Raymond Morgan enters his first season at the helm of the Gyrene men's soccer team at Ave Maria University. Morgan comes to AMU from Barron Collier High School, where he spent 13 years with the girls’ soccer program and 12 years as the head coach. During his tenure at Barron Collier he led the Cougars to 10 district titles in just 12 seasons.
Morgan was a Cougars assistant for one year under coaches Marla Ramsey and John Winfield before taking over the program in the fall of 2000. Morgan was named the Naples Daily News Coach of the year twice at BC and received the State Farm Sportsmanship Nomination three years consecutively.
Morgan has seen success in the club soccer arena throughout his career and the helped the growth and rise of youth soccer across southwest Florida. Morgan coached two years with Florida Premier U17 girls and U15 boys as well as led his U16 boys team to a United States Club National title in 2010.
Morgan developed the Southwest Florida United Soccer Academy along with his brother Dwight in 2008. The academy is a camp for athletes from six-years-old to high school seniors that runs for several weeks throughout the summer. It allows young athletes the chance to experience a variety of coaching perspectives, learn about playing opportunities outside of school, and to become better overall players. Dwight will be assisting Ray at Ave Maria.
A 1988 graduate of Barron Collier, Morgan played soccer for two and a half years at Wisconsin-Milwaukee before giving up the sport to focus on his architecture studies. Morgan received his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee in 1994. He began coaching in Milwaukee before returning home to Naples several years after college.
Morgan’s coaching licenses include the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) D Youth National License, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Advanced National and National Licensure.
