Gary Ross
Coach's Email
Ross graduated from Taylor University in 1995 with a double major in business administration and philosophy. He played both baseball (1991-1995) and soccer (1991-1994) while at Taylor before injuries ended his career. He was a member of Taylor's first ever district championship soccer team in 1992, subsequently a team captain, and a Trojan Athlete of the Year award winner his senior year for baseball.
Ross returned to Taylor in 2002 as an assistant for two seasons under then head coach Dr. Joe Lund. When Lund retired in 2004, Ross was hired as his replacement.
In his first season at the helm, Ross took a team that had three and four win seasons the previous two years and led the Trojans to a 9-9-2 record. The team defeated Spring Arbor in penalty kicks in the first round of the Mid-Central Conference tournament to earn its first conference tournament victory in five years.
The following season yielded similar results with a record of 9-8-1 and a fifth place finish in the MCC.
After a disappointing 2006 campaign, the Trojans bounced back in 2007 to record an overall record of 12-5-2. Their 5-2-1 mark in the MCC was good enough to earn them second place in the final conference standings. The Trojans were consistently ranked in the top four of Region VIII teams before being upset by Marian College in the first round of the MCC tournament.
The 2007 season saw Taylor lead the MCC in conference shutouts with four, and lead the MCC in overall shutouts with eight. The eight shutouts recorded by the Trojans ranked them 7th in the nation in shutouts per game. Five players received all-conference recognition while two individuals were named second team All-Region VIII.
Since January of 2004, Ross has been developing an international soccer ministry in Northern Ireland. In conjunction with Project Evangelism of Dundrum Northern Ireland and Friendship Sports International, many of Taylor's players have assisted Coach Ross in evangelistic outreaches to the youth and club teams of the County Down area.
Coach Ross had this to say about the ministry. "It's been fantastic to see the Northern Ireland ministry develop. We have made the trip two times in the last three years and I hope that these trips give our players a much needed global perspective on the gospel and the possibility of connecting their passions in soccer with their faith in Christ. We typically put on clinics during the day for local youth and play up to four friendly matches with local club teams in the evenings. Regardless of whether we are at halftime of a game or spending the afternoon with 5-10 year olds, we seek to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people we meet."
Ross holds his National D license from the United States Soccer Federation. At Taylor, Ross is also the Director of the Kesler Student Activities Center and the Intramural Director. He is currently 50 hours into a master's degree in Christian Thought at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.
You can contact Coach Ross by e-mail at grross@taylor.edu or by phone at (765) 998-4331
ASSISTANT COACH - JOE VOLDRICH
In August 2009, former Trojans soccer player Joe Voldrich returned to the men's soccer program as an assistant under head coach Gary Ross. The Columbus, Ohio native played four years under Ross from 2005-2008.
The former defender earned All-Conference honors as a junior.
"Joe was an outstanding competitor for us as a player," Ross said. "I haven't coached a player who was more willing to go all out on the field. I look forward to watching how that work ethic translates into his coaching. He will be working with our goal keepers and it's been exciting to see already how they have responded to him and his coaching."
While a member of the Trojans soccer program, Voldrich participated in missions trips to Ireland and helped run soccer camps for Upland youth and high school teams.
Voldrich graduated in May 2009 with a degree in History and hopes to pursue a career in the education field.