Written By Chris Dailey

FC Monmouth has officially announced Hugh McDonald as its 3rd men’s head coach in club history.

MacDonald, the current Associate Head Coach at Monmouth University, has a deep-rooted passion for Soccer, stemming from his upbringing in Kearny, commonly known as ‘SoccerTown USA’.

“Being from Kearny, you don’t really have a choice so not that I wouldn’t have chosen soccer, but I had a lot of really good positive influences from the time that I was young. The sport is everything to that town a lot like it would be in Europe so we were naturally playing pickup and obsessed with the sport,” MacDonald shared.

After a successful youth career, MacDonald initially played at Virginia Commonwealth University for two years before transferring to Monmouth, where he emerged as one of the top center backs in the nation.

MacDonald was awarded the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year in both of his seasons at Monmouth. He was then scouted by the New York Red Bulls, enjoying a brief tenure in the professional ranks.

“I had a cup of coffee with the red bulls, wasn’t quite good enough, watched a lot of matches from the stands, didn’t make any A teams,” reflected MacDonald, “but, as my professional dream didn’t work out the opportunity to be the assistant at Monmouth University happened pretty quick, and I’ve been there for a long period of time. It’s a blessing in disguise because I got an early start to my coaching career.”

Since joining Monmouth University’s coaching staff in 2007 and becoming Associate Head Coach in 2013, MacDonald has contributed to the team’s strong defensive record and notable success, including a historic upset victory over Uconn in the 2009 NCAA tournament in addition to a CAA regular season championship this past season. The FC Monmouth job comes at a great time for MacDonald.

“The more I talked through with the owners about the opportunity, the more interested I was. I have young kids at home and just finished coaching club kids. This opportunity seemed like a good time for my young family and I,” stated MacDonald.

MacDonalds tactical approach at FC Monmouth will be honed in on how he wants to play, yet also focused on simply finding the best players on the market.

MacDonald stated, “I have a game model I like to follow and team tactical principles that will follow the game model, but in reality, when you’re recruiting, you have to find the best available, so you’re going to have to tweak things here and there from a nuanced, minor-detailed perspective. We’ll look to bring the best profiles that we possibly can, no matter the background, and fit them into a system we’re comfortable with.”

Regardless of the tactics, there is one thing for certain: he will do everything he can to obtain results for FC Monmouth. Currently residing in Wall Township, MacDonald has fully embraced the Monmouth County area as his home.

“When I ended up transferring as a junior, I’d never been to this area of the Jersey Shore. When I got on campus and saw the surrounding area, it was almost a hidden gem in the sense of a North Jersey kid who came down the Shore a lot to the beach, but never particularly this area,” said MacDonald.

He continued, “When I met my wife who is from West Long Branch, Monmouth County became something that is a home for me. The entire time - not to say Monmouth County doesn’t have a great soccer history, it does - I felt there was an untapped potential in the community, and I think what the [FC Monmouth] ownership have been able to do is tap into that long potential and growing want for real community soccer. It’s completely aligning ideologies.”

Although MacDonald’s roots remain strong in Kearny, he has been able to blossom in Monmouth County. Now officially the Head Coach of FC Monmouth in addition to his role at Monmouth University, MacDonald might as well be referred to as Mr. Monmouth.

FC Monmouth are excited to welcome Hugh MacDonald to the team. To stay updated with offseason news, please follow along on social media @wearemonmouth

Hugh MacDonald Appointed As 3rd Men's Head Coach In Club History