Ryan McDonald
Assistant Coach
Ryan McDonald is back at Franklin Road Academy. After attending FRA for 4 years he is back to coach soccer following in his father’s footsteps- Ken McDonald. After graduating from FRA, McDonald was recruited by the University of Louisville where he played for four years. His senior year he led the team in goals and ranked second on the team in scoring with 14 points (6 goals, 2 assists). His team in 2008 went 11-8-2. He was elected the team’s most valuable player during his 2011 senior year, when he had eight goals and seven assists in 16 games. After his collegiate career ended, the Nashville, Tenn., product played in the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL) for the Louisville Lightning from 2009-13.He also played and captained the Nashville Metros of the PDL from 2009-2014. Lastly, he finished up his professional career playing and captaining the Toledo United/Toledo Villa team from 2015-2017.
After his time playing McDonald switched his sights to coaching. McDonald was a recreational soccer coach year-round from 2009-2015 until accepting this position at Adrian College. He also was a club/select coach in the fall of 2011 and managed the overall youth program. McDonald served as head soccer coach at Waggener High School in the fall of 2013. In addition, he worked at Superkick/Teamzone in Columbus, Ohio as a facility operator and soccer trainer. McDonald was an integral part of the historic milestones Adrian saw over his four seasons as an assistant coach, building the success the program has seen in recent years. In 2017, Adrian hosted its first-ever MIAA tournament home game and made its debut in the championship game after beating Hope College in the conference semifinals. The Bulldogs put together back-to-back winning seasons to compile a 22-14-2 record, tying the school record of 11 victories and placing as the MIAA regular-season runner-up for their highest finish ever. McDonald helped coach eight all-conference selections as an assistant, plus the program's first two CoSIDA Academic All-American® finalists which included Tad Davis in 2017. McDonald has worked as a camp counselor at the University of Louisville, Bellarmine University and Franklin Road Academy. He has also worked with the Mockingbird Valley Soccer Club in a variety of roles.(Can just delete that part) In 2018 he was hired as the head coach and in his first season he led the Bulldogs to an 8-8-1 mark, setting a school record for most wins by a first-year head coach.Adrian finished tied for second in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), the second straight year AC finished second and hosted an MIAA semifinal. The Bulldogs defeated Trine University in penalty kicks to advance to the championship game for the second consecutive year. Had four members of the Black and Gold named All-MIAA with senior Tad Davis named a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American®.
He is married to his wife Maggie who will be working at Vanderbilt as a nurse. They also have a Golden Retriever puppy named Mavrik! He is excited to be involved in the soccer programs and ready to continue the success of his father and other coaches over the years.
Ken McDonald
Assistant Coach
Ken McDonald is what you would call a soccer staple at FRA. Starting at a young age he got recruited to many colleges but ended up choosing The Penn State University. He had four glorious seasons playing for the Nittany Lions. After graduation he played professionally for the San Jose Earthquakes in the National Soccer League. He then made moves to the Tulsa Roughnecks, the Pennsylvania Stoners, the Denver Avalanche, finally ending at the St. Louis Steamers. Was there any team he did not play for? After his playing career ended Ken turned to coaching. He became the head Women’s Soccer Coach at Vanderbilt and coaching for 10 year there. In 1993 and 1994 the team won the SEC Championship. Ken was nominated SEC Coach of the year in 1993 and 1994. After his time at Vanderbilt Ken made the move to Franklin Road Academy. He has coached here ever since. In the years 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007 the FRA team won the Girls State Championships. Now Ken is assisting his son for the men’s team and is the Bus Fleet Manager in his spare time. Ken is so looking forward to coaching with his son and that his son has come back home to Nashville.
Michael Bartha
Assistant Coach
Matthew Groves
Assistant Coach
Matthew Groves is excited to serve as a faculty fellow in the upper school science department. As a Christian and proud Appalachian, Matthew’s enthusiasm for both faith and science led him to study physics and religion at the College of William & Mary in Virginia in 2016, followed by a Master of Divinity at Vanderbilt in 2019. He is looking forward to helping FRA students talk about how science fits into their faith, both in the physics classroom and as an assistant on boys’ and girls’ soccer and the robotics team. His wife Sarah is a cancer researcher at Vanderbilt. They enjoy gardening, cooking, reading, playing with their dog Millie, and praying for the US Men's soccer team to make the World Cup in 2022.
Kevin Ford
Assistant Coach
Brian Miller
Assistant Coach
We are looking forward to returning to interscholastic athletic competitions beginning the week of September 8. Attendance at all home competitions will be limited to two immediate family members per FRA student athlete. While we are not currently allowing any visitors or students to attend competitions, we continue to evaluate options for future games.
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