Scott Calabrese: ETSU Soccer Academy, Camp Director
Under the guidance of Scott Calabrese, the East Tennessee State men's soccer team has found early and significant success. Finishing the 2010 season with a 15-6-0 record overall and 7-2 in the Atlantic-Sun, Calabrese has led the Buccaneers to the top of the A-Sun Conference in just three years.
This past fall, the ETSU men's soccer team proved itself to be both a regional and national contender. The Buccaneers won their first A-Sun Conference Tournament Championship, defeating the Stetson Hatters to gain an automatic bid to the first-round of the NCAA Championship Tournament. In addition to conference achievement, the Bucs spent seven weeks ranked in the Top 10 of the NSCAA Mondo South Region poll, ending the season with a final ranking of No. 6. Nationally, Top Drawer Soccer ranked the Bucs as high as 32 in the country. The Bucs also reached a season high RPI of 32 and a final RPI of 38.
Over his three-year tenure, Calabrese's peers have honored him as he has been selected as both Atlantic-Sun Coach of the Year and NSCAA/Mondo South Region Coach of the Year as well as being a finalist for NSCAA/Mondo National Coach of the Year. Calabrese has coached two All-South Region athletes, seven A-Sun All-Freshman athletes, seven A-Sun All-Conference athletes, seven A-Sun All-Tournament players, one A-Sun Freshman of the Year, and one A-Sun Tournament MVP.
In addition to excellence on the field, Calabrese's teams have also excelled in the classroom. The men's soccer team's grade point average consistently has been among the highest of any men's team since the program's inception, posting a 3.308 overall team GPA in 2010 with 18 of the 22 athletes receiving A-Sun All-Academic honors. For the second consecutive season the ETSU's Men's Soccer team has earned the highest overall team GPA in the Atlantic-Sun Conference.
Prior to coming to ETSU, Calabrese spent four years as an assistant coach at Clemson University. Regarded as one of the nations top 20 assistants, according to College Soccer News, Calabrese helped to guide the Tigers to the top of the national rankings. In 2005, the Tigers earned an NCAA at large birth which culminated in a trip to the NCAA Final Four. Calabrese also helped Clemson receive a #1 ranking midway thru the 2006 season as the team reached the round of 16.
From 2000-2001, Calabrese helped the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to an Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, an Elite Eight Appearance, and the program's first and only NCAA National Championship.
Among the most impressive items on Calabrese's resume is his commitment to aiding in the development of high level professional and international players. Calabrese has coached Ten Tigers and Nine Tar Heels who have gone on to play professionally, including nine in Major League Soccer, five in the United Soccer Leagues and four internationally.
Highlighting the list of players Calabrese has coached in the professional ranks is MLS forward, Dane Richards, and Stuart Holden of the English Premier League's, Bolton Wanders. While Holden recently saw action with the U.S. National Team in 2010, Richards was a part of the Clemson squad that earned a No. 1 national ranking and a final four appearance in 2005.
A native of Newtown, Ct., Calabrese played for Bryant College in Smithfield, R.I. from 1990-1995. He received a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. Currently, Calabrese is pursuing his Master of Art, Kinesiology and Sports Studies, Exercise Physiology and Performance concentration, Coaching and Sports performance track.
Following his collegiate career, Calabrese played at the semi-professional level for the Rhode Island Sting Rays and the South Carolina Shamrocks.
Calabrese currently has his "A" USSF Coaching License. He is married to Farrell Finstad of Yuba City, Cali.
Ian Luya: ETSU Soccer Academy, Assistant Director
Ian Luya enters his fourth season as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the ETSU men's soccer program in 2011.
In 2010, Luya helped guide ETSU to its most successful season ever. The team finished with a record of 15-6-0 en route to winning the A-Sun Conference Tournament Championship and earning an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Buc’s also earned their first ever NSCAA South Region Ranking (6) and Soccer America National Ranking (34). To complete a season of firsts the Buc’s finished with an RPI of 38th nationally.
Since 2008, ETSU’s rapid improvement has been helped by recruiting classes that have included the captain of Guatemala’s U20 National team, a Jamaican U19 national team player, 2 NSCAA High School All-Americans, the Tennessee State Player of the year, various region team players as well as numerous all-region, all-state, all conference and ODP selections.
From 2005-2007 Luya served as the assistant men’s soccer coach at Atlantic-Sun rival Stetson. Luya helped to guide the Hatters to their first ever post-season conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance in 2005 as well as claiming the regular season title in 2006. Luya also recruited Eugene Starikov who played only one year of college soccer before signing professionally with Zenit St Petersburg in Russia and was recently called into the US Men’s national team squad for their exhibition with Chile on Jan 22, 2011.
In addition to coaching at Stetson, Luya also spent two years as the assistant men’s soccer coach at Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne, IPFW, from 2003-2005. In 2005 he became one of the nation’s youngest head coaches of a PDL franchise when he took charge of the Kalamazoo Kingdom after having served as the team’s captain in 2003 and 2004.
As a player Luya led IPFW to a No. 5 national ranking in 1999, and was an integral part of the team that advanced to the Division II NCAA Elite Eight. Luya was a team captain in 2001 and 2002, and was also named team MVP in 2002. He finished his career at IPFW with 28 goals and 9 assists from midfield.
Luya, a native of Ormskirk, England, graduated from IPFW in 2004 with a B.A. in History.
Past Elite Camp Coaches:
- Justin Maulin – UNC Greensboro, Head Coach
- Daniel Ridenhour – Winthrop Univ., Assistant Coach
- Craig Applebee – John Hopkins, Head Coach
- Adam Laney – Milligan, Head Coach
- Jeremy Blake – GK1 Staff Coach
- Barry Slagle - Wofford Univeristy, Assistant Coach
- John Baker - Maryville College, Associate Head Coach
