Irish Coaches Abroad - Former Cork City and UCD star John Dineen making waves in the States

Formerly of UCD, Cork City and Cobh Ramblers - Kerryman John Dineen is now working as a full-time assistant coach with the University of Delaware’s men’s side.

His role across the Atlantic sees the Tralee native work with former Leeside star Ian Hennessy, the same individual who was the first of two Corkonian’s to play in the MLS.

In terms of his footballing pedigree itself, the former League of Ireland midfielder played a small, yet visible part with UCD’s 2009 First Division title winners – a team that has earned plenty of acclaim in recent weeks.

30-year-old Dineen is a master’s degree holder in Coaching and Exercise Science from UCD, but it was only after realising he could not make a living for himself playing in the professional ranks when he made the move towards coaching.

“I was lucky enough that I came over to the US to continue to play and continue my education on a scholarship,” Dineen told extratime.ie. “After I finished, I knew I wasn’t good enough to play at a high level, so I stayed on as a volunteer coach with the university I’m at now.

“I then went back to Ireland to study for a masters in Coaching and Exercise Science in UCD with the plan to always come back to US.

“I was lucky that when I came back the former assistant was leaving to take a job with the Philadelphia Union in the MLS. Ian (Hennessy) asked if I wanted to take the job so I was fortunate.

“We have players here now who could drop down the divisions in their own countries, but they realise the opportunity they have in the US to play at a decent level.

“We train five days a week and play a game once a week. The facilities are as good as anywhere else. It’s professional football without having a salary.”

While enjoying his current position, it was not until the Munster native was in his early teenage years before he opted to embark on the journey to top-flight football.

“Gaelic football was my first sport growing up,” he added. “Being from Kerry. I think it’s every lad’s first sport.

“In Kerry, I was fortunate that at under-13s and 14s we had high-level coaches who happened to be there at the time.

“We were treated very professionally, and we ended up getting to the Kennedy Cup final at under-13s level. From that I started swaying towards soccer when I was 13 or 14 and that’s when it took over.

“I joined Cork City and was fortunate that I was there when they were successful. I was with the youth team, but I used to train with the first-team quite a lot.

“I went up to UCD after, but they were struggling at the time and they were going to go down so the thought process was that a lot of those guys were going to leave and they were going to give the players in the under-20s side a chance.

“I didn’t play that much there, and I made about 7 or 8 appearances in the end, but it was great being around that team (in 2009).

“The training sessions were probably tougher than some of the games we played. Shels and Sporting Fingal were good that year, but we had a squad of 30 players and our training sessions were all out wars at sometimes.

“It was usually the A team vs the B team, so I was there trying to look after Ronan Finn and Greg Bolger in centre midfield, it was great experience for me.”

From there, there was a short spell at Turners Cross after he left UCD with a long-term foot injury – before he was offered a scholarship at the University of Delaware, where he is now today.

“I sat on the bench for a couple of weeks (with Cork) and then I played a League Cup game vs Bluebell and then I got this opportunity to go to the US.

“I spoke to the Head Coach two years previous about heading over but I wasn’t interested at the time because I was chasing a career in the League of Ireland. 

“The chance to go over to the US and play full-time football without being a professional was great for me, and it was one I could not turn down after I realised where I was at then.”

After completing his undergraduate studies, a trip closer to home beckoned in UCD where he would not only attain a master’s degree, but also return to the League of Ireland.

“I came back to study at UCD to do my masters, and I started playing in the Leinster Senior League with them while I was there.

“There was a six-month period when I was waiting for my visa and I thought I’d give my playing days another whack.

“I got in contact with Stuart Ashton and I played a pre-season friendly/trial game against Limerick for Cobh. I did alright and Stephen Henderson asked if I wanted to sign.

“The way it then worked out was that my visa came ahead of time, so I was back off to the States. It was always supposed to be short, but they knew that.”

Now in the States in a full-time coaching environment, Dineen has the world at his feet, in a coaching capacity at least.

“The job opportunities that come from this (job) are great. The guy who was here before me was the assistant while I was here at the university too, but he’s now the Head of Talent Identification for the Philadelphia Union’s Academy now.

“The guy who was there before him is now the Head Scout for Manchester United in North America, so the career path is great.”

However, in terms of the future – he is unsure as to what coaching path he may take next. “Football is such an unstable environment,” the UCD masters graduate concludes. “I don’t know what my career path is, but I would like to coach younger kids in development.

“I would say in this country underage development has been behind for a long time. There’s lots of talented footballers over here but the development hasn’t been great. 

“Coaching kids would be something I’d like to get into, and I suppose my manner probably suits that a bit better than the adult game.

“However, I’m relatively new in this position too so I need to get my feet a little bit wetter and see what opportunities open up because in reality I’m probably not going to manage Barcelona!”