Coach Gareth came to TYSA in the Fall of 2012 as the Rec Director and took over as the Club Executive Director for Tucker Youth Soccer Association in January 2017. He joined TYSA after spending 2016 as National Director for the Copa Team with Adidas.
A native of Ballina, Ireland, Coach Gareth was the Head Coach of the Clayton State Women's Soccer team from 2011-2016. Prior to that, he served as the Head Coach of the Atlanta Beat of the WPS (Women’s Professional Soccer) in 2009 and 2010.
While at the Atlanta Beat, O’Sullivan coached USA National team players, Hope Solo, Tobin Heath, Lori Chalupny & Angie Kerr; also present were many top international players, including Japan’s captain Aya Miyami, 2008 Hermann Winner Mami Yamaguchi, England’s Eniola Aluko and current Damallsvenskan stars Johanna Rasmussen of Denmark and Ramona Bachmann of Switzerland.
Before coming to the Beat O’Sullivan was a professional head coach in the Icelandic Premier League for three seasons. However, it’s at the NCAA Division II level where O’Sullivan made his mark, serving as head coach at Christian Brothers, West Georgia and then Clayton State.
O’Sullivan was Head Coach for both the men’s and women’s teams at Christian Brothers from 1997 to 2003. He posted a record of 87-19-3 with the Christian Brothers women, leading the Lady Bucs to three straight Gulf South Conference Championships, an NCAA Division II national runner-up finish in 2001 and the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2002.
As the Men’s Head Coach, O’Sullivan went 61-49, leading the Bucs to the 2000 Gulf South Conference Championship and advancing to the NCAA Division II "Sweet 16."
From Christian Brothers, O’Sullivan started the women’s program at West Georgia. After the inaugural season in 2004, he helped pace the Wolves to a 13-7-1 mark in 2005, advancing to the Gulf South Conference Tournament semifinals. Overall, O’Sullivan has a 239-122-24 record at the NCAA Division II level, including 167-66-17 as a Women’s Head Coach.
He was a three-time Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year selection, and also a Peachbelt Coach of the Year selection. While at Christian Brothers, O’Sullivan coached three Division II All-Americans, including two-time Division II National Player of the Year Missy Gregg.
Throughout his soccer coaching career, Gareth O’Sullivan has built a strong reputation when it comes to developing teams into championship-caliber programs. He proved that with an NCAA Division II National Championship at Christian Brothers and brought the Clayton State Lakers to the NCAA playoffs in 2013. Taking over a Laker program that had recorded only 11 victories combined in its three previous seasons, O'Sullivan led the team to 6 back-to-back winning seasons (2011-2016).
Prior to his first head coaching position, O’Sullivan played in the League of Ireland Premier Division with Sligo Rovers. He also had stints in the USISL, A-League and CISL. He also spent time training with Swedish teams IFK Goteborg & GAIS and 1992 English Premier League team Coventry City.
Playing Experience:
- 1989-1992 University of Memphis –NCAA I
- 1993 Memphis Express --USISL
- 1994-1995 New Orleans Gamblers --A-League
- 1996-1997 Sligo Rovers –League of Ireland Premier Division
- 1997 Indiana Twisters –CISL
- 2006-2007 UMFA/Hvitt Ridinn -- Icelandic 2nd Division
Coaching Experience:
- 1997-2003 Christian Brothers University –NCAA II (Men & Women)
- 2003-2006 University of West Georgia –NCAA II (Women)
- 2006 Memphis Mojos –AISL Pro (Men)
- 2006-2008 Afturelding –Iceland Premier League (Women)
- 2008-2009 KR –Iceland Premier League (Women)
- 2009-2010 Atlanta Beat –WPS (Women’s Pro soccer)
- 2011-2016 Clayton State University –NCAA II (Women)
- 2017 - Triumph Youth Soccer Association
O'Sullivan earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from the University of Memphis in 1992, where he played collegiately for the Tigers. He and his wife, Anna, are proud parents of two sons - Liam and Tomas.