Stuart Neely Joins Pacific FC As Technical Director of Football
Excerpts of the following story are from the January 29, 2022 story from Stuart Neely joins Pacific FC as Technical Director of Football https://canpl.ca/article/stuart-neely-joins-pacific-fc-as-technical-director-of-football.
A well-respected and experienced individual in the Canadian soccer community has joined Pacific FC.
Stuart Neely joins Pacific FC as the club’s new Technical Director of Football. Neely has been involved in Canadian soccer for many years and has experience with numerous clubs and organizations. Neely has spent time with Ontario Soccer, Manitoba Soccer Association, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Toronto FC, and the University of British Columbia along with stints in Belgium, England and New Zealand. Neely, who also served as Soccer Canada’s Manager of Coach Education from 2018-2021, joins Pacific FC to help continue the club’s growth on the Island and the development of players at all levels.
“The role itself is about growing what the technical programs are all about and how we can improve the game in the local community,” says Neely, “we want to be leaders in developing the game and to ensure that everyone is having fun doing so.”
“The biggest reason I came here was the connection the club has with the community and what they’re trying to do within the community to grow the program itself and get programs for young kids to go all the way to the first team. There needs to be that direct pathway into higher levels of play, but it was how the club were going about it to make it family-sized and have everyone involved to get more families into the game. Obviously that impacts the fanbase for the club too.”
As Technical Director Neely will be responsible for overseeing football development across all areas of Pacific FC’s community involvement. That goes from the youth teams the club manages to the first team that takes the field at Starlight Stadium.
“How the role was worded – Technical Director of Football – that really caught my eye. It’s an unusual way of saying it, it’s not just your traditional Technical Director. Immediately it gave me a sense of differentness and uniqueness.”
“It’s an all-encompassing role for me. The role itself is key to ensuring that the standards and the expectations of the first team runs through all the programs attached to Pacific FC. That’s an important piece to it because it’s not like your typical youth club that has a youth academy and a senior team. That was part of the attraction for myself, that’s part of my background. And I’ve worked with many of the Pacific players over the years so I’m very familiar with the roster. I know James well too, we have a good working relationship.”
For the resto of the story on Stuart Neely joining Pacific FC in his new role as Technical Director of Football with Pacific FC, please go to: https://canpl.ca/article/stuart-neely-joins-pacific-fc-as-technical-director-of-football.