Terence John Nicholl (born 16 September 1952) is an English former

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player and manager. A

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, he played professionally in both England and the United States. He later managed several indoor teams in the United States where he was the 1987 and 1988

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 ...

Coach of the Year.

Playing career

Nicholl's clubs included

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

,Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Transfer Database
/ref>

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

and Gillingham, where he made over 180

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 ...

appearances. In 1981, he moved to the USA where he signed with the

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 the Major Indoor Soccer League. He remained with the Wings until his retirement from playing following an injury-marred 1985–86 season.

Coaching career

Nicholl then turned to coaching in America, as an assistant with indoor side

Memphis Storm The Memphis Storm was an American soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee which existed from 1986 to 1994. They underwent several names changes including the Rogues, the Survivors, the United Express and finally the Jackals. They played in the A ...

of the

. On 8 December 1986, the Storm fired head coach

Gary Hindley Gary Hindley (born May 8, 1947) is an American soccer coach. He has coached youth soccer, high school, college and professional teams. He won Coach of the Year honors in 1984 in the United Soccer League, 1991 American Professional Soccer League a ...

and elevated Nicholl to head coach. He was named the 1987 and 1988 AISA Coach Of The Year. He won this award although he left the Storm just prior to the playoffs and moved to coach the

on 2 February 1988. After the Wings began the 1990–91 season with a string of losses, the team ownership began mentioning the possibility of Nicholl's being fired. However, they reconsidered as the team began an upswing in December and January before again sliding down the table. On 5 February 1991, the Wings fired Nicholl with the team at 13–20. Nicholl, who has a degree in mechanical engineering, then went to work for Metalex, an aerospace firm in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. While this led to a tripling of his salary, he nearly accepted an offer to manage former club Gillingham in May 1991. He instead chose to remain as a sales representative for Metalex until July 1992 when he returned to coaching with the

Dayton Dynamo Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 census. The Dayton metropolitan area had 814,049 residents and is the sta ...

of the National Professional Soccer League. He lasted until 24 January 1995. On 11 August 2003, the

Cincinnati Excite The Cincinnati Excite were a semi-professional indoor soccer club which played in the American Indoor Soccer League. History The Excite are owned by David Galus, and took the American Indoor Soccer League season championship in the 2005/2006 s ...

of the

American Indoor Soccer League The American Indoor Soccer League was a semi-professional indoor soccer league founded in 2002 and folded in 2008. History Founded in 2002, the AISL's headquarters were in West Springfield, Massachusetts, but the media relations office was ...

hired Nicholl. He was fired on 14 June 2008. He then moved to coach the Cincinnati United Premier of the

Super Y-League USL Youth, formerly known as the Super Y League, is a youth soccer league with teams from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1999, the league is affiliated with U.S. Soccer and used to identify potential professional talent. USL Youth c ...

, a position he holds today. In 1992, Nicholl became head coach of the varsity boys' soccer team at Seven Hills School in Cincinnati, known as the Stingers. In the 2009 season, he led the Stingers to the state semifinals and they finished with a 19–2–1 record. In 2013, Terry led Seven Hills to a regional semifinal and finished the season 13–3–4. Nicholl was named

Miami Valley Conference The Miami Valley Conference (MVC) is an OHSAA athletic league whose members are located in the Ohio counties of Hamilton County and Butler County. The league was established in 1979. Purcell Marian and Roger Bacon are the most recent additio ...

coach of the year for 2014. He left Seven Hills after the 2014 season.

Personal life

His brother

Chris Nicholl Christopher John Nicholl (12 October 1946 – 24 February 2024) was a professional footballer who later worked as a coach and manager. A centre-back, Nicholl began his playing career at Burnley, but moved to Witton Albion after failing to br ...

and cousin

Jimmy Nicholl James Michael Nicholl (born 28 December 1956) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played for several clubs, including Manchester United and Rangers. He was mainly a right-back but could also play in other defensive roles. N ...

were both also professional footballers.

References

External links

MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholl, Terry 1952 births Living people American Indoor Soccer League coaches Crewe Alexandra F.C. players English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers English football managers Gillingham F.C. players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches Sportspeople from Wilmslow Sheffield United F.C. players Wichita Wings (MISL) players Footballers from Cheshire Southend United F.C. players Men's association football midfielders High school soccer coaches in the United States English Football League players