Team Staff

Former U.S. international Dominic Kinnear just completed his ninth season as a head coach in 2012, having guided the Dynamo to MLS Cup championships in 2006 and 2007, and the MLS Cup finals in 2011 and 2012.

In seven years as Dynamo head coach, Kinnear has led the team to two MLS Cup titles (2006, 2007), four MLS Cup Finals (2006, 2007, 2011, 2012), two semifinal appearances in the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup (2007, 2008), two quarterfinal berths in the CONCACAF Champions League (2008-09, 2012-13), one appearance in the final (2008) and two appearances in the semifinals (2007, 2010) of SuperLiga, two first-place regular-season finishes in the Western Conference (2008, 2009-tied), and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals twice (2006, 2009). He has been nominated for MLS Coach of the Year three times (2006, 2007, 2008).

With the San Jose Earthquakes, Kinnear spent three seasons as the club’s top assistant coach, winning MLS Cup titles in 2001 and 2003, and then took over as head coach in 2004. He was named MLS Coach of the Year in 2005, when San Jose won the Supporters’ Shield with a record of 18-4-10, still a league record for most points in a season.

A native of Glasgow, Scotland, Kinnear moved to California at age three and grew up in Fremont, Calif.

Kinnear played professionally in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and Mexico. He spent five seasons with the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks, helping them win a championship in 1991. In 1995, Kinnear signed with Necaxa of the Mexican First Division, and helped lead the team to the Mexican Cup that year. He then signed with the APSL’s Seattle Sounders, where he again was part of a championship team.

Kinnear earned 54 caps for the U.S. national team, with nine goals and two assists. His best year in a national team jersey was 1993, when he led the team in scoring with seven goals and one assist. He was captain of the national team for its match against his native Scotland on May 17, 1992, in Denver, Colo.

He played five years in MLS, including the 1997 season with the San Jose Clash, the forerunner of the Earthquakes. That season he played in a career-high 28 games and registered eight points. Kinnear also played with the Colorado Rapids and the Tampa Bay Mutiny in his 117-game MLS career, scoring six goals and recording 26 assists. Kinnear served as the Mutiny’s captain in 1999 and led them to the playoffs that season.

Kinnear has a USSF “A” coaching license. He is married to Colleen and they have three children: David, Sophia, and Grace. In his spare time, Kinnear enjoys watching his children play soccer and listening to music. His favorite bands include Robert Cray, U2, and Alice in Chains.

Former Dynamo team captain Wade Barrett just completed his third season as an assistant coach in 2012 after transitioning from player to coach in 2010. Along with Steve Ralston, Barrett co-managed the 2012 Dynamo Reserves to the 2012 Major League Soccer Reserve League Central/Mountain division championship.

Barrett retired prior to the 2010 season with the third-highest totals in games, starts, and minutes in Dynamo history. He twice lifted the MLS Cup championship trophy for Houston, in 2006 and 2007, and was also part of the San Jose Earthquakes’ 2001 MLS Cup championship and 2005 Supporters’ Shield-winning teams.

The Virginia Beach, Virginia native attended the College of William & Mary and completed a B.A. in economics via correspondence in his early days as a professional with the San Jose Clash. Barrett remained in San Jose as the franchise became the Earthquakes and won the 2001 MLS Cup title, then played with Aarhus (Denmark) and Fredrikstad (Norway) from 2002-04.

He rejoined the Earthquakes in 2005, Dominic Kinnear’s second year as head coach, as club captain, and helped them capture the Supporters’ Shield. Prior to the 2006 season, Barrett moved to Houston along with the rest of the players and team staff to become the Dynamo. He assisted on the first goal in team history and played every league and playoff game except one in the Dynamo’s back-to-back championship seasons of 2006 and 2007. He was slowed by injuries slightly in 2008 and more significantly in 2009.

Capped twice for the United States national team, Barrett was an MLS All-Star and named to the MLS Best XI in 2002. He finished his Dynamo career with 140 games, 139 starts, and 12,399 minutes played in all competitions. He appeared in 99 career regular season and 11 career playoff games for Houston. One of the fittest players in league history, Barrett wore the captain’s armband for 138 of his 140 all-time appearances with Houston.

Off the field, he was a three-time winner (1998-99, 2002) of San Jose's Geneva McAlavey Memorial Award for community service.

Barrett has the USSF “B” coaching license. 

All-time Major League Soccer assist leader Steve Ralston just completed his second full season as an assistant coach with the Dynamo in 2012, having joined the club immediately following his retirement in July 2010. Along with Wade Barrett, Ralston co-managed the 2012 Dynamo Reserves to the 2012 Major League Soccer Reserve League Central/Mountain division championship.

A native of St. Louis, Ralston retired as the all-time MLS leader in assists (135), games (378), starts (372), and minutes played (33,143). As a midfielder, he played in four MLS Cup finals for New England, including two against the Dynamo in 2006 and 2007. Ralston was named an MLS All-Star seven times and to the MLS Best XI three times. He is the only three-time recipient of the MLS Fair Play Award.

On the international level, Ralston appeared 36 times for the United States national team and scored four goals, including the game-winning goal against Mexico on September 3, 2005, as the United States clinched qualification for the World Cup. He was an alternate for the World Cup squad but has represented the United States at the Gold Cup three times, including championship squads in 2005 and 2007.

