Small returns to Cambridge after 13 years of successful coaching at the youth, high school, club, and ODP levels. As Director of Coaching for Rye Youth Soccer from 2002-15, he oversaw all facets of the 1,600-player, 98-team operation. As men’s varsity head coach at Rye High School from 2006-2015, Small led his teams to an 89-44-19 record, including their first 3 berths in the New York State Section One Semifinals since the 1980s. As an assistant coach with the women’s team, he helped legendary head coach Rich Savage guide the Garnets to their first State Championship and a subsequent appearance in the State Finals. During Small’s 13-year tenure at Rye, the men’s and women’s teams produced a combined 31 collegiate players and 4 professional players.
Harvard tallied 10 wins in 2017, climbing into the top-15 nationally in the RPI. Senior Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu was a third-round selection in the MLS SuperDraft, making the roster for Atlanta United FC. Harvard ended its season with a nine-game unbeaten streak intact.
Small also spent two stints as an assistant coach with FC Westchester and one with the Eastern NY Olympic Development Program Under-15 team. He holds an NSCAA Premier Diploma, USSF ‘C’ License, and USSF Youth License.
Small is active in multiple projects aimed at helping underserved youths achieve success in school and sports. Together with former Johns Hopkins cross country captain Jordan Delane and Colgate golfer Judd Rothstein, he developed a pro bono wing within his college test preparation company, Peak Performance Testing, to provide SAT instruction to first-generation college-bound students. Small has also partnered with prominent New York attorney and philanthropist Bill Miller to spread Cancer Awareness by outfitting more than 50 club and high school teams from Yonkers, Rye, and Spring Valley with special edition pink uniforms during the month of October. Summer 2016 will see Small reunite with Sal Curella for their third year as heads of soccer for the New York chapter of Playsmart, Inc., a non-profit founded by former Ivy League athletes to help underserved middle school student-athletes realize their academic and life potential through sports.
Small began his collegiate playing career at Manhattanville College, where he led the soccer team to a 14-5 record and the school’s first NCAA tournament berth in 1999. The team leader in minutes played, Small earned all-Skyline Conference accolades. As a catcher for the baseball team in 2000, he batted .323 and led the Valiants in six major offensive and defensive categories. Upon transferring to Harvard, he earned one minor-H in soccer during the 2000 season.
Small has competed in two Ironman and two half-Ironman races.
A 2002 graduate of Harvard College, Small was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, earned the Mather Scholar-Citizen Award, and won the Jonathan Levin Prize for Teaching and Social Justice from the Department of African and African-American Studies.
