SMR hires coordinator for sports complex

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Although goalkeeper coach Tim Mulqueen has spent most of his life warding off soccer balls and teaching others to do the same, he may soon be embracing them with open arms, so to speak.

The Lakewood Ranch resident on Jan. 2 officially started as Schroeder-Manatee Ranch’s director of sports. Mulqueen, a coach for U.S. Soccer’s Under-20 Men’s team and for the U.S. Olympic soccer team, will oversee operations at SMR’s 22-field sports complex, slated to open in late April.

“The thing about this facility is the possibilities, to me, are limitless for all sports,” Mulqueen said, noting fields could be used for soccer, lacrosse, Pop Warner and flag football, among other sports. “You could run state championships at this facility. You can have professional teams using it for pre-season. It should be used all the time. It should be bringing people and business to the area. It’s exciting for me to see soccer helping the community.”

Mulqueen learned of SMR’s plans to construct a world-class sports complex while reading The East County Observer and soon contacted SMR’s President and CEO Rex Jensen.

“Being a professional soccer coach and being a coach (in town), I thought I should find out what the facility is going to be like and see what the vision is,” Mulqueen said. “We began talking from there. I was fortunate they created a position for me to run the complex.”

SMR Director of Marketing and Public Relations Candice McElyea said Mulqueen is a perfect match for the position, considering his background and current involvement in soccer, vision for the facility and commitment to the community.

“We were looking for the perfect candidate to come in and hit the ground running and reach out to national and international sports organizations and let them know we (are) in the game,” McElyea said. “(Tim) actually reached out to (SMR President) Rex (Jensen). Their visions were the same for the complex. It was kind of serendipitous.”

Although Mulqueen won’t be overseeing any of the facility’s construction, which began late last month, he is working hard to create business and bring soccer and other sports to the sports complex, located adjacent to the Lakewood Ranch Post Office.

Mulqueen sees the facility as a place of safe, convenient play for local families as well as a destination for tournaments for both youth and elite players and even for training for international teams.

“I see it as an opportunity to bring new businesses in the area, to promote vacations and a place to live,” he said. “It happened to me. I came down here for a job, and I’ll never leave.”

Mulqueen said he plans to talk with professional and club teams alike, and already is talking with professional players about using the facility to run camps.

“We’re beginning to line all that up,” he said.

SMR announced it would in fact move forward with plans for the sports complex in August 2010. The first phase of the project, expected to cost about $1.8 million, will include locker rooms, restrooms, paved driveways and grass parking, along with a series of fields used for soccer and other field sports.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

BACKGROUND
Despite his passion for soccer, Tim Mulqueen didn’t get started in the sport until he was 13 years old. Mulqueen said his coach forced all the youths on his soccer team who also played basketball to try out for the goalie position.

“I was the sole survivor,” Mulqueen said with a chuckle. “I absolutely fell in love with the position and became very passionate about it.”

Mulqueen continued playing through high school and college. He began coaching in college and coached professionally in New York and Kansas City from 1996-2004. Mulqueen began coaching for U.S. Soccer in 2005, when he and his family — wife, Kathleen, and children, Trevor and Cate — moved to Lakewood Ranch. Mulqueen started as an assistant coach with the Under 17 U.S. National Soccer Team, which trains out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, and moved up to coach the Under 20 and U.S. Olympic teams in 2007.

He will continue coaching with U.S. Soccer part time.