About Us
About Us
About Us
The Evans Soccer Academy is a family-owned sports business that runs summer youth soccer camps, offers year-round soccer clinics and training for individuals, teams, and leagues, provides capacity-building and professional development for soccer players, administrators, coaches, managers, and referees, and consultation services for numerous soccer and sporting organizations and entities.
The ESA leverages decades of collective experience in the sport of soccer, collegiate athletics and coaching, collegiate student-athlete preparation, professional and amateur soccer, refereeing, youth sports team management, league and club administration, general athletic training, early childhood education, youth education, positive youth development, healthy lifestyle, cultural connection through sport, grassroots sports programs, community development, and more!
Our Team
Ian Evans
Jim Evans
Amara Evans
Jim Evans
Jim Evans captained and was leading scorer for the great UCONN sides of the mid '70's. Back then, it was common for the Huskies to draw crowds of 5,000- 10,000 rabid fans. He's a member of the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame, the UCONN Soccer Ring of Honor, and the Thomas College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Jim has been conducting soccer camps since 1980. In fact, he ran a very successful camp for more than 20 years in Maine called The Maine Soccer School. Jim has also run successful camps in Connecticut, Virginia, Maryland, Maine, Arkansas, Guatemala, Jamaica, and India.
Jim has travelled to England, Spain, Germany, Holland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, India, Jamaica and Guatemala to learn as much as he could about the Beautiful Game.
Education & Certifications: :
B.S., Coaching and Elementary Physical Education, University of Connecticut, 1977
Jim Evans soccer certifications:
- US Soccer (USSF) D, C and B Licenses
- NSCA National and Advanced Levels
- Frans Hoek Level 5 and Level 1
Athletic Career
Simsbury High School (Simsbury, Connecticut)
- Boys Soccer Team
- Boys Basketball Team
- Boys Track & Field Team
Head Girl's Soccer Coach (2006-2007)
CCC North League Champions (2006)
CIAC LL Girl's Soccer State Tournament Finalists (2007)
University of Connecticut (Storrs, Connecticut)
- UConn Huskies Men's Soccer Team 3x Varsity Letterwinner
- Senior Team Captain (18-2-2 record)
- 61 career points (21 goals, 19 assists)
- Four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances
- NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal (1974, 1976)
- NSCAA All New England/Northeast Team (1975, 1976)
- New England Intercollegiate Soccer League All-Star Team (1975, 1976)
- 52-6-7 career record
Salisbury State College (Salisbury, Maryland)
- Assistant Men's Soccer Coach (1983)
George Mason University (Fairfax, Virginia)
- Assistant Men's Soccer Coach (1984-1985)
- NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Second Round (1985)
University of Hartford (Hartford, Connecticut)
- Head Men's Soccer Coach, 12 seasons (1993-2004)
- NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament (1995, 1996, 1999)
- NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Elite Eight (1996)
- America East Conference (AEC) Champions (1999)
- Most single-season wins all-time, 17 (1996)
- Second most career wins all-time, 108
- 4 NSCAA All-America Team Selections
- 2 AEC Player of the Years Selections
- 18 All-AEC First Team Selections
Hendrix College (Conway, Arkansas)
- Head Men's Soccer Coach, 2 seasons (2014-2015)
- 2 SAA All-Conference Team Selections
- Head Women's Soccer Coach, 6 seasons (2008-2014)
- 38-59-7 overall record
- 15 SCAC All-Conference Team Selections
Thomas College (Waterville, Maine)
- Head Men's Soccer Coach (1986-1993)
- League Champions
- NAIA District V Champions (1988)
- Associate Men's Soccer Coach (2016-present)
Ian Evans
Ian Evans is a former professional soccer player (Friska Viljor FC, Sweden) who has been playing the game since the age of 2. Ian won the 2006 Connecticut/CIAC State Championship (captain) with Simsbury High School (Conn.), was a 3x SCAC All-Conference player with Hendrix College (captain, Conway, AR), and 2-season player for Friska Viljor FC, winning the promotion playoff in 2015. Ian has extensive coaching experience in the US and Sweden, coaching boys and girls from age 2-22 (pre-school - collegiate levels).
Ian is also an international development and international relations professional. He has demonstrated experience managing program logistics, program staff, and working closely with U.S. and international non-elite youth athletes. He has additional training in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), monitoring and evaluation, program design, project management, and identifying government-sector funding opportunities. His passion and area of focus consist of utilizing sport as a vehicle to promote intercultural relationships and positive community change.
Athletic Career
Simsbury High School (Simsbury, Connecticut)
- Boys Soccer Team (2003-2006)
- Captain (2006)
- CCC North All-Conference Team (2006)
- CIAC LL State Champions (2006)
Hendrix College (Conway, Arkansas)
- Men's Soccer Team (2008-2012)
- Captain (2009-2012)
- SCAC All-Conference Team (2009-2012)
- Assistant Men & Women's Soccer Coach (2012-2014)
Friska Viljor FC (Örnsköldsvik, Sweden)
- First Team Player (2014-2015)
- Won Promotion Playoff to Division II Norrland (2015)
- Coached BK Ornen local youth teams (2014-2015)
- Coached Intersport & Sweden Football Federation youth camps (2014-2015)
FHI 360 (Washington, DC)
- Senior Program Officer, Sports Diplomacy Initiatives (2018-present)
- Sports Visitor and Sports Envoy Programs
- Conducted 17 sports-based international exchange programs (youth & adult)
- Worked directly with over 600 Sports Visitor Program participants from over 60 countries
- Facilitate annual summer youth soccer & cultural exchange programs for international youth in the US (2018-present)
- Traveled on reverse exchange to coach youth soccer clinics in Indonesia (2019)
- Sports Diplomacy panel session presenter, PyeongChang Peace Forum (2020)
Education & Certifications:
- M.B.A., Sports Business, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, Expected 2026
- Certificate, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Cornell University, Virtual/Online, 2023
- M.A., International Development, American University, Washington, DC, 2018
- B.A. with Distinction, History/International Relations, Hendrix College, Conway, AR, 2012
Amara Evans
A talented student-athlete for Simsbury High School soccer and track & field teams, Amara Evans has decades of experience in coaching, various health & healing practices, events planning, community engagement and much more.
- Assistant Mentor, Wise Womb Medicine Path
- Event Planner Consultant, Self Employed
- Primary Caregiver, Self Employed
- Copywriter Content Creator, Self Employed
- Owner Holistic Healer, Amethyst Alchemy
- Teacher Healer, Veda Studios
- Creatress Programming Director, Nectar of the Goddess Temple
- Interpretive Park Ranger, U.S. National Park Service
- Naturalist Teacher, Arrowhead Ranch Outdoor Science School
- Education Intern, Student Conservation Association
Education & Certifications:
- Somatic Womb Mentor Certification, Wise Womb Medicine Path, Kula, HI, 2022
- Wise Womb Therapist Certification, Wise Womb Medicine Path, Kula, HI, 2019
- B.A., French Language & Culture/Communications, University of Hartford, Hartford, CT, 2007
- High School Diploma, Simsbury High School, Simsbury, CT, 2006