Don Tobin (1 November 1955) is an English retired footballer who played in leagues including the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

, the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

, the American Soccer League, and Major Indoor Soccer League. Since 1995 he has coached at various levels in the

Tampa Bay Area The Tampa Bay area is a major metropolitan area surrounding Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, Florida, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, Florida, Clea ...

, most often with women's teams.

Playing career

As a youth, Tobin spent a brief period with the Everton Academy before catching on at age 16 with the First Division senior club, Everton in 1971. From there he moved to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

of the Third Division for three years. He spent one season at Witton Albion and one in Ireland at

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional association football, football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 and have been in ...

before moving to the United States. While at Rovers he was part of the side that reached the 1977–78

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

finals. For many years he spent summers with outdoor teams and winters playing

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...

. From 1978 to 1980 he played for the California Sunshine and joined the indoor

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

of MISL from 1980 to 1982. From 1981 to 1983 he played for the Carolina Lightnin' outdoors and from 1982 to 1984 with

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los ...

indoors. With a goal and an assist, Tobin was named MVP of the 1981 ASL finals, which Carolina won, 2–1. He would spend the next three indoor seasons with the

American Indoor Soccer Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

's Canton Invaders, winning AISA titles in 1984–85 and 1985–86. Tobin was an AISA all-star and league MVP in 1985–86 for the Invaders. He had brief hitches outdoors with the

Rochester Flash The Rochester Flash was an American soccer club based in Rochester, New York, that was a member of the American Soccer League from 1981–82 and of the United Soccer League in 1984. History Rochester's first experience with professional soccer ...

and

Tulsa Tornados The Tulsa Tornado's were a professional outdoor soccer team from Tulsa, Oklahoma. They played in the 2nd division United Soccer League (1984–85), United Soccer League during the partially completed 1985 United Soccer League season, 1985 season. ...

of the short-lived,

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

. In 1988, he found his way to the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

, who at the time were playing in the third incarnation of the ASL. Tobin was player-coach for the indoor

Memphis Rogues The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978 in sports, 1978, 1979 in sports, 1979, and 1980 in sports, 1980 seasons and p ...

at the start of the 1989–89 season and finished out his playing career with the

Orlando Lions The Orlando Lions were an American men's soccer team from Orlando, Florida which existed from 1985 to 1996. Over the years, the Lions competed at both the amateur and professional levels including some seasons as an independent team. The Lions ...

in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...

Coaching career

While still a player in Canton he also served as an assistant coach. In 1989–90 he was hired as the head coach of the

of the AISA. Beginning in 1995, Tobin spent 19 years as the director of coaching, Dunedin Stirling Soccer Club in

Dunedin, Florida Dunedin ( ) is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The name comes from ''Dùn Èideann'', the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Dunedin is part of the Tampa Bay Area, Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater ...

. While there he also created the Tobin's School of Soccer Science Academy Program. In 2000, he was the coach of the Tampa Bay Extreme of the W-League. He was an assistant coach and technical director at the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UTampa, UT or Tampa U) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UTampa offers more than 200 programs of study, including 19 master's degrees and a br ...

from 2007 to 2014, and part of the staff of the 2007 NCAA Division II Women's National Championship team. During the 2010 season he was an interim assistant coach for FC Tampa Bay Rowdies of the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

. Tobin is presently the director of coaching at Pinellas County United in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

and is a coach with the National Training Center (NTC). Since 2012, he also serves as the head coach of the WPSL team Florida Tropics WSC and holds a

USSF USSF may refer to: * United States Servicemen's Fund, a support organization for soldier and sailor resistance to the Vietnam War and the U.S. military * United States Soccer Federation, governing body of soccer in the United States * United States ...

"B" License. He and his wife reside in

and have two children.

Honours

Player

runner-up: 1977–78 * ASL:

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

* ASL Western Division:

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

* ASL Freedom Conference:

* AISA: 1984–85, 1985–86; runner-up 1986–87 * AISA Regular Season: 1984–85, 1985–86 * AISA Northern Division: 1986–87 Individual * ASL First team All-Star:

* ASL Finals MVP:

* AISA League MVP: 1985–86 * AISA First team All-Star: 1985–86

Assistant coach

* NCAA Division II Women's Soccer: 2007

References

External links

Rochdale transfersUniversity of Tampa coaching profileDunedin Stirling Soccer Club

Pinellas County United SC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobin, Don 1955 births National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players American Soccer League (1988–89) players California Sunshine players Canton Invaders players Carolina Lightnin' players Everton F.C. players English Football League players English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers League of Ireland players Los Angeles Lazers players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Memphis Storm players Orlando Lions players Rochdale A.F.C. players Rochester Flash players Sligo Rovers F.C. players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Tulsa Tornados players United Soccer League (1984–85) players USL W-League (1995–2015) coaches Wichita Wings (MISL) players Living people Men's association football midfielders English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Florida Tropics SC English football managers English expatriate football managers Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States Tampa Bay Rowdies coaches Footballers from Liverpool