EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

John Charman     Email: execdirector@smscsoccer.com

Mark Wilson  South Mississippi Soccer Club is excited to announce the hiring of Mark Wilson to a three year contract.  Wilson has been hired as the Technical Director for U9-U12 age groups and will be initiating After School programming for SMSC in the Gulf Coast area.

‘Adding someone with Mark’s experience and knowledge of the Gulf Coast soccer community who can come in and impact our teams and programming right away was really important to us.  Mark’s philosophy lines up really well with our club’s vision of service and we’re ready to get to work.’  SMSC Executive Director John Charman

Coach Wilson holds a USSF ‘C’ License and NSCAA Advanced National & Director of Coaching diplomas.  His career pathway has been diverse, having played NCAA D1 soccer at Louisiana Munroe and spans experience with Georgia, S. Texas, Florida and Mississippi ODP and club roles with Atlanta Lightning, Clearwater Chargers, Houston Dynamos, Dallas Texans, and Tulsa Soccer Club.  Wilson has also been both President and Director of Coaching with Hattiesburg FC.

Wilson was previously based in Tampa Bay where he is the Director of Coaching for Soccer Shots – where he is responsible for coaching education and development as well as delivering curriculum for young players.

‘Mark’s experience with both elite and entry level players and coaches and his passion for coaching education made him a natural fit for our club.’ SMSC Executive Director John Charman

Nick Middleton. Coach Middleton is a native to the Gulf Coast. Collegiately, he played at Meridian Community College in 1999-2001 and was a member of the 2000 team that won the national championship.  He later went on to play at Tennessee Wesleyan College from 2001 -2003 and was a member of the 2001 team that participated in the national tournament.   

Middleton joined the coaching staff at Tennessee Wesleyan and served as an assistant coach for the women from 2009-2011.

He has coached several select (Division 1) teams on the Mississippi Coast from 2007 to present and served as the head coach of St. Stanislaus College varsity teams from 2006-2009.   He is entering his second season serving as the Director of Coaching for South Mississippi Soccer Club. He currently holds licenses through the USSF and United Soccer Coaches (USC), including the Advanced National Diploma and Director of Coaching Diploma from USC.   Middleton has also completed his Goalkeeper levels 1,2 and 3 with the USC.

Chris Handy.  Coach Handy is entering his sixth season with SMSC and his eighth at Mississippi Gulf Coast CC where he has amassed a 90-45-8 record as the men's Head Coach.  He has won 56 games over the last four seasons and blitzed through the MACJC South Division the last two seasons. Gulf Coast went 18-0 over that span and twice advanced to the NJCAA South District playoffs.

He wore both men’s and women’s coaching hats in taking the teams to the 2013 postseason and was named 2014 South Region Men’s Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Handy was the assistant men’s coach at Tyler Junior College from 2007-11, where the teams went 89-9-6 with back-to-back NJCAA titles in 2009-10. He played and interned at Florida International University in 2005-6, where he graduated with a degree in strength and conditioning. Handy also has a master’s in education in kinesiology from the University of Texas at Tyler.

The Austin, Texas, native played at Tyler Junior College, where he was an All-Region and two-time Academic All-Region selection. 

Coach Handy holds the NSCAA Advanced National Diploma Coaching License. 

Kevin Carmichael   Kevin brings more than a decade of experience to the position and holds an NSCAA Director of Coaching Diploma and United Soccer Coaches Advanced National Diploma.  He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education (Chowan University, 2007) and a USSF ‘C’ License.  Carmichael also holds an NSCAA Goalkeeping Diploma and Professional Development Certificate for High School Coaches.

Kevin comes to SMSC from Fredericksburg Football Club in Virginia where he serves as the Youth Director.  Previous experience includes time with Virginia Beach FC as the Director of Coaching-Girls and Hampton Road Strikers where he served as the Technical Director.  Carmichael also spent a decade on staff with Virginia ODP from 2006-2017.

