Luke Blakely
Assistant Coach
lblakely@roosevelt.edu
Roosevelt
NAIA
Assistant Coach
lblakely@roosevelt.edu
Roosevelt
NAIA
A native of Leicester, England, Blakely's familiarity with the NAIA and CCAC stem from his time as a student-athlete for former conference member Illinois Tech. After transferring to IIT from Marshalltown Community College in Iowa, Blakely garnered All-CCAC Honorable Mention accolades in 2008 and First Team All-CCAC recognition during the Scarlet Hawks' conference regular-season championship run in 2010.
After guiding the Chicago Fire Premier U23 to a national title in the summer of 2010, Blakely went on to play for Antigua Barracuda FC in the USL Professional Division and the CONCACAF Champions League. He also represented Antigua and Barbuda as a Senior National Team player and played in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. He also served as an assistant coach for the Antigua and Barbuda U13 and U15 youth national teams
Blakely went to work for Leicestershire & Rutland County FA as a soccer development officer in Loughborough, UK in 2013 before heading back to the U.S. to serve on the legendary John Gibson's staff as a graduate assistant coach for Springfield (Mass.) from 2014-2016. There Blakely garnered key collegiate women's soccer coaching experience with responsibilities ranging from recruiting, practice leadership, gameday management, team travel coordination and community development. During his two years with the Pride, Blakely helped Springfield win two New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament Championships and advance to two NCAA Division III National Championship Tournaments.
Most recently Blakely has stayed engaged in the game through a variety of means. He worked for Paragon Marketing Group since 2016 as a senior account coordinator co-managing Yokohama Tire's U.S. youth soccer program and leading a variety of Gatorade partnerships and programs. In addition to his work at Paragon, Blakely served as a youth soccer coach for Wilmette Wings Soccer Club.