Norris Howze - Assistant Men's Coach - Men's Soccer Coaches

Norris Howze

Title:
Assistant Men's Coach
Email:
nhowze@memphis.edu

Norris Howze was hired in 2017 as an assistant coach for head coach Richard Mulrooney and the University of Memphis men’s soccer program. Howze spent his previous stop as the director of operations at UAB following his four-year playing career with the Blazers.

Along with Howze’s coaching, Memphis reached new heights in 2019, winning 10 matches for the first time since 2011, while landing five players on all-conference teams. Senior forward Sam Ashton was named first team all-conference, while senior defender Ben Roberts and sophomore midfielder Gurman Sangha were named second team all-conference. Freshmen Ford Hunt and Peter Chang were also added to the all-rookie team.

Howze's second season on staff saw the duo of Roberts and Zalzman repeat as all-conference performers, this time as first-team selections. The Tigers also defeated USF with a 3-1 final score in the quarterfinal match of the AAC Championship, the first conference tournament win for the Tigers as members of the American Athletic Conference.

His first season as an assistant coach saw two players become Second-Team All Conference picks. Ben Roberts and David Zalzman finished tied with the most goals on the team at two. Zalzman also pitched in three assists as he led the team with seven points.

As the director of operations at UAB, Howze was responsible for the organization of travel and meals for the Blazers along with day-to-day office operations. During his time at UAB, Howze had the opportunity to travel to the Netherlands and Italy as a player and director of operations.

While playing for UAB from 2010 to 2013 as defensive midfielder, Howze saw action in 69 games with a pair of goals scored. In 2011, he was selected to the UAB ‘Soccer For A Cure’ Classic All-Tournament team for his role in helping the Blazers to the championship. Howze was also the teams Most Improved Player in 2011.

After his time playing with the Blazers, Howze continued his playing career for two summers with the Birmingham Hammers, a team in the National Premier Soccer League, in 2015 and 2016.

Also in the time between his stints at UAB, Howze was the BUSA Academy coach in the spring of 2014, the Oak Mountain High School freshman head coach and assistant varsity coach in 2014 and 2015, and the Vestavia Academy coach in 2015 to 2017.

A native of Hoover, Ala., Howze was a four-year varsity starter at Hoover High School coached by Kris Keplinger. Coming into college, Howze was the No. 6 player in the South by TopDrawerSoccer.com. In 2009, he was named to the North-South All-Star contest and was an all-state and all-metro selection following his senior year.