Adam Smith (coach)

Adam Smith is an English (now US citizen) football coach and former goalkeeper who was most recently head coach of USL Championship side Fresno FC.[2][3] Smith took the team to 3rd place in the USL Championship Western Conference in only its 2nd season in the league. This was Smith’s first Head Managerial position of a Senior Team (aside from two interim games with Sacramento Republic). Unfortunately, after the successful first two years, the Fresno FC ownership group decided to cease operations at the end of the 2019 season. This was for non-soccer related matters and was in part due to not being able to secure a soccer specific stadium.

For other people named Adam Smith, see Adam Smith (disambiguation).

Adam Smith
Personal information
Date of birth (1971-10-27) 27 October 1971[1]
Place of birth England
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1988 Everton
1989 Chatteris Town
1989 Cambridge United
1990 Winsford United
1991 Crewe Alexandra
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992 Walsall
1992 → Holywell Town (loan)
1992 → Mold Alexandra (loan)
1994 Los Angeles Salsa
1997 Soham Town Rangers
1998 Harrogate Town
1999 Geylang United
1999 Motherwell
1999–2001 Long Island Rough Riders
2002–2004 Wilmington Hammerheads
Teams managed
2010–2012 Portland Timbers (GK Coach/Reserve Head Assistant)
2014–2017 Sacramento Republic (Head Assistant)
2017-2019 Fresno FC (Head Coach/Manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Prior to his time at Fresno, Smith was formerly the Assistant Head Coach at Sacramento Republic helping the club achieve a 1st place Western Conference finish in 2016. During his tenure at Sacramento Republic, he also served as the Technical Director at Elk Grove Youth Soccer Club.

Smith's professional coaching career started as a player/assistant coach at Wilmington Hammerheads in the USL D-3 Pro League in 2001. Later in his career he joined Portland Timbers,[4] where he became the inaugural Goalkeeping Coach for the teams' first year in Major League Soccer. Smith later went on to be the club's first Academy Director,[5] along with co-director Mike Smith. After serving 5 years with the MLS club he moved to return to first team professional football with Sacramento at the start of the 2015 season, to work alongside then head coach Predrag Radosavljević (Preki). Prior to starting his professional coaching career, Smith previously played professional soccer as a goalkeeper in the US with Long Island Rough Riders and Wilmington Hammerheads. Smith also gained professional playing experience in England, Scotland, Wales and South East Asia before moving permanently to the United States. He is the son of Graham Smith, an ex-professional English footballer who was previously a director at Chelsea of the English Premier League.

Career

Playing career Smith, who played as goalkeeper, began his professional playing career in 1992 after graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University in England with a degree in business and sports coaching. Smith also represented England Independent Schoolboys at both the U16 and U19 levels. Additionally he represented a British Colleges X1 in 1992. Smith did not make a British league full appearance but was able to ply his trade in non-league football (making over 200 first team semi-professional appearances). He then went on work in the US as a full-time professional, playing in the second division league before moving into full-time coaching.

Coaching career

Smith (originally from England and now a US citizen) has over thirty years of domestic and international experience as a coach and player.

Personal life

Smith lives in California with his wife and two children. Smith also qualified as a financial advisor. During his part-time professional playing, he worked for an insurance company and a national banking institution. His father, Graham Smith, was a professional footballer. Graham Smith has had over 200 English league appearances as a professional player and has helped to build Sacramento Republic to a Championship winning team as the club's first ever Director of Football.

Honors
Playing
  • USL National Championship winner, Long island Rough Riders, 2002
  • USL National Championship winner, Wilmington Hammerheads, 2003
Coaching
  • USL PDL National Championship winner, Portland Timbers u23s, 2010
  • USL playoffs 2nd place Western conference, Portland Timbers, 2010
  • MLS Goalkeeper player of the year (Troy Perkins), Portland Timbers, 2011
  • MLS Reserve Team 2nd-place position, Portland Timbers, 2011
  • USL Western conference playoffs, Sacramento Republic, 2015
  • USL 1st place Western conference, Sacramento Republic, 2016
  • US Open Cup round of 16, Sacramento Republic, 2017
  • USL Western conference semi-finals, Sacramento Republic, 2017

Coaching qualifications

Uefa A license (Welsh Football Association)

English Preliminary Award (English FA)

USSF A license (US Soccer)

USSF National GK license (US Soccer)

USSF Pro B license (US Soccer)

NSCAA National GK License (Utd Soccer coaches)

NSCAA Director of Coaching (Utd Soccer coaches)

References
  1. Adam Smith at Soccerway
  2. "Fresno FC Announces Adam Smith As First-Ever Head Coach". Fresno Football Club. November 9, 2017.
  3. "Fresno FC takes another step toward 2018 debut. New coach will meet public Monday". Fresno Bee. November 9, 2017.
  4. "Timbers name Adam Smith as club's goalkeeper coach". Portland Timbers. April 14, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  5. "Timbers name Adam Smith an Academy and Youth Goalkeeping Director". Portland Timbers. December 13, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
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