Coaching Staff

Assistant Coach
Assistant Coach
Assistant Coach
Performance Coach
Keeper Coach

Sheldon Cipriani

Trinidad and Tobago native, Sheldon Cipriani is a USSF A Licensed coach and also holds a FIFA Olympic Solidarity Certificate. Cipriani is currently holding the role of Director of Coaching for the Gainesville Soccer Alliance and is a part of the Florida ODP (Olympic Development Program) coaching staff. Former Academic All American, Cipriani has represented Trinidad and Tobago at the youth level and played in the First Division for Maple Football Club, Alcons Football Club, and TSTT Football Club. He has coached various levels of the game, most recently helping the Ocala Stampede PDL team to win their conference in 2012. Cipriani was Head Coach Matt Weston's assistant at the Ocala Stampede before joining the VSI Tampa Bay FC Coaching Staff for the 2013 USL PRO season.

joel headshot

Joel Harrison

Coach Harrison's background and experience covers all levels of soccer in the United States from youth, high school, collegiate, and professional, including stops as: The Head Coach at Saint Leo University (2005 SSC Champions & NCAA DII Regional Finalist), the University of Central Arkansas (2002 GSC Champions & NCAA DII Final Four), Assistant Coach Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL PRO), Director of Coaching & Player Development, Indiana Youth Soccer Association, and Assistant Coach West Texas A&M Univ. He also served as an ODP staff coach in Arkansas, Texas, Illinois, and USYSA Region III. In 2004 and 2005 he was selected to serve as a National Staff Coach for US Club Soccer's National ODP/id2 Camp, which hosted the top 100 U14B players.

Harrison holds a USSF "A" license, USSF National Youth License, NSCAA Premier Diploma, and a Football Association of Ireland Coaching Diploma. His coaching honors include: Being named the 2002 and 2005 NSCAA South Region Coach of the Year, 2005 Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year and was twice named the Gulf South Coach of the Year (2001 & 2002). His overall collegiate coaching record is 143-69-12 (11 years).

Harrison played collegiately at Indiana Central University (now the University of Indianapolis) and Indoor for the Amarillo Challengers of the USISL (now the USL).

Sam Mitchell

Sam began his coaching career after graduating in Philosophy at University Kent, Canterbury in England and then went on to pursue his sporting passion for soccer, spending six months coaching youth teams in Connecticut, USA.

Sam is a qualified UEFA B Licence coach and for the last four years has been coaching at the English Championship professional club Watford FC. Much of this work has been around managing the youth development programme for the Watford FC's Centres of Excellence and its soccer Academy.

A keen player, Sam has also played semi-professional soccer in England for the last five seasons after successful playing period in University soccer.

Sam, aged 26, was born in St Albans, England and is now keen to continue pursuing his coaching ambitions and recently decided to return to the US to work in both youth player development as well as with USL soccer franchise sides.

Sam has been appointed Head Coach of VSI Tampa Bay FC Super 20's and will work under the auspices of PDL Head Coach Sheldon Cipriani and PRO Head Coach Matt Weston.

Mac McCarthy

Owen "Mac" McCarthy will serve as the Head Performance Coach for the VSI Tampa Bay FC. Mac spent two years as the Women's Assistant Coach at the University of Southern Indiana. He was also the Co-Owner Director of Soccer Performance Training for High Performance Training, an athlete performance center in Indiana.

Mac played collegiate soccer for ARMY at the United States Military Academy (West Point). Mac will use his prior experience as a SPARQ Trainer to provide players and teams with training in all aspects of athletic performance including: Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction, Quickness, Flexibility and Endurance. Mac holds the USSF "D" and USSF Fitness Level 1 Licenses and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He is also a Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES) through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and has been educated in Human Performance by the premier performance centers Athletes Performance in Phoenix, AZ and the International Performance Institute at IMG Academy. Mac also assists T4 Soccer, a performance assessment company, in performance testing players to evaluate their physical soccer performance.

Jorge Zavala

"Yoyo" Jorge Zavala is the current Director of Goalkeeping and Staff Coach for our youth club, VSI West Florida Flames. Prior to serving as Director at VSI West Florida Flames, Zavala coached at several nationally recognized clubs in GA and NJ. He is a product of NJ soccer in the 80's and 90's, playing for Union Lancers under the tutelage of Manfred Schellscheidt. Also, played alongside former National Team stars Claudio Reyna and Gregg Berhalter at soccer powerhouse St. Benedicts Prep.

Zavala is a former goalkeeper in the USL professional leagues and spent time abroad pursuing a professional career within the 1st divisions for several years under the guidance of Chilean legend Hernan Godoy. Before turning professional, he played collegiately under the leadership of Hall of Fame Coach Dr. Dave Masur at Montclair State University and for Charlie Inverso at MCCC. Coach Zavala possesses a USSF National License, USSF National Goalkeeping License, NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and the NSCAA State, Regional and National Goalkeeping Diplomas. He holds an Associate Degree in Business from Shorter College and goes by his long standing nickname, Yoyo.

Coach Yoyo is married to his childhood sweetheart Amy and they have 2 children Jorge IV and Eliana.