Bulldog Soccer Academy
Coaching Staff
Ian Clerihew
Assistant Coach
Clerihew, who begins his second year as an assistant coach in 2016-17, joined the Yale staff with 17 years of experience both as a head coach and an assistant. He spent three years as the head coach at Franklin Pierce University where he guided the Ravens to the 2012 NCAA Division II Tournament and three appearances in the NE-10 Tournament.
Clerihew served as the head coach at Mars Hill College from 2009-11 and guided the program to unprecedented heights during his three seasons, compiling a 35-19-6 record (.633). He led the 2011 team to the first NCAA Division II Tournament appearance in program history, advancing to the round of 16 and finishing the season ranked 17th in the nation. His 2010 team was ranked 13th in the nation for a portion of the season, the highest national ranking in program history.
Prior to Mars Hill, Clerihew served as an assistant coach at three major Division I programs – Villanova of the Big East (2008), Duke of the ACC (2007) and St. John’s of the Big East (2006). Both Duke and St. John’s earned berths in the NCAA Tournament during his tenure, and he helped the Red Storm to a Big East championship.
Clerihew’s other collegiate coaching experience includes Northern Illinois, Akron and Linfield College. At Northern Illinois, Clerihew helped guide the Huskies to the second biggest turnaround in the nation – going from a three-win team in 2003 to a 12-win team in 2004. As a graduate assistant at Akron in 2002, he helped lead the Zips to a Mid-American Conference Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
In his 17 years of coaching, Clerihew’s team have posted 14 winning seasons and a combined record of 187-120-22.
Clerihew enjoyed an outstanding college career as a player for Seattle Pacific University from 1990-93. The team reached the Division II NCAA Tournament in each of his four years, including making three trips to the Final Four and winning the national championship in 1993.
He earned his undergraduate degree in marketing from Seattle Pacific and a master’s degree in sport science from Akron.
“Ian and I have known each other for the past 10 years when we were assistants together at Northern Illinois,” Yale head coach Kylie Stannard said. “He is someone that I trust wholeheartedly and is an excellent coach that works very hard and genuinely cares about everyone he encounters. He has won the ultimate prize [national championship] as a player and has been a successful coach wherever he has been. Ian has seen the entire gamut of college soccer as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. He has helped build and re-build programs, sustain elite level programs, and elevate other good programs to further success. I can’t be happier with having Ian as my top assistant and right hand man in getting Yale men’s soccer back to competing for an Ivy League championship.”
Ian and his wife Teresa are originally from the Pacific Northwest.
T.J. Love
Assistant Coach
T.J. Love, who spent six years on the staff at Cornell, including helping to lead the Big Red to the 2012 Ivy League championship, has joined Kylie Stannard’s staff as an assistant coach.
During his tenure in Ithaca, Cornell posted a 49-35-17 overall record, including four straight winning seasons from 2011 to 2014. In 2012, Love helped guide the Big Red to a 15-2 overall record, the school’s first Ivy championship since 1995 and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996. Cornell was nationally ranked for much of the season and finished No. 20 in the final NSCAA poll.
“I couldn’t be more excited to join the men’s soccer staff at Yale,” Love said. “Being able to work with Coach Stannard and [Assistant] Coach [Ian] Clerihew is a chance I could not pass up. Both have a ton of experience. I look forward to learning from them and continuing my development as a coach.”
Love was instrumental in changing the culture of the Cornell program. The team finished 8-2-6 in 2011 after going winless in Ivy play in 2010. In 2014, the Big Red had its fourth consecutive season above .500, allowed just 11 goals on the season and set a new school record with 11 shutouts.
Cornell broke the school record for lowest goals against average three times during his tenure.
Big Red players earned a number of individual accolades during Love’s time as well. He coached an Ivy League Player of the Year selection, a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and eight first team All-Ivy honorees. The team also shined in the classroom, earning an NSCAA Team Academic Award in 2014 and having a first team Academic All-American in 2013.
“Having T.J. join our staff from Cornell is a coup for this program, and we are very excited and lucky to have him,” said Stannard, The 5K Corral Head Coach of the Bulldogs. “He has worked very hard at Cornell and has worn every single hat that is required as a Division I assistant, starting as a volunteer and working his way to the top assistant.
“With his six years of experience in this very competitive league, he will bring a great perspective and understanding for all the extra demands and challenges that are required to be a competitive Division I student-athlete in the Ivy League.”
