Scott Schweitzer (born August 12, 1971 in

Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...

) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

coach and former professional soccer player. He spent two years as the head coach of

Carolina RailHawks FC North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games a ...

College soccer

Schweitzer was a four-year letter winner at N.C. State University. He was a two-time All-American (second team in 1991 and first team in 1992) and named

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

Player of the Year in 1992. He was a member of the Wolfpack team that made it to the 1990

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Final Four. Schweitzer was also a member of the U.S.

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

Team from 1992–1994. In 2002, he was selected to the ACC's 50th Anniversary men's soccer team.

Professional career

Schweitzer began his professional career in France in 1993 and 1994, where he played for

Stade Brestois 29 Stade Brestois 29 or simply Brest, is a French football club based in Brest. It was founded in 1950 following the merger of five local patronages, including Armoricaine de Brest, founded in 1903. In its early years, the club made a rapid rise ...

and

En Avant Guingamp En Avant Guingamp (, en, Forward Guingamp), commonly referred to as EA Guingamp, EAG, or simply Guingamp (), is a professional Football in France, football club based in the Communes of France, commune of Guingamp in France's Brittany region. ...

of the French Third Division. Upon his return from France, Schweitzer played for one season (1995) with the

Atlanta Ruckus Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

of 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. It ...

(the forerunner to the A-League) before moving on to the

Carolina Dynamo North Carolina Fusion U-23, formerly known as Carolina Dynamo, is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The ...

of the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

in 1996. In 1997, Schweitzer was named to the

USL-1 The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

First Team. Schweitzer moved to the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

of USL-1 in 1998. During his time with the Rhinos, Schweitzer won three USL-1 championships (1998, 2000, 2001) and one U.S. Open Cup title (1999). On a personal level, he was named to the USL-1 First Team four times while with the Rhinos, and twice was named First Division Defender of the Year. After six seasons with Rochester, Schweitzer left to join the rival Syracuse Salty Dogs in 2004. Following the suspension of the Syrcause franchise at the end of the season, Schweitzer followed Salty Dogs head coach Laurie Calloway back to Rochester, playing one final season with the Rhinos in 2005, when he served as

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

. After the season, the team named him to their all-time Rhinos squad in celebration of the franchise's tenth anniversary. Schweitzer retired from professional soccer at the end of the 2005 campaign.

Indoor soccer

In addition to his outdoor play, Schweitzer was also a professional

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

player. He played eight seasons for the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 i ...

of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) (and later

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

). He was named to the NPSL All-Rookie Team in the 1994–95 and was also named the Crunch's Rookie of the Year. Schweitzer was a four-time NPSL All-Star, and won two league championships with the Crunch; in 1996 and 1999 where he scored the game-winning goal in what would prove to be the final NPSL championship game. In 2004-05, Schweitzer played one season with the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with ...

of the MISL.

Coaching career

After his retirement as a player, Schweitzer took a job as a full-time coach and director of Next Level Academy in

Morrisville, North Carolina Morrisville is a town located primarily in Wake County, North Carolina, United States (a small portion extends into neighboring Durham County). The population was 18,576 at the 2010 census. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the town's population t ...

He also served as an assistant coach of the

Raleigh Elite North Carolina FC U23 is an American soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded in 2002 as the Raleigh Elite, and the current affiliate of North Carolina FC, a third division club in the United Soccer League. The team plays in ...

PDL squad for the 2006 season. On October 11, 2006, Schweitzer was introduced as the first head coach of the Carolina RailHawks, a USL-1 expansion franchise that will start play in 2007. The RailHawks job is Schweitzer's first as a head coach of a professional soccer team. In October 2008, the RailHawks announced that Schweitzer would no longer continue as head coach.RailHawks founder Economides, coach Schweitzer to leave team
/ref> During his two years as coach of Carolina, he took the team to a 24-24-24.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schweitzer, Scott 1971 births Living people American Professional Soccer League players All-American men's college soccer players American expatriate soccer players American soccer coaches American soccer players Atlanta Silverbacks players Baltimore Blast (2001–2008 MISL) players North Carolina Fusion U23 players North Carolina FC coaches Cleveland Crunch (NPSL) players En Avant Guingamp players Expatriate footballers in France Association football defenders Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players NC State Wolfpack men's soccer players Sportspeople from Rahway, New Jersey Rochester New York FC players Soccer players from New Jersey Stade Brestois 29 players Syracuse Salty Dogs players A-League (1995–2004) players USISL Select League players USL First Division coaches USL First Division players