The El Paso Locomotive FC Youth Soccer Club is seeing a changing of the guard. As Bob Bigney steps down from his role as the Locomotive Youth Soccer director after paving its way for success and establishing the foundation for building a community within El Paso youth soccer, Colin Herlinger joins the club ready to continue the work.

When Bigney came to El Paso Locomotive, he came with a vision of creating a professional soccer pipeline in our own backyard. There was a goal of creating a Youth Soccer community that would help the children of the Borderland reach their goals of kicking off a professional career in soccer or giving them a pathway into a successful college career. As Colin takes the proverbial torch of the Youth Soccer Club, he will be looking to continue and improve on the foundation Bigney has laid down in the club’s first two years.

“This is a good opportunity to come in with a fresh outlook on things from an established club and help grow a budding youth club,” shared Colin. “There is a great opportunity to connect with families already part of the community and expand it new heights”

Colin is an 11-year veteran in coaching at the Youth Soccer level. His background features youth soccer at every level from Under-4s in recreational leagues to U-18s at both the state and regional level. He has coached in organizations that has competed amongst the best in the nation and boasted 22,000 players strong.

Carrying his Class-A ‘Senior’ coaching license from the United States Soccer Federation and a master’s degree from Ohio University in recreational development and sports pedagogy, Colin will be spearheading the Locomotive Youth Club program locally in El Paso. Simultaneously, he will be aiding the growing Youth Academy as a coach.

Shortly after arriving in El Paso, Colin said his first step is to jump headfirst into the El Paso Community. With a hands-on approach to the local soccer scene, Colin is eager to be a part of the relationships Locomotive Youth Soccer has grown with its players, their parents, and the El Paso Community at large.

Inspired by his father who has been a coach in swimming for almost 50 years and one of his former soccer coaches who had minimal soccer experience, Colin aims to connect and inspire players wherever he goes. Growing up seeing the connections and the impact the two coaches made with their players, Colin knew he wanted to do the same and followed in their footsteps into coaching. Colin’s mission is to change and empower his player’s lives for the better while maintaining a competitive mentality.

“Having that connection and impact with players is important,” Colin said. “I’m also extremely competitive. I like to win, I like to compete, and I like to see growth. There are a lot of opportunities here with the people we have in place. I think it could be grown into something very good for the community and for Locomotive in general. I’m just looking to help the program grow and reach its potential.”

As it’s quickly becoming a nationally known fact that El Paso is a hot bed for soccer, Colin is excited to get going with the El Paso Locomotive Youth Soccer ranks. After spending a few weeks in the city, Colin has seen firsthand the potential for growth and opportunity with El Paso Locomotive, and the competitive spirit that emboldens the club from the first team down to the youngest squad in the Youth Soccer Club. With a fresh outlook on what El Paso is building and that competitive drive, Colin is eager to establish Locomotive Youth Soccer as a premier vessel in the Borderland that will carry players to careers in college or professionally in USL, MLS or abroad.