Manchester Native Tabbed as Coach for State's New Soccer Team

A Manchester native and current West Hartford resident with multiple ties to the area will be calling the shots for the state’s highest level men’s amateur soccer team

David Kelly was named head coach of the CFC Azul Jan. 6 by team owner/president Steve Coxon, a teammate when the pair played for the New Britain-based Connecticut Wolves in the A-League. CFC Azul will play in the United Soccer Leagues’ Premier Developmental League, the chief conduit for professional talent in North America.

“Dave is a long time friend and colleague, and I am excited to have him as our first-ever head coach,” Coxon said. “We go back a long way. … Dave is certainly one of the most respected coaches in the state having worked with Dan Gaspar at the  and with Tom Lang at Southern Connecticut.”

Kelly, currently an assistant for the Southern men’s team, has also coached at Trinity and Quinnipiac. He cited the PDL as soccer’s version of baseball’s acclaimed Cape Cod League, a summer venue for the nation’s top college players.

“It’s a good level. I look at it as an outstanding professional opportunity,” said Kelly. “I’m partnered with a group that knows how to do things right and is well respected. [Coxon] and I go way back. It’s an opportunity to build something new. I was excited when he offered me the position.”

The quality of soccer played in the PDL is well-defined.

In 2011, 37 of the 54 players selected in Major League Soccer’s SuperDraft were PDL graduates. Eight of the first 10 selections in the draft had PDL experience, including 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year C.J. Sapong of Sporting Kansas City, who previously played for the PDL’s Reading United AC.

Kelly noted that CFC, an acronym for Connecticut Football Club, is well-equipped to market the team and find the type of players necessary to make the team competitive.

“They have the infrastructure and the capacity to be successful,” Kelly said. “The staff is already in place so it’s not like starting a business from the ground. There’s an office (in Hamden), a building and people working. They have the framework to build the team.”

Kelly said the model for most PDL teams is to bring in top college players, employ them as summer camp instructors and provide them housing.

“The teams get great quality players for the summer, the players stay fit while playing at a high level and they’re coaching on the side,” said Kelly, a native of Manchester who played college soccer at the University of Maine.

The foundation is in place with the exception of a home-field arrangement. Management is in the process of pursuing player commitments for the season, which runs from May to August.

According to Coxon, the initial tryout on Jan. 4 drew such an overwhelming response that a second one was slated for his Hamden facility on Jan. 20. He told the PDL website that “we’ve had a high number of local college players contact us saying they were [unavailable for the first tryout].”

The state’s lone PDL franchise should afford opportunities for elite players from the area, Kelly said.

“Some of the local players were at the tryout and some will probably be involved,” said Kelly, adding that soccer in the Northeast has fallen behind more southerly locations where players can train year round.

Kelly played nine seasons in the A-League (now known as USL PRO) and one season in the National Professional Soccer League. He played internationally for Carlisle United and Burnley in England. He cut his coaching teeth with the Wolves as an assistant to Gaspar after playing with the team from 1993-99.

He assisted at Trinity from 2001-03 and with the Quinnipiac women in 2004 before spending six seasons with Gaspar at Hartford (2005-10). He moved on to Division II SCSU last year.

Kelly is also a staff instructor for the Connecticut State Coaching Education Program and formerly was head coach with the Olympic Development Program and director of the Connecticut Soccer School.

Kelly resides in West Hartford with his wife Trish and child Aine.

The PDL has 64 teams within four conferences across the United States and Canada. CFC Azul will be playing in the Northeast Conference, which includes the Ludlow-based Western Mass Pioneers and new franchises in Worcester and Boston.

The season consists of 16 games, eight home and eight on the road. PDL teams also compete in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, with opportunities to play against teams at all levels including the MLS.