Montclair Kimberley Academy names Terkowski new girls head soccer coach
Montclair Kimberley is going to have a new girls head soccer coach on the sidelines come this fall.
Luke Terkowski, a longtime club soccer coach, takes over for Jordan Raper, who has coached either the Montclair Kimberley boys or girls soccer teams over the past 15 years.
"Coach Terkowski’s short- and long-term goals, enthusiasm and vision for the program make him the right choice as we look to build upon what has been an incredibly successful program at MKA over the last 20 years," Todd Smith, the school’s athletics director, said.
"Throughout his career, coach Terkowski has done an outstanding job of working with student-athletes to help them reach their potential both on and off the field."
Raper led either the boys or girls soccer teams for a decade, compiling a combined 128-59-15 record. He was an assistant MKA soccer coach for five years.
In his six seasons leading the boys program, Montclair Kimberley won back-to-back Non-Public B state titles in 2011 and 2012 and had an 89-22-10 record.
In Raper’s four seasons heading the girls program, MKA won the 2020 Super Essex Conference Liberty Division championship. The girls also reached the Non-Public A North finals in 2021 as well as the North East F title game in 2020, where they lost on penalty kicks to Immaculate Heart. He was 39-27-5 in his four seasons as the girls head coach.
Raper said that the reason for hanging up his coaching cleats was to spend more time with his family. He decided to step down after the loss to Immaculate Heart in the Non-Public A North quarterfinals on Nov. 1.
"After 15 years coaching at MKA, I decided I needed to take a step back and be more present for my family," said the coach, who will remain as a faculty member at Montclair Kimberley.
"It has been a great and really rewarding experience coaching at the school. The community on all three campuses is very welcoming, and the players we have are very committed and compete at a very high level."
Smith praised Raper's work as well as his success over the years for the Montclair Kimberley programs.
"We would like to thank coach Raper for everything he has done for the MKA girls soccer program over the last four years," he said, and also thanked him for his work with the boys.
"We realize the demands and amount of time and effort it takes to manage and run a varsity program — especially balancing that with raising three young kids — and respect coach Raper’s decision to want to spend more time with his family."
Terkowski has won several titles for boys and girls soccer teams at TSF Academy in Lincoln Park as well as for the Torpedoes Soccer Club in Wyckoff.
He said he was not interested at first in coaching on the high school level, but after talking to Smith and MKA boys head soccer coach Rob Leather, whom he has known for the past seven years, he decided it was a perfect fit.
"This opportunity was one I could not turn down," Terkowski said. "My attraction to MKA was the school's history and its tradition. I am very happy to begin my journey at MKA."
Last season the Montclair Kimberley girls soccer team reached the Prep B title game before falling to Rutgers Prep. The Cougars, with a predominantly freshmen and sophomores' roster, ended the season at 6-10-1.