Eric Clermont joins the staff after serving as the Director of Operations during the 2015-16 season. During this time, Eric served as a team coordinator, helping coordinate things when the team traveled and also focused on video analysis and opposition scouting for the men’s soccer team.
A North London native, Clermont has spent the last five years in New York City as an elite youth soccer coach with experience at the US Development Academy level, in the college game, as well as at ODP level in Region I. Eric began coaching at the age of 18 after his playing career was cut short by injury, where he got involved with coaching at the club level in his native London. After taking his FA Level 1 coaching badge and UEFA B Pre-requisite course, Eric showed much promise and worked to shadow youth Academy coaches at London’s prestigious Academies at Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal Football Club. Later, he worked with Crystal Palace F.C to open a Development Center linked directly to their Academy.
Seeking to continue his coaching career on a full time basis, Eric relocated to the East Coast of the U.S and was based both in Connecticut and Long Island. At this time, Eric worked with a youth soccer organization, Noga Soccer where he coached travel teams and he also helped as a voluntary assistant coach at the NCAA Division II University of Bridgeport, where he helped run sessions and to run camps for the women’s team. During his time in the New York area, Eric decided to begin taking his U.S. soccer coaching licenses, taking the NSCAA National Diploma, Advanced National and Premier Diploma, the National Youth License, as well as the USSF B License. Most recently, Eric completed the USSF A license in January 2015. More recently, Eric has worked as an assistant coach at Division II Nyack College in Rockland County for a season in 2014. He is looking forward to this new challenge and helping the FIU Panthers continue their elevation into the Division I Soccer Elite.