Director of Coaching

Director of Coaching -  Nick Roberts

Since 2008 Nick Roberts has been the Head Men's soccer coach at Urbana University. e He plans curriculum, provides player and coaches with training and education, and advises on the board for the development of the club. 

From 2002 to 2006, Roberts served as Director of Coaching and Player Development for Santa Rosa United, a 40-team youth soccer club in Santa Rosa, California. SRU won two national youth soccer titles under the direction of Roberts, a feat the organization had never accomplished before. He also served on the Santa Rosa Board of Directors, and the Sonoma Soccer Complex Board of Directors, which were the driving forces in raising $1.5 million to build the new soccer complex for Santa Rosa United.

Roberts formerly coached at Classic Eagles Soccer Club in Columbus, Ohio, where he won the state championship in 2012.

Roberts has also coached at the highest level of soccer, serving a four-year appointment (1997-2001) as an assistant coach and head scout for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer (MLS). There, he was mentored by Tom Fitzgerald, who is one of only a few coaches to win NCAA Championships at the Division I (UCLA) and Division II (University of Tampa) levels.

While working as a member of two East Coast Conference finalist teams with the Crew, Roberts was held responsible for assisting with player development. Many of those players went on to represent their respective countries in international play, including five players on the 1998 USA World Cup squad.

From 1994 to 1997, Roberts was a player/head coach in the United Soccer League (USL) for the Columbus club, where he was named to the USL National All-Star team as a coach in 1996. The All-Star game was played in Dublin, Ohio against the Shamrock Rovers, a famed Irish professional team.

His extensive playing background also includes time spent at the high amateur levels in England. He played at the youth and senior levels with Witton Albion FC, Winnington Park FC and Knutsford Town in the highly competitive Cheshire League.

While growing up in England, Roberts completed the English Football Association Preliminary Coaching license at the age of 19. He directed and coached at one of the England FA coaching centers in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire in 1988.