GEORGE BROWN WOMEN’S SOCCER APPOINTS DAVE KELLY AS HEAD COACH
The following post is courtesy of George Brown Athletics https://georgebrown.prestosports.com/sports/wsoc/2023-24/releases/wsoc_dave_kelly from July 18, 2023.
The George Brown College Women’s Soccer program is pleased to announce the hiring of Dave Kelly as the new head coach of the Huskies. Kelly’s appointment comes after the departure of Leslie Fitzpatrick to the New York Red Bulls of the MLS.
Holder of a Canada Soccer A License and UEFA B License, Kelly comes to the Huskies with a lengthy coaching resume. He is currently with the Simcoe County Rovers League 1 Ontario Women’s Team where they most recently won the Trent-Severn Cup and also secured promotion to the new Premier Division. He has worked with Team Ontario U15 and U16 and was part of the support staff for Canada’s National Development Centre for Ontario. He also coached North Toronto U15-U17 and was an assistant coach for the club’s League 1 team. The tenured coach is also a coach developer and license facilitator for Ontario Soccer and Soccer Canada.
Kelly looks forward to taking on the OCAA and heading up the George Brown program after hearing many positive things through the soccer community, “I have worked with many George Brown graduates who speak well of the school and the huge potential for growth in terms of the opportunity being in the middle of Toronto,” said Kelly. “I know it’s competitive (the OCAA). There have been some fantastic players to come through the OCAA and there are some very good coaches in the league. Competing against them will be a great challenge.”
Kelly speaks very grounded realizing that taking a program to the promise land is no easy task. “Once we get the group together on the field, we will look to create some goals for the season,” said the new head coach about their coming season. “We want to grow this program to be the best in the OCAA and go and compete consistently for CCAA Championships.”
Kelly also brings with him several distinctions from overseas, including four seasons with the Blackpool FC women’s team in England where his club earned two promotions, won two league titles and two runner-up spots, as well as one league cup. His post-secondary experience includes University of Central Lancashire men’s team in the British University College Sport League in the UK, as well as being a former high school teacher.
Manager of Athletics Melanie Gerin-Lajoie is thrilled to bring on a coach with such a wide variety of experiences. “Dave Kelly is a wonderful pick up for our women’s soccer program,” said Gerin-Lajoie. “His high performance experience both domestically and abroad as well as his coaching development work with both Ontario Soccer and Canada Soccer make him extremely well rounded both technically and tactically. He is a proven winner and well connected to the soccer community, and we’re excited to see where he can take our growing program from here.
From Kelly’s side, he is eager to get going and hit the ground running. “I’m looking forward to getting to know all the players, welcoming out new recruits and looking to build a team we can be proud of!”.
Coach Dave Kelly and his new look Huskies will be opening their season September 8th against Centennial Colts at Esther Shiner Stadium. Kick-off is at 6pm.
Source: https://georgebrown.prestosports.com/sports/wsoc/2023-24/releases/wsoc_dave_kelly