Don Staley
5/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Don Staley
Head Coach
(205) 348-0143
*13th Year at Alabama
One thing University of Alabama head soccer coach Don Staley expects from his players, his staff and himself is dedication. He has remained dedicated to coaching soccer for over 20 years and has reaped the benefits. On Oct. 17, 2004, Staley became just the fifth coach in NCAA soccer history to reach the coveted 300 win mark. Now, entering his 21st season as a head coach, Staley has racked up 310 victories and is the Crimson Tide’s all-time winningest coach.
After a four-year career as goalkeeper at Virginia Wesleyan, Staley decided to go into coaching. Starting off in the Tidewater Soccer League in 1981, he began to climb the proverbial ladder. Before long he was the head coach at Radford University, in charge of both the men’s and women’s programs.
It was at Radford that one of his most decorated players began his ascent to the top. Dante Washington, who has gone on to a sparkling career (3-time Major League Soccer All-Star, U.S. National Team member and Olympian) recalls Staley as being a dedicated coach, dedicated to his job and his players.
“I’ve known Coach Staley since high school,” Washington said. “He’s the type of person that will always back his players. He loves everybody on all his teams, past and present and treats each and every one of them like they’re members of his own family.”
In 1994, when the Southeastern Conference decided to bring the world’s most popular sport into the mix, Staley got a phone call from Alabama, which is traditionally known for its athletic family.
“I jumped at the opportunity to coach in the SEC and more importantly at Alabama,” Staley said. “I wanted the challenge of coaching at the highest level. The SEC is so tough in every sport it sponsors, I wanted to be where the big boys were, and I knew that this was the place. There’s no other school that’s immersed in the tradition and family atmosphere like Alabama is.”
Upon his arrival in Tuscaloosa, Staley made an immediate impact on the program he was starting. He wanted his players to understand and respect the opportunity they had in wearing an Alabama jersey.
“When we first started this program, I had the girls do everything. They cleaned under bleachers after the games; picked up trash on the field. I wanted them to understand what kind of work goes into being a team. They developed a cohesiveness that I stress in all my teams. You work together as a team, you play together as a team.”
All the hard work, and dedication has paid off for Staley and his teams. He currently has a career record of 310-233-37. At the Capstone, he is 121-104-11, while picking up three SEC Western Division titles along the way. His players have garnered 93 Academic All-SEC awards and 14 All-SEC nominations. In 2005, under Staley’s guidance, Libby Probst was named the SEC’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year and in 2004 Lauren Imwalle received the prestigious H. Boyd McWhorter Postgraduate Scholarship from the SEC. In 1998 he guided the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
“As exciting as it is to send a child into the Division I athletic and academic arena, the bittersweet part of letting them go 10-12 hours away is heart-wrenching,” said former Alabama soccer mother Carol Mouring (whose daughter, Martha, was the Crimson Tide’s Defensive MVP during the 1999 season and received the Paul W. Bryant Award). “But letting them go to someone that is far more than a coach, more like a third parent, made the transition easier. Don Staley took the best thing I had, and when he gave her back, she was better.”
His dedication has made him one of the senior coaches in the SEC, being in the conference since the inception of soccer as a conference-wide sport. He is one of only two coaches (Warren Lipka of Kentucky) to be in the SEC from the very beginning.
Through his dedication and hard work, he, along with everyone else associated with the Alabama soccer program, knows he will continue to succeed.
Staley’s Coaching Record
Collegiate Record:
21 years 310-233-37 (.534)
At Alabama
Year Total Pct.
2005 8-8-2 .444
2004 10-11-0 .476
2003 9-8-2 .526
2002 12-6-2 .650
2001 10-7-1 .583
2000 6-14-0 .300
1999 6-14-0 .300
1998 13-7-1 .643
1997 14-6-0 .700
1996 9-9-2 .500
1995 11-9-0 .550
1994 13-5-1 .711
Total 121-104-11 .512
At Radford
Year Women Men Total
1993 15-3-2 4-13-3 19-16-5
1992 11-8-1 8-11-0 19-19-1
1991 10-8-1 15-4-2 25-12-3
1990 15-6-1 15-8-0 30-14-1
1989 10-9-1 13-6-3 23-15-4
1988 12-6-0 12-7-5 24-13-5
1987 9-7-1 9-7-3 18-14-4
1986 8-10-1 9-9-1 17-19-2
1985 14-7-1 --- 14-7-1
Total 104-64-9 85-65-17 189-129-26
NCAA Appearances (2)
1998
Texas A&M 3, Alabama 1
1985
N.C. State 0, Radford 0
*N.C. State won 5-4 in penalty kicks
Staley’s Resume
The Book on Staley
Date Hired: Dec. 8, 1993
Birthdate: Jan. 20, 1959
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Family: Married to former Kimberly Lynn McCall on Aug. 20, 1983. Son Tyler McCall Staley, born March 24, 1992
High School/Year Graduated
- Ben L. Smith High, Greensboro, N.C., '77
College Education (Year/Degree)
- B.A. in General Studies, Radford University '91
- Undergrad coursework, Tidewater Comm. College, Va. Beach, Va. '83
- Undergrad coursework, Va. Wesleyan College, Norfolk, Va., '77-80
Playing Experience
- Offered a tryout with a professional team
- Goalkeeper, Virginia Wesleyan varsity soccer, ??77-80
- Member of Norfolk International Soccer Club, ??77-80
- Goalkeeper, Ben L. Smith High, ??75-77
Coaching Experience
- Women’s Soccer head coach, University of Alabama, ??94-present
- Women’s Soccer head coach, Radford University, ??85-93
- Men’s Soccer head coach, Radford University, ??86-93
- Men’s Lacrosse head coach, Radford University, ??85
- Head soccer coach, Radford High School, ??85
- Head soccer coach, Bayside High School, Virginia Beach, Va., ??82-84
- Head coach, Tidewater Soccer League, 1981-84
Coaching Accomplishments
- Three-time SEC Western Division Champions, 1995, ??97, ??98
- Two-time SEC Coach of the Year, 1994 and 1998
- SEC Tournament Runner-Up 1995
- Recorded 300th career win on Oct. 17, 2004 with 3-1 win over Arkansas
- Reached 250 win plateau with 2-1 upset of then No. 21 ranked Vanderbilt 8/27/99
- Recorded his 200th victory in women’s soccer with a 1-0 at N. Arizona, 9/7/03
- Recorded his 100th victory at UA with a 2-0 win vs. La.-Lafayette, 9/26/03
- Led Crimson Tide to first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, ??98
- 94 SEC academic honor roll honors
- 21 All-Conference Selections (14 in SEC, 27 in Big South)
- 24 All-Tournament Selections (10 in SEC, 14 in Big South)
- Since SEC began soccer in 1994, coached SEC Goalkeeper of Year five times (??95 goalkeeper finished 2nd Team All-SEC)
- One of only two coaches in the SEC since the sports inception in the conference
- Birmingham Olympic Soccer Committee, 1994
- Big South Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year, 1993
- Big South Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year, 1991
- 1st Radford coach to compete in the NCAA Tournament, 1985 women
- Coached Olympic (1992) and U.S. National team (1991) member, Dante Washington
- Coached 3-time MLS all-star Dante Washington and former MLS standout Ian Spooner
