Youth Club Soccer Spotlight: Meet Michael Duggan, Carlsbad Lightning Director of Coaching

Michael Duggan is the well-known and respected Director of Coaching with the successful Carlsbad Lightning Soccer Club and has helped to build the program into one of the powerhouses of regional soccer. SoccerNation caught up with Michael Duggan and spent some time talking to him about his professional soccer experience, his time with Carlsbad Lightning, and the direction he sees soccer going at the youth and professional levels.

Michael Duggan is one of the most outspoken and strong minded coaches in Southern California.  Dedicated to providing the best possible player development for his club, Duggan is committed to growing Carlsbad Lightning, which now is one of, if not the largest competitive youth soccer club in San Diego. Originally the soccer club was founded in 1990 with the vision 'to inspire in all players a lifelong passion for soccer' and has a thriving recreational program as well as a competitive club.  With an already very well established girls olders program directed by Jimmy Murphy, Duggan brought on Paul Holohan earlier this year to develop the boys boys division and focus on creating key opportunities for college soccer.  Together Murphy and Holohan direct the Carlsbad Elite program which competes in the Coast Soccer League.

This is the first in a series of articles on Michael Duggan and Carlsbad Lightning.  Starting with a bit of background on Duggan:

Like all European and English soccer/football players, Michael Duggan started in the game at an early age. As a boy, he represented his schools playing soccer at Skelmersdale United, West Lancashire, and Lancashire School Blues before being picked up by Tranmere Rovers as a schoolboy apprentice. Looking back on his time with Tranmere Rovers, Dugann admitted it might not have been his best move. “It was more of a move that, I think, was based on where my Dad wanted me to go and not really where I wanted to go.” Michael spent three years with Tranmere Rovers, including time with their reserves, before moving back to Skelmersdale United and then to Southport FC. Eventually he went on to coach in the Skelmersdale United program.

While Duggan was coaching at Skelmersdale United, Michael became involved with the Skelmersdale United Academy program along with Jed Parr. The program was linked with the Everton FC Academy program, with Everton coming out to scout and pick up some of the top Skelmersdale United players for their program. In the Skelmersdale United program Michael was reunited with Ray Hall, his former coach at West Lancashire and Lancashire School Blues, who was and still is part of the Everton FC Academy program. Duggan also was involved in outreach programs, going out to local schools to coach young players.

Duggan first came to the U.S. about thirty years ago, while he was playing for Tranmere Rovers, to help take care of his brother who had been paralyzed in an auto accident. He stayed for 9 months, helping his brother with rehabilitation, and eventually returned to England to continue his soccer career at Skelmersdale United. His family had moved to San Diego to help with his brother, but at the time San Diego didn’t fit into Michael’s plans. “To be honest with you, I didn’t like it,” he said. “It wasn’t the place for me. It was totally different from England and the lifestyle I had and what I was doing. So I went back to England to pursue my own soccer career.” 

About 15 years later he had the opportunity to come back to San Diego to start his own business, British Academy of Soccer, which ran after-school soccer programs for young players. This time San Diego and Michael Duggan were a perfect match. In his neighborhood he happened to meet Carl Higham, who is currently Girls Director of Coaching at Carlsbad Lightning.At the time Carl was just coaching with Carlsbad Lightning, and he brought Michael on as another coach with the club.

Paul Holohan, Lee Bennett of Bolton Wanderers FC and Michael Duggan on the soccer field last weekend.  Bennett held a special clinic for Carlsbad Lightning.

Always looking for ways to bring exciting new programs to his players, Duggan worked with Lee Bennett of Bolton Wanderers FC earlier this month on a special soccer clinic. The Bolton Wanderers Football Club International Soccer School coach Bennett was in San Diego. The soccer school hosts programs all over the world, having visited Australia, Canada, Egypt, Iceland, Norway, Malta, Tanzania and the USA.

The rest, as they say, is history. Or - as they say, to be explored in Part Two next week on SoccerNation.