The College Coach Who Didn't Plan to Coach | Luca Mellor of Eastern University

Welcome to Episode 19 of the Because Football Podcast! Our guest for Episode 19 of the Because Football Podcast is Luca Mellor, originally of Huddersfield, England. Luca is the Head Men's Soccer Coach at Eastern University in St. David's, Pennsylvania. Luca grew up in the Manchester United Academy before signing a pre-professional contract with Bradford City FC, and then decided to make the move across the Atlantic and play NCAA Division 1 Soccer at the University of Pittsburgh and Villanova University. Luca shares his background as a child growing up in Huddersfield, and the passion and cynicism that being exposed to football in the UK brought. He speaks about the breath of fresh air that came with moving to the States and experiencing the close camaraderie and teamwork endemic in US college soccer programs. Rather than competing for a small handful of professional contracts with his teammates, he enjoyed working together as a cohesive unit towards a collective goal. He also shares a hot take - that perhaps the soccer played at the NCAA Division 1 level was more of a flowing, possession-based, more attractive style of soccer than that played in lower league football in England! After graduating from Villanova, Coach Luca moved into a coaching role at Eastern as a graduate assistant, but he did not see himself staying in the coaching game for long. Instead, he had his sights on classical education and becoming a professor. However, that changed just a few days before his wedding day when he was offered the Head Coach role at Eastern, with a group of young student athletes he had spent the previous years with. He walks us through his first season as a Head Coach and the challenges of establishing his values within the program. We also chat about the nature of college soccer in the USA and how high school soccer players can find the right fit for them to grow and be nurtured in a pivotal time in their lives. It also gets a bit personal for our host, Coach Andrew, who played and attended Eastern University himself, as he reflects on his year at the serene, forested campus in suburban Philadelphia. Coach Luca certainly has a fascinating personal journey and we were lucky to connect with him as he is at the beginning of his tenure as a college coach. We wish Coach Luca and the Eastern University Men's Soccer program all the best as they seek to develop into better people and footballers! For more information about Luca and the Eastern University Men's Soccer program: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luca-mellor-659bb1199/ https://goeasterneagles.com/staff-directory/mens-soccer-department/5 https://goeasterneagles.com/sports/mens-soccer Find out more about our Transform Soccer programs here: https://transformsoccertraining.com/philadelphia-soccer-training/ https://www.instagram.com/transformsoccer_/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/baggaleyandrew/