From Staff Reports
Plans for hiring new soccer coaches will be announced by the Daytona State College athletics department by the end of this month or first of November. In June, the District Board of Trustees gave its approval for the addition of men’s and women’s soccer teams.
The teams will make their debuts in August, 2016, according to Will Dunne, Dean of Health, Wellness and Intercollegiate Athletics.
During spring semester, DSC President Dr. LoBasso discussed the concept of creating two new teams during a District Board of Trustees retreat and then asked Dunne to review the proposal for the board. Offering his mission statement and a vision of the athletic program, he explained soccer was chosen because it has the largest number of students compared to other sports.
Dunne said the market has unmet needs since most local high schools sponsor boys and girls soccer programs, not to mention interest levels in the sport have elevated with the recent addition of the Orlando professional soccer team, Orlando City. According to Dunne, the proposed program expansion that would generate 92 more enrollees at the College, with an anticipated total net gain of over $250,000.
In addition, LoBasso offered photos from a tour conducted by college officials of the newly built soccer facilities at Eastern Florida State College. Dunne also has reached out to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University about utilizing their fields until administrators can explore and evaluate options for facilities at DSC.
It is anticipated that these evaluations will be incorporated into the master site planning process which will be getting underway shortly. In addition, Dunne cited coverage by the College television station, WDCS-15, as adding exposure for the College within the community at large.
Finally, Dunne explained the plan was shared with the Small Business Development Center at DSC and received good feedback and comments.