Assistant Coach              Don Norton, Jr. (11th season)

High School:                    Glassboro             

College:                            Gettysburg College             

Major:                               BA (Sociology)

Grad School:                   Rowan University      

Degree:                            MA (Communications)                             

Don Norton joined the Rutgers-Camden coaching staff for the 2013 season and immediately helped a great program develop into a national championship contender.

Norton, who had spent his previous four seasons as an assistant coach with New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Rowan University, helped the 2013 Scarlet Raptors post a program-record 23-1-2 record in his first season at Rutgers-Camden. That mark included the Raptors’ third straight NJAC title and a berth in the NCAA Division III national championship game, where they dropped a 2-1 double-overtime decision against Messiah. The Scarlet Raptors finished as the nation’s second-ranked team.

As he enters his 11th season as a Rutgers-Camden assistant coach during the 2023-24 scholastic year, Norton is trying to help Rutgers-Camden return to the NJAC championship. The Scarlet Raptors played in the conference title game in each of his first three seasons at Rutgers-Camden, winning the title twice, in 2013 and 2015, and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Rutgers-Camden won the ECAC Metro/Upstate title in 2014 after losing in the NJAC championship game. During the 2017 campaign, the Scarlet Raptors reached the ECAC championship game, while the 2018 team reached both the NJAC playoffs and the ECAC quarterfinals.

One of the country’s most respected and active coaches, Norton is recognized by national peers as a coach with exclusive European and national qualifications. Over the years, he has written numerous training articles for publication in Success in Soccer, Soccer New England, Southern Soccer Scene, NSCAA Journal, Soccer America and the United Soccer Coaches’ Soccer Journal. He was honored in February, 2023, with the New Jersey Youth Soccer’s Bob McNulty Coach of the Year Award at the NJYS Awards Dinner Friday in Edison. The NJYS’s highest honor, the McNulty award is named after the late Robert McNulty, a legendary coach and member of the New Jersey City University Hall of Fame. McNulty was one of the 11 original “A” licensed coaches in the nation.

Norton’s busy 2013-14 scholastic year included serving as a national speaker for US Youth Soccer at the US Youth Soccer/NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia in January. The national convention brings coaches, players and administrators at all levels of the game from across the nation and world together for five days of meetings, lectures, seminars and presentations. Norton spoke about curriculum development for youth soccer clubs to a crowd of international, national, and local professional, college, club, high school, and youth coaches. During the fall he also had a pair of coaching articles published. His “Movement off the ball: The key to possession” appeared in the September issue of the international soccer coaching magazine Success in Soccer, marking the third time he had written for that publication. He also was published in the November/December issue of the Soccer Journal, the publication of the NSCAA, with a piece entitled “Evaluating our Training Session.”

Norton brings a wealth of coaching experience to the Scarlet Raptors’ program, including many years in the NJAC, where he also has coached at Richard Stockton College (including a berth in the NCAA Final Four), in addition to Rowan University. Prior to coaching at Rowan, he spent seven seasons as an assistant with the Haverford College men’s soccer program with legendary head coach Joe Amorim. (Joe Amorim is a USSF "A" license coach and a EPYSA and SE PA Soccer Hall of Fame inductee).  During his first year at Haverford the team was featured in the New York Times for winning the 700th game in the program’s history which, at the time, was the most wins in the nation for a men's college program. Norton also coached at Swarthmore College under Head Coach Wayne McKinney, a USSF "A" and UEFA "A" license coach and the University of Pennsylvania (Head Coach George O'Neill played for Glasgow Celtic, USMNT, and a SE PA Soccer Hall of Fame inductee) during his 29-year men’s collegiate coaching career. During this time, he has coached numerous All-Conference, All-Region and All-American players and NSCAA academic award-winning players and teams.

In October, 2022, Norton was inducted into the Stockton University Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the Ospreys’ coaching staff on the 1999 team, which became the first Stockton team to reach the NCAA Final Four.

Norton has earned the prestigious United States Soccer Federation National “A” Coaching License, National Soccer Coaches Association of America Premier Diploma, Football Association of Ireland National “A” License (UEFA National “A” License), USSF National Youth License, Scottish Football Association National “A” Certificate, NSCAA Regional GK Diploma, and a State Level 2 Futsal License. His USSF "A" license course instructor was former USMNT U17 Head Coach Jay Miller. University of North Carolina women's Head Coach Anson Dorrance was one of his "B" license instructors along with former Clemson men's head coach Trevor Adair. The lead instructor for his NSCAA Premier Diploma course was former Southern Methodist University and FC Dallas Head Coach Schellas Hyndman.    

Norton was accepted to the prestigious Scottish Football Association National Coaching School in Largs, Scotland. He first traveled to Aberdeen for the C course before entering the B and A courses the following years in Largs. While earning his Scottish and Irish badges, his classmates consisted of many of Europe's leading coaches and players such as former Scottish national team captain John Collins from across the continent. His instructors included former Scottish national team head coaches Craig Brown, Walter Smith, and Craig Levein, and former Everton, Manchester United and West Ham manager David Moyes. At the FA Ireland’s national coaching in Dublin his classmates included many of Ireland’s leading professional and club coaches including former Irish Senior National Team Head Coach Brian Kerr. The “A” license (UEFA “A”) instructor Larry Mahony is a former club, college, professional coach and author whom Norton interviewed for a 2021 USC Soccer Journal article.

