Stuart Neely

Stuart Neely is a Scottish-born soccer administrator, head coach, scout, and technical director.

Stuart Neely
Personal information
Place of birth East Kilbride, Scotland
Managerial career
Years Team
2000–2001 Canada U20 (women)
2009–2010 TFC Academy II
2013 Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23
2014 K–W United FC
2014 K-W United FC (women)
2015–2016 Toronto FC Academy

Managerial career

Neely was named the head coach for the women's soccer program for Centennial College in 1994.[1] He would also coach the college's indoor soccer team in the winter of 1995 in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association championship tournament.[2] Following his stint at the college level, he became involved with the Ontario Soccer Association in 1997 initially as the association's director of player development.[3] The provincial body would also assign him to coach the province's under-17 women's side in 1999.[4] He also began managing in the professional realm in the United States-based USL W-League as an assistant coach for Toronto Inferno in 1999.[5]

In 2000, he became involved with the Canadian Soccer Association as the head coach for the Canada women's national under-20 soccer team.[3][6] He continued on with the women's under-20 program in 2001.[7] In 2004, he returned to the provincial administrative level as a high-performance scout for the Manitoba Soccer Association.[8] Neely had another run with the national association's men's under-20 soccer team as an assistant under head coach Dale Mitchell in 2005.[9][10] During his tenure with the under-20 national team, he would help the team qualify for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.[10]

In 2007, he became involved in the local scene in the Greater Toronto Area as the technical manager for Caledon Soccer Club.[11] During his tenure with Caledon, he became involved with Belgian side R.R.F.C. Montegnée as the club's scout.[12][11]

Toronto FC

In 2008, Neely returned to the professional ranks by becoming involved with Toronto FC's academy program as an academy manager.[13] The following season he was named the academy's junior team head coach in the reserve division of the Canadian Soccer League.[14][15] In his debut season in the inter-provincial circuit, he led the junior squad to a double by winning both the divisional and championship titles.[16] He would resume his coaching duties with the junior team the following season.[17][18][19]

After two years of managing the junior side, he was elevated to be the academy's director.[20] His time as academy director was short-lived as he announced his resignation after the conclusion of the 2011 season.[21]

Vancouver Whitecaps

Following his resignation from Toronto, he shortly after secured a position with league rivals Vancouver Whitecaps in the winter of 2012 as the club's head of player management and advancement.[22] In 2013, Neely was named the head coach for Vancouver's academy team in the American-based USL Premier Development League.[23] After the conclusion of the PDL season, he departed from the organization.[24]

Ontario

In 2014, he briefly went abroad to New Zealand in order to be named the governing body's head of football development.[13] In the summer of 2014, he returned to the Southern Ontario region as the head coach for K–W United for both the men's and women's programs.[25][26] Neely managed to secure a playoff berth with the women's side and was eliminated in the first round by Ottawa Fury.[27] The men's team also secured a postseason berth by finishing second in their division.[28] The club was eliminated from the competition in the first round by Des Moines Menace in a penalty shootout.[29]

He returned to Toronto FC the following season to serve as the academy's senior head coach for the 2015 PDL season and as an assistant coach for the club's reserve team in the USL PRO.[30][31] He re-signed in 2016 to once more manage Toronto's senior academy team.[32]

In 2018, he returned to the national governing body in the capacity of manager of coach education under the auspices of director of development Jason de Vos.[33]

British Columbia

After a three-year tenure with Canada Soccer, he returned to the western province of British Columbia as the technical director for the local side South Delta United.[34] In 2022, he joined the coaching staff of James Merriman as the technical director for Pacific FC in the national Canadian Premier League.[35] The following season he joined the expansion franchise Vancouver FC in the same role but his tenure was short-lived as he departed in the summer of 2023.[36]

