Alumni Tudor Flintham hired as new Johnnie soccer head coach

The St. John’s soccer team finished the 2024 season with a 6-8-1 record overall and a 3-6-1 record within the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) under interim head coach Noel Quinn. After the season ended, St. John’s named Tudor Flintham, a former Johnnie, as the new director of soccer and head coach on Dec. 17.

Flintham served as the head men’s soccer coach at Gustavus the past seven seasons. He was MIAC coach of the year in 2018 and 2022 and coached the Gusties to a 92-20-18 (.777) record overall. Flintham registered 59 points, 20 of which were goals, in 64 games while playing at St. John’s. He was also the associate head coach at St. John’s from 2010 to 2014.

St. John’s athletic director Bob Alpers had good things to say about the recent hire of Flintham.

“I was thrilled when he reached out to us,” Alpers said. “Tudor has had a terrifically successful career. As soon as Gustavus’ season was over, he reached out to me knowing the job was open and we moved quickly after that. We are in good shape with Tudor at the helm.”

Alpers also spoke of the student-athletes currently on the roster and how they will be affected by the new hiring. He talked about how recruitment is going under the new coach.

“We’ve got some talented players on the roster, and we’ve got some guys that are very excited about getting pushed in a positive way to maximize their abilities,” Alpers said. “Tudor is a relentless recruiter, and he’s already had a lot of success bringing in some talented guys.”

The Record reached out to Flintham but was not able to get a comment in time for publication.

Flintham lead Gustavus to a 16-2-3 record this past season, which was the best overall record in the MIAC. Junior Connor Drong is familiar with his new coach; he transferred from Gustavus in the spring of last year. Drong, a forward, played in fourteen games this past season for St. John’s, scoring two goals.

“I played two seasons under Coach Flintham before I transferred to St. John’s last spring,” Drong says via email. “I think there’s a lot of excitement in our locker room around what we can accomplish with him.”

While the Johnnies didn’t have the strongest record this season Drong believes that time will allow the Johnnies to be more prepared next fall.

“Our coach last season did an incredible job with us considering the very short preparation time we had,” Drong said. “Having a full spring with Coach Flintham will hopefully set a good foundation that will propel us to new levels in the fall.”

Alpers added similar insights, saying that the sudden coaching change affected the players this past season.

“I spent a lot of time with those guys through the process and It was hard on them,” Alpers said. “You have relationships with your previous coach, expectations about what the year is going to be like and then everything changes less than a month before the season starts.”

He went on to compliment the players who underwent this shift in leadership and describe what he believes the players’ mindsets are like currently.

“I admire the players’ resilience, their perseverance and their willingness to change,” Alpers said. “I sense that there is a great sense of enthusiasm and optimism about what we can be.”

Alpers finished by speaking on the future of the soccer program and why St. John’s has continued success in all kinds of sports.

“When you look at St. John’s athletics, we are pretty good at just about everything,” Alpers said. “This is because we have great young men on each team, and they receive great coaching and support. I think soccer is ready to make a big move, and I think the players will embrace that.”