Shane Hurley - Head Coach - 4th Season
Shane Hurley has been in the business of soccer and player development for many years. His passion for the game goes back to his youth, when he played in youth and adult leagues during his high school years. Shane was a three-year letterman at Harlingen High School, and he received a scholarship to play NCAA Division One Soccer at the University of Texas-Pan American in 1990.
At UTPA, Shane was a four-year starter and was one of the captains his senior year. Aside from the wins and losses, he says that one of his fondest memories was just getting the opportunity to play in Monterrey Tech Stadium, which is used by the professional team, Monterrey Rayados. While at UTPA, he earned his bachelor's degree with a major in English and a minor in history. During the final year of his education, Shane served as an assistant coach for the program and started a women's club program that flourished. To immerse himself even further into soccer, he played semi-professionally with Excel, out of McAllen, Texas. During his two years with Excel, he enjoyed great success as the team won two state championships and advanced to regional championships both years.
In 1996, Shane became the head girls' soccer coach at Harlingen High School where he won two straight district titles. He worked with the girl's program for four years. Then, Shane worked with the boys for his final two years before moving to San Antonio to pursue club soccer and Olympic Development Program opportunities. During his tenure at Harlingen, the girls' program was always one of the top two teams in the Rio Grande Valley; they finished number one twice. In 1998, his girls went undefeated into the playoffs and finished with a 24-1 record. His team advanced to the regional tournament three years in a row while winning district, bi-district, area and sectional championships. During his final two years there, Shane helped rebuild the boys' program. They won the district championship both years and advanced to the regional tournament in his final year; the boys went to the regional final.
Upon arrival in San Antonio, Shane's impact was seen considerably. He began working at Clark High School and helped coach its girls' team to a regional championship, as well as Northside ISD's first state tournament appearance. Then, Shane became the Director of Coaching for a local soccer club, XLR8. He guided it through tremendous growth, from 4 teams to 17 in two years, and eventually led it through several developmental improvements that became part of the Classics Elite Soccer Academy. His club teams have won several state championships, and his 88s won a regional championship while representing South Texas in Alabama the summer of 2006
For the past years, Shane has been on the state staff of the South Texas Olympic Development Program. While on staff with the 90 boys, they finished second in the Region. With ODP, Shane was responsible for helping conduct tryouts at various age groups to identify potential candidates for the state program.
Education has always been a priority of Shane's. While coaching, Shane has always strived to professionally develop his own knowledge of the game and training methodology to benefit his players.
In June of 2005, he was awarded the NSCAA's Premier Diploma at Butler University. The Premier Diploma is the highest level of certification offered by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. He holds an Advanced National Diploma and a National Diploma, which he earned at Notre Dame University and Trinity University, respectively. Shane recently earned a Level I goalkeeping certificate with the NSCAA.
Coach Hurley also works for the South Texas division of the United States Olympic Development Program.
Coach Hurley coached the men's soccer team during its inaugural season in fall 2007. The Saints had a successful season with 10 wins, four losses and one tie. In 2008, he returned as coach of the men's team, which finished 8-8, and added head-coaching duties for the first NAIA women's soccer team in OLLU history, which finished 11-4.
Coach Hurley and his wife Zoila reside in San Antonio. They have one daughter, Kyleen Ashlynn, who was born in March of 2005.