Ben Jones
LFC MI CENTRAL DIRECTOR OF COACHING
Phone: 517-755-8482
Ben began his soccer career at 7 years old playing for his local youth team in the suburbs of Liverpool, England. After a few years at the local level, Ben was recruited to play for Bolton Wanderers FC Academy of the English Premier League, where he spent time working with the best players in the northwest of England and learning from some of the best coaches in Europe. Ben was also fortunate to spend a great deal of time around many of Bolton’s first team players at the time including World Cup and European Cup Winner Youri Djorkaeff, and African Player of the Year Jay-Jay Okocha. In addition, Ben also had spells playing for Burnley FC of the EPL, Tranmere Rovers FC of the EFL, and Southport FC of the English Conference.
After a successful playing career Ben decided to pursue a career in coaching and began his Bachelors of Science degree in Coaching and Performance Development at Edge Hill University in the UK. While he was completing his studies, he began gaining experience working with the Academy teams at Edge Hill while also assisting with the Men’s teams.
He spent the 2006-07 season working at Wigan Athletic FC of the English Premier League providing Prozone Match Analysis, and coaching expertise to the various youth teams within the club.
Ben comes to LFCIA – Michigan after serving as Director of Coaching and then Executive Director of Chill SBC Soccer Club in East Lansing, MI. Under his guidance and with help from the club owners and staff, the club grew from 5 teams in 2008 to 40 teams in 2016.
Ben has experience within the Michigan Olympic Development Program serving as an Evaluator and Assistant Coach in previous seasons. Ben is also an MSYSA Coaching Educator for Michigan State Soccer Association.
Ben has previous experience working at the highest level of the male and female game in the NPSL and WPSL. He was the assistant coach of the Lansing United team in their inaugural season in 2014 when they captured the NPSL Midwest region championship and reached the national semi final. Ben also served as the assistant coach of the Michigan Chill Women’s team in 2016 as they finished in first place in the WPSL Great Lakes conference and reached the regional semi final.
Qualifications:
USSF National “A” Coaching License
USC Premier Diploma
USC Director of Coaching Diploma
Bachelors of Science Degree in Coaching and Performance Development
What does it mean to represent Liverpool FC:
“Growing up in Liverpool as a lifelong Liverpool FC supporter, it is a dream come true for me to represent the club and all that it stands for. The LFC history, tradition, sense of family, and standards of excellence are renowned across the world. It is exciting to be able to bring those values to our players here in Michigan.
I will always remember watching my first Liverpool game at Anfield as an 8-year-old, cheering on my heroes John Barnes, Ian Rush, Steve McManaman, and Jamie Redknapp as they played to a 1-0 win. The excitement, passion, and style of play from that day has stayed with me ever since. I look forward to playing my part in helping guide and educate our players in what it means to play ‘The Liverpool Way.’”
