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05/19/2016 12:00 AMValley Regional High School scored a big-time goal this offseason, when the Warriors brought aboard Lloyd Warren as the new head coach of their girls’ soccer squad.
Lloyd, 27, was born in Torquay, United Kingdom, where he started playing soccer when he was just four years old. Lloyd played the game at a high level as a central-midfielder throughout his career and was a youth trainee for the Torquay United professional team. Lloyd also played with the Brazilian Soccer School’s national squad at Millennium Stadium (now Principality Stadium) in Wales.
“This was a great pickup for us at Valley. As a coach, Lloyd brings a huge amount of experience and another major plus is that he has worked with most of the girls before,” said Valley Regional Athletic Director Jeff Swan. “The kids like him, the parents like him, and he comes with a lot of credentials. His background in the sport is impressive, he has great ideas for the future, and we are very excited with where we are right now.”
Lloyd began his coaching career at age 18, when he obtained his Union of European Football Association coaching diploma. After several years of developing players in Europe, Lloyd came to the United States in 2008 to work with Challenger Sports as a summer camp coach and received his US Soccer coaching certification. He then became a club trainer and was presented with the Outstanding Achievement Award in 2010 for his work with the company.
Lloyd not only brings a wealth of soccer knowledge to Valley, but he’s also gained valuable experience from having already coached many of the girls who currently play for the Warriors. Lloyd served as head coach for the Valley Soccer Club’s U-14 team when it won the Southeast Connecticut Junior Soccer Association fall league title in 2013.
“I have worked with at least 90 percent of the current soccer players at Valley through my time at Valley Soccer Club or in previous Valley soccer programs,” Lloyd says. “I feel fortunate that the program has such an abundance of quality from our senior class all the way to our upcoming freshman. We have a great opportunity to hit the ground running this year and we will be making sure we are prepared for the full season stretch.”
In 2011, Lloyd launched his own company called Soccer Unlimited, which offers camps, clinics, and instruction for both players and coaches throughout the area, including those in the Valley Soccer Club and Old Saybrook Soccer Club. Many of the staff members who work for Soccer Unlimited are former Warriors’ soccer players who now have the opportunity to give back to the community that served them. Last fall, Lloyd was head coach for the Old Saybrook Middle School boys’ soccer squad that went 14-0-1 and Swan is hoping Lloyd can replicate that type of success at Valley.
“Lloyd is probably one of the nicest guys you will ever meet and he’s a great fit for our program,” Swan adds. “He has a great demeanor, loves to coach, he’s all about teaching fundamentals, wants to win, but he also wants to make great soccer players, and we are very fortunate to have him.”
Lloyd currently lives in Deep River with his wife Kelly and their two-year-old daughter Zoey. Lloyd’s strategy for the 2016 soccer season is already set and he can’t wait to start working with the kids.
“From being around the game at such a young age, I feel I am well-versed in many different styles of the game. The most important thing I want from my teams is to have a team-first attitude. Building trust and belief in one another will be huge for us this year,” Lloyd says. “We will look to build a strong foundation defensively, so we are a tough team to break down. By us having an organized defensive structure behind our attacking players, it will allow for a more free-flowing attack, which I hope will excite the local fans of our program.”
Lloyd’s commitment to raise the level of play in the area continues to grow. About six months ago, he launched the Soccer Unlimited Football Club, which is a non-profit, Premier-level soccer program for players in southern Middlesex County who are looking for an elite level of training and competition.
“We want to be recognized as an elite player development program which delivers the necessary opportunities to its players who want more from the game of soccer,” Lloyd says. “Long term, we want to create future high school and college athletes who are delivering at the highest level.”