search was successful, connecting us to some great options. Ultimately, she checked the boxes we think will allow us to best compete for NISL titles.”

Now that Pfieffer has been named as the head coach, she and the club will focus on filling out the rest of the coaching staff and holding tryouts to select the team.

At Magic City SC’s introductory press conference, Haines outlined the owners’ desire to hire a coach with local ties. Pfieffer currently works around the Pelham area with the Alabama Soccer Association, and she plans to use her knowledge of the local soccer scene and the relationships that she has built across the state in her new role as Magic City SC’s head coach.

“I am honored to be named the inaugural head coach for Magic City SC,” Pfeiffer said. “We have a high level of talent among the numerous teams in and around the Birmingham area. There are great coaches here who have developed and continue to invest in youth players, college players and alumni. I am confident that we will be able to select quality players for the NISL to compete to bring championships to the Magic City.”

Pfieffer also watched indoor soccer growing up, as she shared at the club’s first press conference, and she is excited to expand the game’s reach.

“I grew up watching this actually in Minnesota and in Saint Louis, so I am so eager to watch this game and be a part of it,” Pfieffer said. “We would love to fill the seats.”

Pfeiffer has over 30 years’ experience as a coach at various levels of the game from youth to college teams in the NCAA Division I and II. She was most recently the South Region Assistant Coach for the 2006 Girls Olympic Development team and on the Boys Olympic Development Program (ODP) South Region staff.

Prior to moving to Alabama, Pfeiffer served on the staff of the Little Rock Rangers as the head coach for its Women’s Premier Soccer League team and co-coach and goalkeeper coach for the National Premier Soccer League team. She was also an assistant coach for the Chicago Red Stars Reserve team, which reached the WPSL Final Four.

Pfieffer also currently serves as a referee around the state for the U.S. Soccer Federation and AHSAA, so many soccer players and their families may recognize her from her experience on the field. She is excited to transition back into coaching while bringing a new version of soccer to Pelham.

“Most people have seen me as a referee or an administrator around Alabama in the soccer communities, so it is time to show them a fun game I grew up playing,” Pfieffer said. “I am excited to introduce indoor soccer to the Birmingham area.”