Women's Soccer | 4/11/2022 6:13:00 PM
ELMIRA, NY – Elmira College Director of Athletics Rhonda Faunce announced the hiring of Bill Kelly as head women's soccer coach on April 11. Kelly becomes the 15th head coach in program history after the departure of Esther Webb in February.
"I am very pleased to add Bill to our staff", said Faunce. "I'm looking forward to him being a mentor right away to some of our younger staff members. His wealth of knowledge that he will bring to the table will benefit us all as well as the team."
"I would like to express my gratitude to Rhonda (Faunce), the search committee, and the athletic department for this tremendous opportunity to lead the Elmira Women's Soccer program," said Kelly "I felt an immediate connection with the superb coaching staff and the highly motivated scholar-athletes. Elmira College is a wonderful school with rich traditions, amazing people, and a commitment to excellence. I look forward to working with my players in a transformational journey of self-discovery, team unity, and rewarding collective achievement. I strongly believe in playing hard, playing smart, and having fun while creating an epic overall experience to be enjoyed and cherished for a lifetime."
Kelly comes to Elmira with an overall coaching record in Division III women's soccer of 183-157-27 throughout 20 seasons. After a seven-year stint with Saint Benedict in Saint Joseph, Minnesota, Kelly most recently coached at Bard College for 13 seasons. After his resignation in December of 2020, Kelly has spent the last 16 months as a consultant for Athletics Recruitment Consulting, LLC in Delmar, New York, a suburb of Albany.
During his time at Bard, Kelly's teams twice finished second and third in the Skyline Conference and made four postseason appearances in the ECAC Tournament. He was named Skyline Conference Coach of the Year in 2019, and in 2015, Bard won the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year Award.
Before arriving at Bard, Kelly coached the nationally-ranked Division III women's soccer program at The College of St. Benedict in Minnesota. He led his teams to the NCAA playoffs three times, including a finish in the "Sweet Sixteen". In 2002, he was named the MIAC Coach of the Year and the Division III Central Region Coach of the Year.
Kelly offers more than an ability to put winning soccer teams on the field as he is also a published writer, who earned his M.A. in English and Creative Writing from the University of Minnesota, where he won an Academy of American Poets Prize. His poems have appeared in numerous literary magazines across the country, and he has authored children's stories for SPIDER magazine, HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN, and others. In 2015, he signed with WordTech Communication LLC to have his collection of poetry, Water Tiger, published.
Kelly is also an accomplished painter as his work has been shown and sold in Minneapolis, Albany, and Boston. A former college English instructor, he enjoys providing academic support for his athletes.
Kelly graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was a four-year letter winner for the Scots as a goalkeeper and midfielder. For many years he played club soccer with the Dundees of F.C. Scotia in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He and his wife, Vera, who is a Political Science professor at Siena College, currently reside in Delmar, New York.