Jessica Maddox.    Maddox assumes the role of Director of Coaching for Jackson County and Goalkeepers for the 2020-21 season with SMSC.  A former NCAA Division 1 Goalkeeper at Troy University, Maddox played her youth soccer in Alabama and Florida and was a member of Alabama ODP.  Maddox has experience as an assistant coach at Troy and locally with both Vancleave Middle School and with Coast Soccer Club. 

Maddux holds a USSF 'B' License and a Level 3 Goalkeeping Diploma from United Soccer Coaches. 

Kara Worthington    Coach Kara is local to the Gulf Coast and played high school soccer at OLA while commuting to Baton Rouge to play club soccer with Baton Rouge Red Stars.  Worthington then went on to play four years at the University of Southern Mississippi at an NCAA Division 1 level from 2003-2007.  She is entering her third year of coaching for SMSC and will be working in the EDL and with the SMSC Elite 2012 Girls.

Coach Kara has a USC National License (with distinction) and holds a USSF 'D' Licesne.

Patrick Harrison  Coach Harrison is the current Boys Head Coach at Stone High School after spending five years as an assistant with MGCCC men's and women's programs and working with Real MS. 

As a player, Harrison attended MGCCC from 2008-2010 winning back to back south division championships and making the conference championship twice, winning the conference championship and region championship in the 2009/2010 season.  He was a part of Mississippi Storm who competed in the NPSL in 2012-2014.  Captained Biloxi City FC which later became Port City FC which competed in the GCPL and won the division in 2018 and was named league MVP.

Harrison if fully USSF Grassroots certified and currently holds a USSF 'D' license.  He is responsible for implementation of the SMSC Stone EDL and Select programs.

Roland Reynolds  Reynolds assumes the leadership role in Pascagoula for SMSC with over 20 years coaching experience on the Gulf Coast.  Reynolds holds an MBA from William Carey University as well as an USSF National D license and US National Youth License.  He has ten years of high school coaching experience and has worked as a Director of Coaching and with the Mississippi Soccer Association and State and ODP programs.  

Jeff Bruni. Coach Bruni has been involved as player, referee, coach, and administrators within SMSC since its inception in 1978. He actually played on the first select (Division 1) team at SMSC in 1982 winning a state championship. He played on the first varsity team Gulfport High School had during the early beginnings of school soccer on the Coast. Coach Bruni was selected as Captain of the varsity team and also Best Defensive Player. He was a 4-year letterman. He went on to play on several Division 1 teams and within the ODP program. He played collegiately at Millsaps College. He has coached teams at all levels for over 15 years. He has had teams win multiple state championships and multiple state finalists. He was selected as Division 1 Coach of the Year for girls teams in the State of Mississippi in 2009. He currently holds a National D license with the United States Soccer Federation.

James Redmond was born in Germany and played his Youth football with U17 FC Oberneuland, U19 Brinkumer SV, Germany, and TS Woltmershausen.  He played semi-professional in Germany (TS Woltmershausen) from 2017-21 before deciding to attend school in the United States.  Coach Redmond played for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and was an All Region Team selection both years.  Coach Redmond is currently attached to the EDL program and works primarily with younger players U8-U10.

Bre Talley (Hedin)   Coach Bre enters her fourth year with SMSC as a staff coach.  Talley is local to the Gulf Coast, having been a high school standout at Long Beach HS and playing her club soccer for Coach Bruni with SMSC.   She won eight state titles as a youth player.

Talley was a four year starter at University of Southern Mississippi (NCAA Division 1) and will be coaching 2009G Blue and White in 2020-21.  Coach Talley was recently named as the Head Coach at Hancock High School and she will also be working with SMSC 2011G Blue and in the EDL program this coming season.

Windham Whatley works with our SMSC Elite Premier Blue level teams and assists in the planning and implementation of performance programming.  Originally  from Florence, MS, he played 4 years at Florence High School and then captained the men's team at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He earned Scholar All-American honors while at MGCCC. 

