Thursday FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman named John Ellinger as the top assistant coach on the staff that also includes assistant coach Marco Ferruzzi and goalkeeper coach Drew Keeshan. Ellinger joins FCD from U.S. Youth Soccer, the largest youth sports organization in the nation, having served as their Technical Director from October 2007 until last week.
Ellinger brings many years of coaching experience, both at the youth and professional levels. He began his coaching career as the head coach of Montgomery College in Maryland in 1979, before moving to the University of Maryland-Baltimore from 1981-1990. He then served as the Director of Coaching for Columbia Soccer Association from 1990-1998.
During this time, he became a member of the U.S. Soccer National team coaching staff in 1992, and then was also an assistant coach for the Columbus Crew during the inaugural 1996 MLS season.
In 1997, Ellinger was hired as U.S. Soccer's Under-17 head coach and the organization's Director of Youth Development, which included spearheading the launch of the U.S. Soccer U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida. The program debuted on January 17, 1999, with U.S. Soccer collecting the top 20 of the country's elite youth players and placing them in year-round training at the IMG Academy. Among the more than 200 players that have graduated from the program are: Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector, Freddy Adu, and current FC Dallas players Abe Thompson, Chase Wileman, Dax McCarty, Blake Wagner, Anthony Wallace, Josh Lambo, and Brek Shea.
After eight years with U.S. Soccer, Ellinger was given the opportunity to be the first head coach in Real Salt Lake history, which he accepted in late 2004. He remained in the role until early in the 2007 season, when he then became the team's Technical Director before moving to U.S. Youth Soccer.
A native of Maryland, he earned his bachelor's degree and master's degree in health and physical education from Frostburg State University. He and his wife, Tami, have three children: daughters Leigh and Brooke, and son Matt.
