2018 will be Ian Eggleston’s first year as head men’s soccer coach at Soka University of America. Coach Eggleston joins Soka from California State University, San Marcos, where he was the lead men’s assistant since 2014. He brings over 20 years of experience coaching men’s soccer, primarily in Southern California, at the NCAA Division II, NAIA, Community College, High School and club levels. Coach Eggleston has also spent the past 20 years working in education as a teacher, counselor, career counselor, principal and dean of students.
While at Cal State San Marcos Eggleston helped the program record 24 wins over two seasons in the NAIA before transitioning to Division II and competing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CAAA). CSUSM beat nationally ranked teams in four of Eggleston’s years working with the team. He has also spent the last two seasons working with LA Galaxy San Diego’s Elite and US Soccer Developmental Academy teams.
Eggleston grew up near Nottingham, England, where he played for Nottingham Forest Academy U/18s before being recruited to play at the University of Evansville, a nationally ranked Division I program in Indiana. At Evansville, Eggleston became the team’s leading scorer, captain, and MVP while playing as both a central midfielder and forward, helping the team to qualify for the NCAA DI tournament two of his four years. After playing semi-professionally for the Louisville Thoroughbreds in the USISL for one year, Eggleston moved to California for his graduate studies. While completing his M.A in Counselling and College Student Services at the University of San Diego, Ian was also the assistant men’s coach at Mesa College.
After completing his graduate work, Eggleston moved back to England to become the Dean of Students and men’s and women’s head soccer coach at Harlaxton College, an American study broad program affiliated with the University of Evansville. He returned to San Diego in 2002 to become a founding teacher at High Tech High International – a diverse free public charter school, where he taught humanities for five years, before becoming the school’s principal. Ian also coached boy’s and girls’ soccer at HTHI while also working with local club soccer teams. In 2011 Ian and his wife Catherine opened their fitness studio, The Bar Method Carlsbad and moved to Carlsbad, where they still live today.
