Carl Griffiths is preparing for his second year as the leader of both the Waynesburg men's and women's soccer team after leading both teams to successful 2012 campaigns. The Jacket women qualified for the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs for a second-straight season, while their male counterparts saw improvements in both their overall and PAC records.
Griffiths comes to the Yellow Jackets from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., where he spent two-plus seasons as the first assistant coach to the Thunder men's soccer team, which is the winningest program in NCAA Division III history.
The second-year leader of the Waynesburg men's and women's kickers helped continue a proud soccer tradition at Wheaton during his tenure with the team. Over that time, the Thunder went a combined 21-15-5 under head coach Dr. Michael Giuliano. As the first assistant under Giuliano, Griffiths was responsible for a myriad of tasks ranging from on-field training, to game planning, to scouting and recruiting and handling administrative duties.
Prior to his work with the Thunder, Griffiths served as the director of the Kopion Soccer Club in Wheaton. He coached both boys and girls on a variety of teams up through 18 years old. He also was responsible for and supervised all coaches and staff members, worked with budgets, coordinated practices and handled a myriad of other responsibilities for the highly successful organization.
Griffiths graduated from Wheaton College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (Christian Formation and Ministry, Bible and Business). During his four years with the Thunder, Griffiths played in 67 games as a defender, including 24 starts as a senior co-captain. That same year, Griffiths helped lead the Thunder to the NCAA Division III National Championship , where they lost to national powerhouse, Messiah. Following his final collegiate season, Griffiths was named first-team College Conference of Illinois Wisconsin (CCIW), and was picked for the NCAA Final Four Tournament Team. Griffiths is a native of Poquoson, Va. and is a graduate of Poquoson High School.
Griffiths is currently finishing a Master of Science degree in Education in Kinesiology and Physical Education at Northern Illinois University. Along with his formal education, Griffiths also boasts an impressive resume of coaching licenses and awards. He earned his National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Premier Coaching Diploma in 2011, which is awarded to just the top three percent of coaches in the NSCAA. He also earned his NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and National Diploma in 2009 and 2008, respectively.
Griffiths' soccer experiences have also taken him overseas. In May of 2011, he was selected by the International Sport Connection to travel to Kampala, Uganda, to help teach the United States Soccer Federation “E” license as well as lecture Ugandan coaches about conflict resolution and effective communication in coaching . This coaching education course was funded by the US State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Service to the community, both near Waynesburg and around the world, is one aspect that caused Griffiths to turn down other positions to lead the Yellow Jackets.
“I believe that the focus of Waynesburg University on integrating faith, service and athletic success is critical. When I think about building a soccer program and developing young student-athletes, I think about building on those three component areas,” Griffiths said. “Knowing that I will have the support of the University both academically and spiritually, as well as how seriously the school takes its athletics, is very important to me.”
