ELON UNIVERSITY
s o c c e r c a m p s
Elon Soccer Camps
2500 Campus Box
Elon, NC 27244
ph: 336-278-6745 (Girls Camps)
fax: 336-278-6767
alt: 336-278-6746 (Boys Camps)
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Coaching Staff
Boys' Camp Directors:
Darren Powell:
In his first season with the Phoenix, Powell led the squad to a 9-9-2 overall record and a 4-2-1 mark in SoCon action, finishing third in the league. Elon emerged from that campaign with two First Team All-SoCon selections, two Second Team All-SoCon honorees, the SoCon Freshman of the Year, three SoCon Players of the Week, two SoCon All-Tournament picks, two NSCAA All-South Region players, one College Soccer News All-Freshman choice and one USL professional player. For his efforts, Powell was honored as the 2005 Southern Conference Coach of the Year.
At UNCG, Powell assisted in all aspects of the program, including recruiting, scheduling and academic development. The Spartan program posted a 55-26-3 mark in his four seasons there and became the nation's top-ranked program during the regular season in 2004. Powell was honored as one of the top NCAA Division I assistant coaches by College Soccer News and has coached one MLS player, one NSCAA Senior All-Star, one All-American, one Academic All-American, four All-Region honorees, 22 All-SoCon selections, two conference Freshman of the Year award winners and one league Player of the Year while at UNCG.
Prior to joining the Spartan staff, Powell headed the Greensboro College program for three seasons, posting a 50-12-3 ledger. He led the Pride to the NCAA Division III finals in 1998 and Dixie Conference titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000. His program produced an MLS player, two NSCAA Senior All-Stars, three All-Americans, 15 All-Region choices, 25 All-Dixie Conference selections, three league Players of the Year and two conference Rookies of the Year. In 1998, Powell was honored by the NSCAA as the South Region Coach of the Year after being named the Dixie Conference Coach of the Year. The Pride finished ranked second in the nation in 1998, eighth in the country in 1999 and 12th nationally in 2000.
Powell played professionally for the Carolina Dynamo USISL team, the Raleigh Flyers A-League team and the Wilmington Hammerheads USISL team from 1995-1999.
Powell is also heavily involved in youth soccer in North Carolina. He serves as a staff coach at the Greensboro Soccer Club and has been a North Carolina ODP head coach for the past six years. Powell also works as a staff coach with the USYSA Region III ODP team and currently holds a USSF A-License.
Powell graduated from UNC Greensboro in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in leisure studies where he helped the Spartans make two NCAA Tournament appearances. He was a two-time captain, team MVP and All-South Region selection as well as a three-time All-Big South Conference honoree. Powell became the first Spartan player to score over 100 career points at the Division I level.
Jason O'Keefe:
O’Keefe helped the Bearcats to an 11-6-2 overall record and a Big East regular season title in 2006. Cincinnati also participated in the 2006 NCAA College Cup, falling to Northwestern University in the first round.
Prior to joining the staff at Cincinnati, O’Keefe worked as an assistant coach at Wake Forest University for three seasons. During his time with the Demon Deacons, the program compiled a 13-8-2 overall record in 2005 and reached the third round of the NCAA College Cup. Wake Forest went 42-18-4 during O’Keefe’s tenure.
He spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Greensboro College, his alma mater. During his time with the Pride, Greensboro captured three consecutive regular season and tournament titles and was ranked in the NCAA-III top-10 all three years. O’Keefe joined the Greensboro staff in 2000 when current Elon head coach Darren Powell hired him to his staff in his final year with the Pride.
O’Keefe, who holds a USSF “A” license and NSCAA Advanced National Diploma, was a North Carolina ODP staff coach and head coach of the Carolina Dynamo of the Super Y-League from 2002-06. He also coached the Super Y-League South Atlantic Regional team from 2004-06.
O’Keefe graduated from Greensboro in 1997 with a degree in history. He played for the Pride from 1992-1996, helping the team to three NCAA-III Tournament appearances, a 1994 conference title and a 1996 South Region Championship.
Girls' Camp Directors:
Chris Neal:
The UNCW graduate earned his bachelor of arts degree as a political science major and a Spanish minor in 1995 and his master of education degree in education administration and supervision at Augusta State University in 1998. He holds the National Soccer Coaches’ Association of America “Premier” diploma and the United States Soccer Federation “A” license – both the highest level possible.
Neal recently completed his seventh season working with the UNCW Seahawks. During that time (2001-07), UNCW compiled a 70-55-8 (.556) record and earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award for five consecutive campaigns. The Seahawks also earned their highest national ranking (33rd) in 2006. Prior to returning to his alma mater for the 2001 season, Neal enjoyed a successful stint as the head men’s soccer coach at Pfeiffer University.
In his three seasons at Pfeiffer (1998-2000), Neal directed the Falcons to a 36-22-4 (.613) ledger and their first-ever NCAA Division II ranking at 13th in the country. Prior to heading up the Pfeiffer program, Neal served two campaigns as an assistant men’s soccer coach at Augusta State (1996-97), where he helped the Jaguars improve from a 7-8 record in 1996 to a 14-6 slate in 1997.
Neal also serves as the NSCAA North Carolina State Technical Director since 2001. In this role, he is responsible for organizing, advertising and instructing a variety of coaching education courses for hundreds of youth, high school and college coaches. Neal is also a USSF April Heinrichs Scholarship recipient, recognizing him for making a positive impact on the sport of women’s soccer.
Stuart Horne:
Horne guided the Braves to their first-ever postseason berth with a trip to the 2003 USA South Athletic Conference Tournament. The following year, Chowan captured the NCCAA South Region title and advanced to the Final Four of the 2004 NCCAA Tournament. The Braves capped that campaign with a 13-6-4 record and the NCCAA No. 3 national ranking as Horne was crowned the 2004 NCCAA South Region Coach of the Year. Horne left Chowan with a program-record 44 victories.
From 2002-2004, Horne served as an assistant for the Hampton Roads Piranhas, a member of the United Soccer League’s W-League. He helped direct the team to playoff appearances each of those three seasons. The Piranhas finished the 2003 season 14-0 on their way to claiming the W- League national title.
Horne has been involved with the Olympic Development Program in both Virginia and North Carolina. In Virginia, he was a staff coach with the girls’ program in the Southeast District. Horne ran the North Carolina ODP Training Center on the Outer Banks. He has earned both the NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and the USSF D License.
Horne holds a degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. He graduated cum laude in 1997.
Elon Soccer Camps
2500 Campus Box
Elon, NC 27244
ph: 336-278-6745 (Girls Camps)
fax: 336-278-6767
alt: 336-278-6746 (Boys Camps)
cneal3