As a junior, he transferred and played a year at William Carey where they finished their season at the NAIA National semi-finals. Windham coached the SMSC 2008 Girls Blue while he was with us for a year and a half while he attended MGCCC. The past year he was a coach for Hattiesburg Futbol Club as well as the assistant coach for both boys and girls at Sumrall High School.  Whatley has a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from William Carey.

Coach Whatley will be working with the 2011B Blue and 2006G Blue this coming season as well as taking the lead on the Boys U9/10 EDL program.

We’re excited to welcome Coach Windham back to the club !

Jordan Hall     SMSC is pleased to announce that Jordan Hall will be joining the EDL and Select Coaching Staff full time in Fall 2022.

Jordan Hall (Manchester, England)  returned to England after his graduation from the University of Connecticut in 2020, where he has completed his playing eligibility. Jordan will be returning to the coast to begin his coaching career after a standout two years at MGCCC for Coach Chris Handy.

Hall has been assigned as the Head Coach for EDL U10G Jackson County and the Head Coach of the 2010B & 2009B Blue for 2022-23.   Coach Hall is currently working towards his USSF 'D' license and USC 'National' Diploma.

Jordan Hall Playing Bio:

Jordan scored nine goals in nine games as a senior at UConn before a knee injury cut his season short in the Big East. Prior to his senior year at UConn, he played one season at Rutgers...Tallied 14 goals and two assists to total 30 points on the year…Named 1st Team All-Big Ten and earned All-Big Ten Conference Tournament honors. A two-time All-American and United Soccer Coaches Junior College Scholar All-American in 2018 at Mississippi Gulf Coast College ... In his two seasons with the Bulldogs, collected a total of 57 goals and 24 assists ... As a freshman at MGCC, was second in NJCAA Division I with 28 goals, and added 12 assists along with being named a National Soccer Coaches Association of America NJCAA Division I All-American First Team, All-South Region First Team, NJCAA Division I All-American Second Team and All-Region 23 Team ... As a sophomore, finished tied for third in the country with 29 goals, while adding NJCAA First Team and USC Second Team All-American honors to his resume and participated in the MACJC All-Star Game.

Highlight Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-IKYAtWMw

Caleb Counselman     South Mississippi Soccer Club is excited to welcome Caleb Counselman back to the club as a member of the EDL and Premier Coaching Staff after a successful college career.  Caleb was both an accomplished student and student athlete during his high school and college career and we are confident he will  transition into a top level coach for the club.

- 6 time consecutive State Champion as a youth player for SMSC
- High School MVP at Pass Christian 2013,2015, 2016
- Played at MGCCC 2016-2017, ranked 15 in the nation, All-State  team 2017, all academic team
- William Carey 2018-2019
        -2018: made it to National Semi Final, undefeated regular  season, ranked #1 in the nation for the majority of the year,  2nd Team All Conference, All academic team
        -2019: made it to National quarter final, undefeated regular  season, Champions of Character Award, 1st Team all conference,  all academic team

Tim Bruni. Coach Bruni has been involved as a player, referee, coach, and administrators within SMSC since its inception in 1978. He actually played on the first select (Division 1) team at SMSC in 1982 winning a state championship. He played on the first varsity team Gulfport High School had during the early beginnings of school soccer on the Coast (Coach Tim was actually in 8th grade then). Coach Tim was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the varsity team as well as Captain and All-South. He was also a 5-year letterman. He went on to play on several Division 1 teams and within the ODP program. He was the first player from the State of Mississippi to be selected to the Region 3 ODP team. He played collegiately at Hartwick University, then a national top 10 Division 1 program, and at Millsaps College. He was selected as All-Conference during his tenure at Millsaps. He has coached teams at all levels for many years. He has coached multiple state championship teams and multiple state finalist teams. He currently holds a National C license with the United States Soccer Federation.