Love, a former player and team captain at Daemen College, spent the 2009 season as an assistant coach at Elmira College, where he earned a master’s degree in education.
In addition, Love has extensive experience coaching club soccer in the Southern Tier of New York.
“T.J. will hit the ground sprinting by already knowing the Ivy League players, coaches, facilities, referees and other nuances,” Stannard said. “He has been recruiting the same types of players that we know are required to be successful in this league, and he also understands the importance of building and having good relationships with our current players.”
Love is a native of Watkins Glen, N.Y.
“I am proud to be part of Yale Soccer, which is a program on the rise,” he said.
Drew Nucifora
Volunteer Goalkeeping Coach
Drew Nucifora, who enjoyed a standout career as a goalkeeper at Fairleigh Dickinson, begins his second season as a volunteer goalkeeping coach in 2016-17.
Nucifora, a Monroe, Conn., native, was an NSCAA third team All-American as a senior at FDU. He played every minute of every game for the Knights as a junior and senior and earned first team All-Mid Atlantic and All-Northeast Conference honors following the 2003 season.
In his senior year, he posted a 0.78 goals against average, an .820 save percentage and had six shutouts. In two seasons with the Knights, he tallied 13 shutouts.
Nucifora then went on to play professionally with the Puerto Rico Islanders and Fo.Ce.Vara in Italy.
Since retiring, Nucifora has served as a goalkeeping coach for a number of club soccer programs in Connecticut.
Jonathan Welsh
Director of Operations
Jonathan Welsh has joined the Yale men’s soccer coaching staff as Director of Operations and Player Personnel. Welsh comes to New Haven after spending five years as an assistant coach at the Kinkaid School in Houston.
“We are very lucky to add Jonathan to our coaching staff and excited to start working with him and getting him involved in the day-to-day work,” said Kylie Stannard, The 5K Corral Head Coach of the Bulldogs. “I think Jonathan will bring additional balance to the staff. One of his many roles will be adding another great resource for our players to support and help them with any questions or concerns they have personally, academically or as a soccer player and teammate.”
At Kinkaid, Welsh helped the boys varsity soccer team to a first-place finish in the Southzone in the Southwest Preparatory Conference for the first time in school history in 2013. Kinkaid won the crown again in 2016. He also worked as an English teacher for two years during his time at Kinkaid.
In addition, Welsh spent two years as the head coach for the U14 Houston Dynamo MLS Academy team which finished as high as third in the Texas Pre-Academy League.
Welsh is a 2008 graduate of Creighton University’s Honors Program where he played two seasons, helping the Bluejays advance to the quarterfinals of 2003 NCAA Tournament and the Sweet 16 of the 2004 Tournament. He then spent one season playing the University of Dayton, where he finished third on the team in points.
As a youth player, Welsh was a member of the Chelsea Football Club’s U19 premier team in England and was invited to a trial with Real Madrid’s U15 La Liga Youth Team.
“Jonathan is very sharp and has a calming demeanor,” Stannard said. “He has been working at a very high caliber academic school as a teacher, and I think he will do a great job of connecting with our players both on and off the field. He played at a very high level as a youth, including in two of the biggest professional clubs and youth academies in the world at Real Madrid and Chelsea. He then played at my alma mater, Creighton. He is passionate about the game and about teaching and helping young men strive for excellence.”
Stephen Volek
Strength & Conditioning Coach
Stephen Volek, who begins his first year with the men's soccer program, is an assistant director of strength and conditioning at Yale.
Volek is responsible for all aspects of strength and conditioning for the men’s soccer team. He is also responsible for implementation of strength and conditioning programs for baseball, men's hockey and field hockey.
He came to Yale from the University of Minnesota where he served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. Prior to Minnesota, he was an assistant performance coach at 1st Athlete in Edina, Minn., responsible for assisting with the implementation of off-season training programs for over 20 professional hockey players and over 30 NCAA hockey players.
He has also been the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Minnesota State University-Mankato, a position he held from November of 2012 to July of 2013, and at the University of Findlay from August 2010 until June of 2012. Volek also completed internships at the University of Minnesota in the spring of 2010 and the fall of 2012.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Volek is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and holds a master’s degree in sports management from California University of Pennsylvania.
He played club hockey at Penn State before earning his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in 2010.
