From Parker Haynie, SUU Athletics
CEDAR CITY, UTAH – Southern Utah University Women’s Soccer Team and Head Coach Kai Edwards are pleased to announce the addition of Frank D’Amelio to the coaching staff.
Head Coach Kai Edwards said
“The ability to add a coach with Frank’s experience will be a fantastic asset to the experience of the student-athletes and the coaches. He has coached club and college at a high level, along with playing for the US Youth national team and pro soccer. Frank is also a former coach in the pros, so he brings perspectives from many angles. His engaging demeanor and how he articulates a message will be a catalyst for the program.
Acquiring hard-working and talented people on the field and the staff is a big focus this season, and with the addition of Fran,k we have done that.”
Frank will join the team as an assistant coach and has 50+ years of experience in the soccer world.
D’Amelio joins the staff from UNLV, where he served for eight years in various positions.
A native of Long Island, N.Y., D’Amelio began playing competitive soccer at the age of 11. He continued to play throughout his youth, starring at Baldwin High School as well as several New York area club and all-star teams.
Following his career in the collegiate ranks, D’Amelio was a first-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Fury of the North American Soccer League (NASL). He spent three seasons playing soccer professionally, including stints with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and the New York United. It was also in 1980 that D’Amelio began to coach, serving as an assistant coach at Evansville while completing the coursework for his diploma. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in languages in 1981, he accepted a position as the head soccer coach at Reitz Memorial High School in Evansville and took the team to the state championship finals.
A resident of Las Vegas since 1993, D’Amelio and his wife, Kathy Adams D’Amelio, have a total of nine kids and 12 grandchildren between the two of them.