Roland Reynolds   Reynolds joins SMSC with over 17 years coaching experience on the Gulf Coast.  Reynolds holds an MBA from William Carey University as well as an USSF National D license and US National Youth License.  He has ten years of high school coaching experience and has worked as a Director of Coaching and with the Mississippi Soccer Association and State and ODP programs.  We're excited to have him join our staff in 2019-20!

Steven Datsis.  SMSC welcomes Coach Datsis to the club for the 2020-21 season.  Datsis is a former Goalkeeper at ICC and Jones College.  He's currently the Assistant Coach at Gautier HS with the boys program after spending two years at Tishomingo HS. 

Datsis currently holds a USSF 'D' License and will be working with the SMSC Elite 2008/09 Boys - Jackson Co in 2021-22 . 

Danny Buford  We are excited to have Coach Buford working in Jackson County with the SMSC Elite 2010 and 2011 Girls.  Buford played locally for both Pascagoula and Gautier High School. Coach Buford started coaching 7 years ago and has been with Coast SC for the past three season working at U10 and U12 levels.  He served as CSC's Competitive Director until the merger with SMSC in 2020.  

Coach Buford has a USSF 'D' license and United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeping levels 1&2. 

Owen Betz   Betz returns to SMSC after completing his collegiate career at Florida Gulf Coast University (NCAA D1).  Betz is a former player for SMSC, winning seven state Premier Championships and an additional three high school championships with St. Stanislaus.  He was a regular for the Region3 '98 pool and played international matches representing the US Southeast in Spain, Italy and Costa Rica.  Betz begun his college career at Northern Kentucky (NCAA D1) before transferring to MGCCC and earning All-America honors.  SMSC is excited to welcome back one of our own and pleased to have him joining the staff for 2020-21.

Ellen Felder    Coach Ellen joined the EDL coaching staff this past Spring.  A former player locally for BAYS, she has coached at Pass Christian High School for six years and has worked in the SMSC REC program.    Felder holds USSF Grassroots certification and a USSF 'D' license.

Jessica Shepherd  ... South Mississippi Soccer Club is excited to announce the addition of Jessica Shepherd to our coaching staff for the 2023-24 season.
Coach Shepherd  joins us after completing her Master's degree at UT Chattanooga (NCAA D1), where she has served as the graduate
assistant the past two seasons. A native of Manchester, England, Sherpherd came through the Manchester City Academy as a youth player from ages 9-18.

Shepherd is a 2020 graduate of Southern Miss. She played two seasons for the Golden Eagles at midfield and in defense, seeing action in 37 games with 26 starts. She logged nearly 2,000 minutes in playing time and took 18 shots. Shepherd came to Southern Miss from Mississippi Gulf Community College where she was a two-time all-region athlete. As a freshman she tied the team record that season for most goals with 13 and had nine assists. She was an All MACJC selection her freshman year and was selected as the Bulldog's Offensive MVP.

At Southern Miss she earned a spot on the Conference-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Dean's List. At MGCCC Shepherd was an NJCAA Scholar All-American, NJCAA All Academic Second Team and named to the Distinguished Academic All-MACJC Team.

During the summer Shepherd was a member of the WPSL teams
Chattanooga Football Club and most recently the Chattanooga Red Wolves. She was named to the All-conference team for the 2019 season and was also a summer camp coach for the Chattanooga Red Wolves for children ages five to 14. After exhausting her eligibility with the Golden Eagles, Shepherd moved into the role of student coach of her former MGCCC team. She assisted the coaching staff in the development of daily session planning, instructing weight and conditioning programs and conducted individual-specific training sessions.  Shepherd is USSF GrassRoots certified.
 

Casey Lafontaine ... Bio coming soon!

Devin Griffith ... Bio coming soon!

Abe Bermudez ... Bio coming soon!

Gabe Bermudez ... Bio coming soon!

Seth Whitfield  Coach Whitfield works in the Boys EDL program for SMSC.  A former SMSC Youth player, Whitfield played at MGCCC before returning to the coast to attend the University of Southern Mississippi.  Whitfield is USSF Community Coach certified.