Men's Soccer Assistant George Kostelis Among Hellenic Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Inductees

Central Connecticut men's soccer assistant coach George Kostelis was honored with inclusion among the Hellenic Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2023. The honor was announced by the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) at its Athletic Luncheon during its 101st Annual Supreme Convention in Las Vegas, NV, on July 26. Supreme President Jimmy Kokotas recognized the outstanding current and former athletes and sports industry leaders.

"AHEPA is proud to recognize an outstanding group of Hellenes who excelled on the athletic fields and within the sports industry and join the hallowed pantheon of former Hellenic athletic luminaries," Kokotas said. "We congratulate all of the honorees and are thrilled that AHEPA remains at the forefront of recognizing excellence in athletic achievement."

Kostelis was inducted along with George Kokinis, Alexi Lalas, Nick Mourouzis, Kristofer O'Dowd and Jason Zafiros. AHEPA established the Hellenic Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974 by the late Supreme Athletic Director Dr. Monthe Kofos, and now includes more than 175 inductees, including Harry Agganis, Alex Karras, Milt Pappas, Pete Sampras, Eric Karros, Gene Rossides, Steve Lappas, Bob Costas, Greg Louganis, Pyrros Dimas, and Kurt Rambis, among many other athletic stalwarts.

Kostelis joined the Blue Devils' program ahead of the 2022 season and has a broad background of coaching and playing soccer at all levels. An experienced coach, Kostelis coached at his alma mater, Hartford, prior to CCSU. He worked with both the men's and women's programs with the Hawks. He began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach with the University of Connecticut women's soccer program, helping the Huskies to the national final in 1997 and the Elite 8 in 1998 and 1999. His career also includes a stop at Yale University where he helped the Bulldogs win a share of the 2005 Ivy League Championship. In addition to stops at Trinity College and Southern Connecticut State as an assistant coach, he served as the Head Coach of the men's soccer team at Western Connecticut State from 2011-2016 and was Associate Head Coach at the University of Rhode Island women's program in 2017-18.

He has additional coaching experiencec with the Elm City Express of the National Premier Soccer League, whom he helped win the national championship in 2017. Kostelis worked with Hartford Athletic of the United Soccer League as Goalkeeper Coach in 2019-20 and has also worked with the Farmington Sports Arena Football Club, Socer Club of Newington and Oakwood Soccer Club. Kostelis has also owned GK Soccer Training in Burlington, CT, since 2000. He has helped mentor athletes on both the men's and women's side who have moved on to attend schools such as UConn, Harvard, Louisville, Michagan and Villanova. He is a respected instructor, having worked with the United Soccer Coaches as a national staff instructor for the goalkeeping academy for 13 years. He has also worked with the Minnesota Youth Soccer Assocation and the United States Youth Soccer Association as an Olympic Development Coach with the Region 1 Staff.

Kostelis enjoyed a record-setting career collegiately at the University of Hartford where he was a team captain, a three-time all-confercence selection and an All-New England performer in 1992. He helped the squad to the NCAA Tournament in 1991-92 and set program records with 36 wins and a 1.07 goals-against average. He went on to play professionally for Aiolikos Football Club in Greece from 1993-95. He has been honored as a member of the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame in 2022 and the University of Hartford Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.