In his club career, Ralston was drafted by the Tampa Bay Mutiny out of Florida International University in 1996, the league’s inaugural season, and won the first MLS Rookie of the Year award that season. He played six years for Tampa Bay before the club was contracted, including three years as a teammate of Kinnear. Ralston was then selected by the Revolution in the MLS Allocation Draft and spent the next eight years with New England. After a brief stint with hometown club AC St. Louis in 2010, he rejoined the Revolution in June. His club championships include the 2007 U.S. Open Cup and 2008 SuperLiga titles.

Ralston is married to Rachel, and the couple has two daughters, Anna and Clara, and one son, Liam. Ralston enjoys fishing and hunting, Mexican food, and country and rock music.

Currently in his second stint with the Dynamo, Tim Hanley returned to the Dynamo as the club’s goalkeepers coach in 2009. Hanley was the team’s original goalkeeping coach in 2006.

Hanley has coached in Major League Soccer for 13 seasons and in American soccer for more than 20 years. Hanley coached three Goalkeeper of the Year winners in a four-year span from 2002-05 (Joe Cannon 2002; Pat Onstad 2003, 2005). Hanley worked in MLS with the San Jose Clash and San Jose Earthquakes and has also coached in the A-League, in the Premier Development League, and at Stanford University (2002-05).

As a player, Hanley played six seasons in the United States and the United Kingdom. He began his career training with Blackpool and Coventry City in England, then returned to the United States to play in the North American Soccer League. He played with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, San Jose Earthquakes, and Golden Bay Earthquakes, sandwiched around a stint at Scottish club Hibernian.

He completed a goalkeeping DVD entitled “Between the Sticks,” featuring Onstad, Cannon, and Jon Conway.

Off the field, Hanley is heavily involved in community activities and devotes time to rebuildingtogetherpeninsula.org and the Square Peg Foundation. His eldest son John plays baseball at Menlo College in Atherton, Calif., and younger son Riley plays soccer at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif.

Enns recently completed his 14th year in Major League Soccer, and his fifth season with the Dynamo. He has been named MLS Athletic Trainer of the Year twice with Houston (2008 and 2011) and three times overall (2002).

Originally hired by the Colorado Rapids as an assistant athletic trainer in 1999 before he was promoted to the head athletic trainer position in July of 2000, Enns brings a wealth of knowledge to the Dynamo. A Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) and a Licensed Athletic Trainer (LAT) by the state of Texas, he received his bachelor’s degree from Point Loma Nazarene College and then went on to earn a master’s degree from Western Michigan University.

A founding member, two-time past president and member of the Curriculum Committee (2011) of the Professional Soccer Athletic Trainer Association (PSATS), Enns’ career has seen him work with the New York Jets (NFL) and Villanova University, as well as provide event coverage for ESPN’s Winter X Games and the U.S. men’s national team. His league honors include working on the staff for the 1999 and 2009 MLS All-Star Games, MLS Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2002 and 2008, serving on the MLS Athletic Trainers Advisory Committee in 2003, and serving as Athletic Trainer for the 2008 Generation adidas UK tour. He has also served on the Soccer Industry Medical Symposium (SIMS) Curriculum Committee (2005-08) and the Membership Committee (2009). Theron is married to his wife of eight years, Marla.

Caron recently completed his sixth season with the Dynamo. He is a 1996 graduate of the University of South Alabama with a bachelor's degree in sports medicine. He pursued a master's degree at West Texas A&M University, where he was the trainer for the men's and women's soccer teams

Caron is a nationally-certified and state-licensed athletic trainer and will work closely with the medical team to assure the highest standards of healthcare are provided. He also holds NSCA certification as a strength and conditioning specialist.

Prior to working for the Dynamo, Caron was employed at San Jacinto College, where he was the athletic trainer for seven years. He was also head athletic trainer for the Houston Hotshots of the WISL. Originally from Niceville, Fla., Caron has been married to Suzana for nine years. 

Kowba, who recently completed his eighth year with the franchise, has been named MLS Team Administrator of the Year by his peers and league staff three times (2007-2009). He was promoted to Manager, Team Operations during the 2010 season and to Director, Soccer Operations during the 2011 season. In his new role, Kowba oversees the day-to-day administrative duties of the Dynamo first team, but is also involved with the scouting of players both foreign and domestic. Before the team’s relocation from San Jose, Kowba worked for the San Jose Earthquakes as the Grassroots Soccer Coordinator, where he developed, coordinated and delivered elements associated with the youth soccer partnership program and grassroots soccer efforts in the Bay Area.

Prior to joining the Earthquakes in 2005, Kowba was an assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of California-Santa Cruz, for two seasons after graduating with a degree in sociology in 2003. While attending UC-Santa Cruz, Kowba was a four-year student-athlete and three-year starter for the men’s soccer program, coached by former San Jose Earthquakes player Paul Holocher.

While living in Santa Cruz, Kowba was involved in the development of local soccer players, coaching and mentoring youth from the Catalyst Soccer Club and Santa Cruz Breakers. Originally from Encinitas, Calif., Kowba lives with his wife, Meredith, and in his free time enjoys surfing, snowboarding and playing golf.

Michael Porter recently completed his fourth year as the Dynamo equipment manager and his fifth in Major League Soccer after prior experience with the New York Red Bulls.

Porter graduated from Malone University in Canton, Ohio, with a degree in business administration and sports management. Porter played four years at Malone, an NAIA school, as a goalkeeper and was a two-year captain. Originally from Medina, Ohio, Porter lives in Houston.

Justin Andrews recently began his first year as the Houston Dynamo Team Operations Coordinator. A Blessing, Texas native, Andrews interned with the Houston Dynamo marketing department before joining the club full-time.

Andrews graduated from the University of Houston with a BS in Sports Management and currently lives in Pearland.