In 2003, Norton was asked by the Football Association of Ireland to provide player development strategies used in the United States as part of the F.A. Ireland’s Development Strategies 2002-2006: One Game, One Association, an outline to improve playing standards at all levels of Irish football over the next five years. Norton researched and met with leading club coaches, MLS Directors of Coaching and academy coaches, and administrators from across the country. He provided the FAI data from the year-long project about United Soccer Coaches and US Soccer coaching schools and the integration of their curriculum into American youth soccer.

In July 2013, Norton was selected to the Region 1 boys support coaching staff held at Rider University, where he served as an evaluator for the Boys Olympic Development Program (ODP). He worked with the country's leading East Region college, club, and state directors of coaching. Region 1 covers all the 15 state associations from Maine to Virginia. Staff coaches work with U.S. Soccer Federation national team coaches. Norton returned to that position again in July, 2014.

A boys’ staff coach for Mt. Laurel United Soccer and head coach for the MLU Premier 2010 boys team, Norton was the Director of Coaching for the Highland/Rush Youth Soccer Club from 2009-2018. In 2019 Norton was selected by New Jersey Youth Soccer to attend the US Soccer Grassroots Instructors course held in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. The course was taught by US Soccer Coach Educator Colin Barnes. Barnes was assisted by Western Pennsylvania Soccer Director of Coaching Dr. Terry Eguaoje. The course featured leading state coaching school instructors from across the East Region. Norton was the only New Jersey coach in the course. Upon passing the months-long course, Norton became a US Soccer Grassroots Instructor teaching the 4 v 4 | 7 v 7 | 9 v 9 and 11 v 11 courses.  

Norton serves as a state coaching school instructor for New Jersey Youth Soccer and the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association. (He has also taught courses for Maryland and Delaware Youth Soccer.) He has taught the USSF National “D”, “E”, and “F” license courses to over 7,500 coaches at every level of soccer. He is also an associate national staff coach for the United Soccer Coaches. 

A graduate of Gettysburg College with a BA in Sociology, Norton earned his Master’s degree in Communications from Rowan University. In addition to his college and club coaching and his coaching school duties he has worked as a color analyst for local Gloucester County high school and college games with South Jersey Hall of Fame inductee Marc Narducci. 

 Don Norton’s Published Articles  

Coaching A Youth Soccer Team When The Match Begins | Southern Soccer Scene | February 2004

Midfield Possession to Attack | Success in Soccer | July 2005

Coaching A Youth Soccer Team When The Match Begins | Soccer New England | January 2006

It’s All About The Players! | Success in Soccer | November 2008

Planning Your 12-month Season | NSCAA Journal | May 2011

Are Your Players Doing Their Soccer Homework? | NSCAA Journal | May 2012

 Choose Words Wisely When Coaching Kids | Soccer America.com | December 2012

 Assisting A College Soccer Professor | NSCAA Journal | January 2013

10 Tips For The Well-Organized Coach: presentation matters | Soccer America.com | March 5, 2013

Movement Off The Ball: The Key To Success | Success in Soccer | September 1, 2013

Evaluating Our Training Session | NSCAA Journal | November 1, 2013

Starting Your First Training Session | NSCAA Journal | February 2014

The Coachable Moment: Positive - Information - Positive | NSCAA Journal | December 2014

The Youth Soccer Parents’ Meeting | NSCAA Journal | January 2015

Small-Sided Games: A Key to More Technical Players | Soccer America.com | April 24, 2015

Building Your Attack From the Back | NSCAA Journal | March/April 2015

Training Two Strikers | NSCAA Journal | July/August 2015

Soccer On The Spectrum | NSCAA Journal | May/June 2016

Are Your Players Learning to Steal Real Estate? | NSCAA Journal | September/October 2016

Yelling At The Player With The Ball | NSCAA Journal | January/February 2017

Defending While Your Team Has The Ball | NSCAA Journal | March/April 2017

Training Players On The Spectrum | USC Soccer Journal | July/August 2017

Diversity in Attack: Attacking from the Flanks | USC Soccer Journal | September/October 2017

Defending For Younger Players | USC Soccer Journal | January/February 2018

Movement Off The Ball: The Key To Possession | USC Soccer Journal | March/April 2018

Rick Meana Director of Coaching for New Jersey Youth Soccer | USC Soccer Journal | March/April 2018

Dr. Terry Eguaoje Director of Coaching for Pennsylvania West Youth Soccer | USC Soccer Journal | Sept./Oct. 2018

Coaching in the Game: Individual and Team Tactical Decisions | USC Soccer Journal | March/April 2019

Interview with Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association Technical Director Mike Barr | USC Soccer Journal | May/June 2019

Interview with Kevin McCarthy, the Director of Youth Development for the Downtown United Soccer Club (NY) | USC Soccer Journal | September/October 2019

Interview with Giovanni Pacini, a United Soccer Coaches Academy staff member| USC Soccer Journal | January/February 2020

Interview with Tim Bradbury, the Director of Coaching Instruction for the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association | USC Soccer Journal | May/June 2020

Interview with Larry Mahony – Irish Coach, Educator and Author | USC Soccer Journal | May/June 2021

5 v 5 (Plus Keepers) One of My Favorite Training Sessions | USC Soccer Journal | May/June 2021

“Football with Future Stars, Tanzania” – Julian Light interview | USC Soccer Journal | March/April 2022

Are Your Players Learning to Steal Real Estate? | USC Soccer Journal | November/December 2022

Bob McNulty – New Jersey’s Early Coaching School Pioneer, College Coach and Mentor | Soccer Journal | Summer 2023