Ben Shepherd

FC Wisconsin Co-Director of Coaching

College Liason

Email: ben.shepherd@fcwisconsinsoccer.com

Cell: 864.425.9630

 

Ben Shepherd is currently the Co-Director of Coaching for FC Wisconsin, as well as the College Liason for the club. Prior to joining FC Wisconsin in June 2013, Shepherd was the Assistant Director of Coaching and the Recruiting Liaison at Elm Grove Soccer Club for two years. In his time at Elm Grove he won two State Cups at the Boys U17 and Boys U18 age groups, and helped over 20 players, (10 of whom went Division I) secure scholarships to play in college, both on the boys and girls side.

Shepherd has coached collegiality at the NCAA Division I, II and NAIA level, and is currently the Associate Head Coach at Cardinal Stritch University. In his first season with the Wolves, Shepherd and head coach Kevin Brennan guided Stritch to the program's first ever NAIA National Tournament appearance. The season was marked with several milestones including a regular season Chicago-land Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) championship, a 13-4-1 overall record, and five players being named to the CCAC All-Conference team.

Prior to joining the Wolves, Shepherd spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers. During his two seasons as an assistant with the Panthers, the program went 12-20-5. In his two seasons at UWM, the program won more games than the previous 3 years and he helped 7 players receive All-Conference recognition. In the Spring of 2012, when Shepherd was placed as Interim-Head Coach, the program had a team best cumulative GPA of above a 3.3.

Shepherd originally came to Milwaukee before the 2010 from NCAA Division II Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C. He spent five seasons as the assistant coach following a playing career at the same school where he was a four-year starter as a defender and in the midfield and a three-time team captain. He helped lead the program to new levels as part of the coaching staff, with the Saints going 54-23-12 in his tenure, including 52-17-9 his final four years and 27-9-4 in Conference Carolinas play over that same span.

Shepherd, a native of Cornwall, England, helped guide Limestone to its first Conference Carolinas Tournament championship and NCAA appearance in 2006. That year, the squad advanced to the Sweet 16 and finished No. 19 in the NSCAA/Adidas National poll. The Saints were back in the National Tournament again in 2008, and 2009, finishing with a national rank of No.15, when they went 16-3-2 with 10 shutouts.

While at Limestone, Shepherd was also the program's recruiting coordinator and had a tremendous track record with his efforts. A pair of All-Americans, 14 all-regional selections and 24 all-conference choices played at Limestone during his tenure, including the league's freshman of the year twice in his five seasons. Three players that he recruited also went on to sign professional contracts after finishing their collegiate playing careers. His teams excelled in the classroom as well, earning NSCAA/Adidas Team Academic awards each season.


Shepherd received numerous honors during his playing career, including being named academic all-conference. He was also a finalist for the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference's Murphy Osborne Award, which is given each year to the athlete determined to have the most outstanding academic achievements.

He graduated from Limestone in 2004 with a double major in Psychology and English. He currently holds the Premier Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, as well as F.A Level 1 and F.A Level 2 Coaching certificate from the English Football Association. He is also pursing a Master of Science in Sport Management and Leadership at Cardinal Stritch University.