In 1994, the Embry-Riddle athletic administration made the decision to turn its ailing soccer program around. A nationwide search produced England native, David Gregson, a young coach looking for his first head coaching opportunity. Now in his 30th year with the Blue and Gold, Gregson continues to show the administration that they made the right choice.
As a young man growing up in England and through his collegiate years as a student-athlete, Gregson enjoyed a fair amount of success in the game of soccer. He has since translated his success as a player into success in the coaching realm as he has become one of the most respected soccer coaches in the country.
Gregson garnered one of the highest coaching honors in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in 2011-12 when he was selected as the NAIA Coach of Character Award Winner. The Coach of Character Award is given annually to an NAIA head coach who has been outstanding in embracing the five core values of the NAIA Champions of Character initiative (integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership), using methods of teaching character through sport, and in community leadership through volunteering or service.
In 2003, Gregson celebrated his 10th anniversary as a head coach by achieving his 100th career victory and guided the Eagles to the national tournament quarterfinals for the first time in program history. The Eagles ended the 2003 season ranked No. 8 nationally and set new program single-season marks for overall wins (18), overall winning percentage (.880) and conference winning percentage (.950). In addition, the 2003 team was the recipient of the inaugural Nels Dahlquist Memorial Sportsmanship Award for displaying the best sportsmanship at the national tournament.
In 2007, the Eagles returned to the NAIA National quarterfinals, winning the Florida Sun Conference regular season and Region XIV titles on the way. Two seasons later, Gregson's squad matched its best performance on the national stage, winning The Sun Conference regular season and tournament titles en route to the NAIA National Tournament quarterfinals.
Prior to Gregson’s arrival at Embry-Riddle, the men’s soccer program enjoyed only one winning season in five years. Under Gregson’s watchful eye, the Eagles have gone 255-198-40 overall with a 143-94-14 record in league play, have garnered eight conference regular season titles, three conference tournament titles, five NAIA Region XIV championships and made nine NAIA national tournament appearances. His achievements have not gone unnoticed as Gregson has been recognized as the Conference Coach of the year seven times and has been named NAIA Regional Coach of the Year on five occasions.
During his tenure, Gregson has produced 22 All-Americans, 34 honorable mention All-Americans, eight conference and seven Region XIV Player of the Year picks, 41 All-Region and 118 All-Conference honorees.
Gregson has also made academic success a priority among his student-athletes as evidenced by the fact that ERAU men’s soccer has consistently posted a team grade point average above a 3.0. The 2006 squad achieved a No. 1 ranking in the NAIA and was recognized as a College Team Academic Award Winner by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Not only did the Eagles’ team grade point average of 3.53 meet the minimum qualification requirements for the award for the fourth year in a row, they also posted the highest team GPA of any men’s soccer program at any level in the country, including NCAA I, NCAA II, NCAA III and the NAIA. The 2005 squad carried a 3.10 team GPA and was one of only four in the nation at any level to post top-ten finishes in both athletics and academics. Embry-Riddle received the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for the third straight year in 2022 and twelfth time overall. Programs must earn a team GPA at or above 3.0 to acquire the honor.
Over the last 29 years, the Eagles have had 45 NAIA All-America Scholar Athletes, four Academic All-Americans and 31 Academic All-District selections as selected by the College Sports Communicators, and 238 Academic All-Conference honorees.
After playing for Lancashire and England Schoolboys at the U-19 level, Gregson came to the United States to continue his soccer career in 1987 and accepted a full scholarship to perennial NCAA Division I power, Hartwick College. Under the tutelage of one of the finest soccer instructors in the country, Jim Lennox, Gregson distinguished himself among the Hartwick elite, becoming the team’s first three-year captain and two-time MVP.
After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Management and French at Hartwick, Gregson moved onto the University of Scranton (Pa.) where he completed his Master of Science degree in Secondary Education and began his coaching journey. He was an assistant coach to both the men’s and women’s programs, helping them both to back-to-back national tournament berths.
While at Scranton, Gregson became involved with the NSCAA as a regional instructor and taught both state and regional license courses to coaches in the local area. He holds a Premier Badge from the NSCAA and serves as a national staff coach for the organization. In addition, he is the NSCAA Region Technical Director for Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana and holds an “A” license from the United States Soccer Federation.
Gregson is also involved at both the state and local levels. He serves as the Florida Director of Coaching Education programs at all levels. On a local level, the Embry-Riddle/Dave Gregson Soccer Academy teaches fundamentals to young players, while the highly popular team camps service the needs of the more competitive local players.
Coach Gregson has two daughters, Jenna and Kailey, and resides in Port Orange with his wife Nicole and their son Liam.
