Feb. 14, 2022 – Karl Heineman, who has played and coached rugby for more than 40 years, has been named head rugby coach at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. He is a former U.S. Army officer who played college football and was an All-Army rugby player.
"Karl is a very accomplished individual and a highly qualified coach," Good Counsel Athletic Director Steve Howes said. "His passion for rugby stands out, as does his organization and forward thinking. Our student-athletes will benefit greatly, on and off the field, from his guidance and leadership."
Heineman joins the Falcons after serving three years (2017-19) as president and assistant coach for the Maryland Exiles Girls U19 Rugby Club in Montgomery County, Md. His coaching duties included individual skill training, practice planning and team strategy.
While stationed in Germany, Heineman played for the Frankfurt American Rugby Club for three years (1986-88) and was twice named All-U.S. Army Europe. He played for various U.S. clubs from 1989-2001 and, when not deployed, was chosen All-Army several times while competing in the annual Combined Services Championship.
Heineman began his rugby career as a junior at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, Md. He also helped the Screaming Eagles win two state football championships (1979-80). After graduating in 1981, he attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.
Heineman played football at Army for four seasons and was a three-year starting offensive tackle. He concluded his career in 1984 with two memorable victories: 28-11 over Navy and 10-6 over Michigan State in the Cherry Bowl. It was the first bowl game in Army history.
The '84 Cadets (8-3-1) also tied Tennessee on the road and beat Montana in Tokyo. With wins over Navy and Air Force, Army captured the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy. Heineman played on the rugby team his senior year.
While deployed to NATO headquarters in Belgium, Heineman served as offensive and defensive line coach (2001-02) for the Brussels Black Angels. He moved up to head coach in 2003 and guided the team to the league national championship. As defensive coordinator for the Rockville Bears in 2018, he helped the seventh- and eighth-graders advance to the Rockville Football League title game.
Heineman, who served as a signal corps and systems automation officer in the Army for 22 years, retired in 2007 as a lieutenant colonel. He led a 200-person tactical signal company in Saudi Arabia and Iraq for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and was awarded a Bronze Star.
Heineman graduated from Army in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in computer science. He added a master's in the same field from Georgia Tech in 1995. For three years (1995-98), he was an assistant professor of computer science at West Point. He works as director of IT Support and Engineering Services for Athena Technology Group in Herndon, Va.
Karl Jonathan Heineman was born in Minneapolis and raised outside New York City and Darnestown, Md. He and his wife Anna live in Darnestown. They have three children: daughters Megan and Lilli, and son Max.
Megan is a captain in the Army, and Lilli is on a rugby scholarship at Mount St. Mary's University. Max plays football and rugby at Good Counsel.
About Good Counsel Athletics
The Falcons' athletic program is among the finest in the highly competitive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. The school fields 54 boys and girls teams at the freshman, JV and varsity levels. In the past decade, Good Counsel has won more than 70 WCAC championships.
About Good Counsel
Our Lady of Good Counsel High School is a private, Catholic, college preparatory, coeducational high school located in Olney, Maryland. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. Operated under the sponsorship of the Xaverian Brothers, Good Counsel offers students in grades nine through twelve, a wide array of programs and activities that advance academic excellence, foster spiritual growth, and encourage leadership and service to others. With a student body of just over 1,200, Good Counsel prides itself as being a community that promotes an inclusive environment, embodying the Xaverian Brothers' values of simplicity, humility, compassion, zeal, and trust. The school was founded in 1958 as an all-boys school in Wheaton, Maryland. In 1988, the school became coeducational. During the 2006-2007 school year, the school relocated to a new, sprawling 51-acre, state of the art campus in beautiful Olney, Maryland. For more information, visit olgchs.org.
Contact:
Cheryl Plainte
Good Counsel High School
Chief Marketing Officer
cplainte@olgchs.org
240-283-3226