References
  1. Laskaris, Sam (6 October 1994). "Rookie Centennial squad gunning for season title Colts take on Knights team in next battle". Toronto Star.
  2. "Centennial to defend its crowns". Toronto Star. 23 March 1995.
  3. Da Costa, Norman (18 April 2000). "Burtini returns from injury ; Women's team recalls sniper to the lineup". Toronto Star.
  4. Johns, Bill (17 March 1999). "Kitchener girl will get her kicks with Ontario's under-17 team". Kitchener-Waterloo Record. pp. C6.
  5. Da Costa, Norman (3 March 1999). "Tactical play strips away creativity, Pele says ; But change is afoot, at least in Brazil, ex-star maintains". Toronto Star.
  6. Ireland, Joanne (19 April 2000). "Vickery committed to building women's soccer". Edmonton Journal. pp. D4.
  7. McCreath, James (11 May 2001). "Sask. soccer turning heads". Star-Phoenix. pp. B3.
  8. "Local soccer star impresses national training centre coach". Winnipeg Free Press. 23 June 2004.
  9. "Soccer club teaching coaches". Welland Tribune. 23 February 2006. pp. B1.
  10. "Welland Soccer Club Hosts Guest Coach, Player Clinics". Welland Tribune. 12 January 2007.
  11. "Caledon Soccer Club forges link with European pro club:". Caledon Enterprise. 10 March 2007.
  12. Hartshorn, Jordan (26 June 2007). "Soccer Dogs get shot on Belgium team". Star-Phoenix. pp. B2.
  13. Cranford, Aaron (30 June 2016). "TFC Academy's Stuart Neely". USL League Two. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  14. "Toronto FC announce Academy coaches". www.sportsnet.ca. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  15. "Neely on title decider". mlssoccer. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  16. "TFC Academy on top". canadiansoccerleague.ca. 4 October 2009. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  17. "Two local players join TFC's Youth Academy". Waterloo Chronicle. 27 October 2010.
  18. "TFC finalizes Academy technical staff | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  19. "Former Toronto FC interim coach Dasovic is named team's North American scout: Dasovic moves from coaching to scouting". The Canadian Press. 23 February 2011.
  20. "Aron Winter introduced as Toronto FC coach". mlive. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  21. "Stuart Neely quits as director of Toronto FC soccer academy: Toronto FC loses head of soccer academy". The Canadian Press. 5 December 2011.
  22. "Vancouver Whitecaps hire former Toronto FC academy boss Start Neely: Whitecaps hire former TFC academy boss". The Canadian Press. 2 February 2012.
  23. "Cascades duo to suit up for Whitecaps U23". Abbotsford News. 17 May 2013. pp. A21.
  24. Weber, Marc (30 August 2013). "Paving a path for youngsters; Residency Program". The Province. pp. A50.
  25. "K-W United hires new head coach". Waterloo Region Record. 11 March 2014. pp. C7.
  26. Brown, Josh (30 May 2014). "New United FC skipper aims for exciting soccer: Making playoffs still 'the focus and the goal'". Waterloo Region Record. pp. D4.
  27. "K-W United women lose conference championship". Waterloo Region Record. 21 July 2014. pp. D6.
  28. Bryson, Mark (23 July 2014). "KW United FC hits the road looking to tame a Menace: We're deep enough as a squad that we have the opportunity to be successful in Des Moines.United head coach Stuart Neely". Waterloo Region Record. pp. C10.
  29. Brown, Josh (30 July 2014). "United FC shooting a little bit higher". Waterloo Region Record. pp. E3.
  30. "TFC hires Stuart Neely as head coach of its Kia Academy senior team". The Canadian Press. 6 January 2015.
  31. Davidson, Neil (12 March 2015). "Toronto FC looks to keep its young soccer talent on the straight and narrow". The Canadian Press.
  32. "Toronto FC II adds former Canadian international Pozniak as assistant coach". The Canadian Press. 2 February 2016.
  33. "Canadian Soccer Association hires Stuart Neely as manager of coach education". The Canadian Press. 7 November 2018.
  34. Booth, Mark (20 May 2021). "Neely returns to head SDU's technical staff". Delta Optimist.
  35. Davidson, Neil (19 May 2022). "CPL champion Pacific FC keeps rolling under coach James Merriman". The Canadian Press.
  36. Jacques, John (4 August 2023). "Stuart Neely Departs Vancouver FC". Northern Tribune. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
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