CAMDEN, N.J. (Dec. 6, 2016) – Tim Oswald had an amazing five-year run as the head coach of the Ocean City Nor'easters, but trying to juggle his full-time job as a middle school guidance counselor with two coaching jobs, while also finding family time, was becoming an impossible task. Oswald finally decided to leave the Premier Development League team to concentrate on his job as the men's soccer head coach at Rutgers University-Camden.
 
"As far as my decision to resign, it was pretty simple at this time in my life," said Oswald, who is the all-time winningest coach with both the Ocean City and Rutgers-Camden (RUC) programs. "I wanted some more time with my 7-year old daughter Karley in the summer and more time for myself to take a step back, refresh, relax, and refocus as I move in between the academic school year as a Middle School Guidance Counselor in the Ridley School District and the Fall with RUC. I get to work with teenagers and college kids every day and I couldn't be happier with doing both."
 
The sixth head coach of the Ocean City franchise, Oswald spent five stellar seasons with the Nor'easters from 2012-16. He posted a 47-19-6 record to become the winningest coach in the club's PDL history, leading Ocean City to two Eastern Conference championships and two PDL semifinal appearances. Oswald saw 25 of his players advance to the professional level. Eight were selected in the MLS SuperDraft.
 

"I loved every minute of my time coaching in Ocean City," said Oswald, whose time with Ocean City included leading the Nor'easters deep into the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup before being eliminated on the road by the MLS Philadelphia Union, 2-1, in 2013. "The quality of the PDL overall, the tactical acumen of the coaches, the ability to coach some of the very best players in the country/world, and the personal relationships built with professional clubs and coaches opened my eyes to a much larger picture of professional soccer that goes well beyond the collegiate level.
 
"I do believe that my time in the PDL as a coach enhanced my growth tremendously in all facets of the game and I have benefited greatly from the experience.  I mean, how many coaches ever, that aren't in the MLS, get to coach their team against an MLS team in an MLS stadium and be at 1-1 in the 90th minute of a knockout tournament in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup? The college game wouldn't have ever been able to give me that opportunity and that makes me so thankful for my time in OC. It was just an unreal and unforgettable moment there."
 
Oswald had numerous great experiences in the PDL, but he decided that he wanted to concentrate his energies on pursuing a goal that barely eluded his Rutgers-Camden team. During his 11 seasons coaching the Scarlet Raptors, Oswald has raised the program to national prominence, including an appearance in the NCAA Division III championship game in 2013. That season the Scarlet Raptors finished with their highest final national ranking ever, at No. 2, after a 2-1 double-overtime loss in the NCAA championship game against perennial power Messiah College.
 
"While chasing the idea of winning a national championship at two levels (college and PDL) sounds super enticing and intriguing, it's incredibly taxing and exhausting if you are doing it right," he said. "We came mesmerizingly close to doing that at both RUC and OCN on three separate Final 4 occasions in a four-year period (2013 with RUC and 2013/2016 with OCN), but in the end, I wanted to put all of my passion, energy, and commitment into RUC Men's Soccer." 

During his tenure with the Scarlet Raptors, Oswald has compiled a 161-64-29 record at Rutgers-Camden, leaving the old program record of 68 coaching wins far behind. His Scarlet Raptors have earned the only five NCAA tournament berths in program history (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015), won the only ECAC championships in program history (2006, 2007, 2010 and 2014) and captured the team's only four New Jersey Athletic Conference titles (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015). They also were the NJAC runner-up on two other occasions (2008 and 2014).
 
"I have had the great honor of building our program into one of the top in the country at the DIII level, but I don't feel we have reached the standards that I expect of myself or that we expect of each other," Oswald said. "Although completely humbled by our achievements in the NJAC and getting to the Final 4 a few years back, it's a tantalizing feeling to be on the opposite end of a surreal experience and watch another team celebrate winning a National Championship in front of you."

Oswald has coached eight All-Americans during his tenure at Rutgers-Camden, including the program's all-time leading scorer, Mike Ryan. He is a two-time NJAC Coach of the Year (2011 and 2013) and he added numerous other coaching honors following the Scarlet Raptors' tremendous 23-1-2 season in 2013, including NSCAA/FieldTurf Division III National Coach of the Year, the D3soccer.com Coach of the Year, the CaptainU Division III Men's Soccer Coach of the Year, the NSCAA South Atlantic Coach of the Year and The Philly Soccer Page Coach of the Year.
 
Oswald also has been named Rutgers-Camden's overall Coach of the Year on five occasions, covering the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2013-14 scholastic years. He will return for his 12th season at the Raptors' helm next fall, with a national championship goal still on his mind.
 
"All coaches chase games in their minds, but I decided I wanted to chase that game with hard work and a new-found level of urgency and intensity," Oswald said. "We may never get back to that point, but I am going to give my best effort to put us back in the position, while expecting that from my coaching staff and my players every day."

Thompson tabbed as new coach of the Nor'easters (from Ocean City website)