August 2, 2019
12:21PM MDT
CASA GRANDE, AZ (August 2, 2019) – Earlier this week, former Academy Director Sean McCafferty returned to the Northeast as he joined New York Red Bulls as their Academy Director, but Barça Residency Academy had their replacement ready to fill the position.
General Manager Tim Alai didn’t take much time to fill the position and he certainly didn’t have to go far. This week, Alai proudly announced the promotion of Ged Quinn to the Academy Director position.
“Ged has demonstrated that he has all the qualities to lead our organization to fulfill our high goals,” said Alai. “Ged is a very talented coach and he bonds well with the players. Ged lived on campus for 18 months and understands our unique holistic approach that promotes success. Ged’s dedication to player development and academic success is unparalleled and we are thrilled to have him take over at the helm.”
Quinn, originally from Jarrow, England, joined Barça Residency Academy just prior to the Academy’s inaugural 2017-18 season where he took the reins as the U.S. Soccer Development Academy U-15 head coach.
Prior to joining Barça Residency Academy, Quinn spent 2 years as the Director of Coaching for Continental FC Delco based in Conshohocken and Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Quinn holds a USSF A coaching license and has youth coaching experience that dates back to 2005.
Quinn is a product of Sunderland AFC’s youth academy in England. After playing semi-professional soccer in England, he moved to the United States in 2005 to represent Lenoir-Rhyne University Men’s Soccer program in North Carolina while completing his MBA. During his time at Lenoir-Rhyne, Quinn was awarded All-American honors, Conference Player of the Year, and lead his team to a conference tournament title in his senior year with a 19-1-1 team record. Quinn spent the following nine years playing and coaching for the Philadelphia Union’s USL affiliate program, Reading United. With Reading, Quinn won multiple conference titles and awards while also developing more than 50 players into the professional game across the USA and Europe.
“I am extremely excited and honored to be given the role of Academy Director at Barça Residency Academy,” Quinn said. “I am very much looking forward to building on the strong foundation and culture that is already in place and will look to continue the great relationship we already have with our Technical Directors from FC Barcelona. We have a tremendous staff and the professional environment here is second to none. I am confident that we will continue to develop future professional and top-level college players and look forward to seeing the continued growth of our incoming players both on and off the field.”
“Since we are FC Barcelona’s only residency academy in the U.S., it is extremely important to have an academy director that has an excellent relationship with our Technical Director and Methodology Directors from FC Barcelona, in addition to our Residence Life staff and the ASU Preparatory staff,” Alai added. “You can’t have a closer relationship than being the husband of our passionate, caring and brilliant Director of Residence Life, Gwen Brogley-Quinn. Both have been with the program since inception and are exceptional that creates a synergy for the most dynamic environment in the United States.”
The Fall 2019 Development Academy season kicks off in early September. Follow Barça Residency Academy on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @BarcaAcademyAZ for the latest news.
