Coaches

• Lumumba Shabazz, Varsity Head Coach

• Sam Stern, Asst. Varsity Coach

• Melissa Dobbyn, JV Coach

• Michael Bona, Freshmen Coach

Bio of Coach Lumumba Shabazz

In 2008, Lumumba Shabazz will begin his first year as the Pioneer Men's varsity team coach. A recent transplant to the Ann Arbor area, Shabazz has been involved with Pioneer soccer for the past three years, serving as both the JV Boys and Freshmen Girls coach.

Coach Shabazz has enjoyed a twenty-year amateur, collegiate and professional playing career with teams in Germany, Colombia, the US and the Caribbean. He has also represented Trinidad and Tobago at both the junior and senior national team levels. He played collegiately at both Long Island University (NY) and Florida International University in Miami with MLS stars like Jeff Cassar (Dallas Burn), Roger Thomas (Jamaican International and Miami Fusion), Tyrone Marshall (Jamaican international and LA Galaxy/Toronto FC), Steve Ralston (USA international and captain of New England Revolution) and Giovanni Savarese (former New York Red Bulls star and current youth director).

In addition, Shabazz has over 12 years coaching at the club, high school and collegiate level in New York, Miami and Michigan. He previously coached at G. Holmes Braddock High in Miami Florida, where the team won numerous sportsmanship and fair play awards, league and district championships, and challenged consistently for the state title. During his time at Braddock, Shabazz graduated several top players to the collegiate and professional ranks, including Pedro Power of Miami FC and current Conference USA collegiate player of the year, Juan Guerra. Additionally, Shabazz also served as the assistant collegiate coach at Pratt Institute (NY) for two seasons in both the Men and Women's programs.

Coach Shabazz currently holds both the National B License and the National Youth License administered by the United States Soccer Federation. He also holds the NSCAA National Goalkeeper Diploma, in addition to several coaching certificates on Fitness, Speed and Agility and Soccer Camp administration from the English Football Administration.

In a further bid to continue his commitment to professional coaching development, Coach Shabazz completed a two week internship at West Ham United in London under the tutelage and watchful eye of legendary master coach, Professor Tony Carr. West Ham United of the English Premier league is one of the most prestigious professional soccer clubs in the world, and their Youth Academy, where Shabazz spent most of his time, is world renowned for developing excellent young players. Under Professor Carr, who has over 40 years of coaching and developing superstars like Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick of Manchester United, and Joe Cole and Frank Lampard of Chelsea, Coach Shabazz studied tactics and technique, game analysis and the latest in soccer sports science.

Coach Shabazz is also a dedicated lecturer and clinician who educate young players around the country on the role of nutrition in developing sporting excellence. He has also lectured extensively on issues of leadership, goal setting, and teamwork. His humor filled, inspirational lectures are often very well received because Shabazz teaches that the many lessons and values that a player can learn in soccer are often a great metaphor for what that player can learn in life.

Coach Shabazz is currently finishing work on his first book for the youth soccer audience called Make the Ball Happy. Similar to the Chicken Soup series storied format, MTBH will feature inspirational soccer stories and lessons that anyone who is passionate about the sport will enjoy. MTBH summarizes Shabazz's soccer philosophy quite succinctly because it emphasizes the fun, joy and passionate side of playing. It also emphasizes the development of creative dribbling skills, ball mastery and the willingness to take risks when confronted with challenges. MTBH is due to be self published and released in November 2008.

Lastly, Coach Shabazz is looking forward to his tenure as varsity coach because the program has quite a number of talented players and Shabazz is confident that he and the rest of the coaching staff's experience and hunger for success will result in great steps forward for Pioneer soccer.

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Bio of Coach Sam Stern

As a graduate from Pioneer High School in 2004 and former player in the men's soccer program from 2000 to 2003, Samuel Stern is well acquainted with the elite quality of academics, athletics, and character at Pioneer High School. In fact, Sam has never really left, having moved on to the University of Michigan where he has completed his teacher's certification in Social Studies and Psychology and will finish his double major in History and Psychology this fall. Sam continued his playing with the University of Michigan's club soccer team, the winners of a national club title in 2006, and a participant in the 2007 Final Four.

However, what Sam considers to be a more profound an experience than his time playing at U of M, Sam began his coaching career at Pioneer High School. After earning his National E license, Sam took on the Pioneer Men's Freshman soccer team in the Fall of 2006. After a rewarding season with the Pioneer men, Sam assisted Chris Morgan with the Varsity women in the Spring of 2007. Sam continued to assist Coach Morgan with the undefeated Varsity men in the Fall of 2007, and most recently assisted with the Varsity women in the Spring of 2008.

While coaching and going to school, Sam has also been committed to a variety of human services in the Ann Arbor area. Sam has been a board member of C.O.P.E. (Center for Occupational and Personalized Education) alternative school since 2005, aiding the agency in its mission to provide a secure and productive academic environment for at-risk students struggling to achieve their goals in public school. Sam has also been a director for the TOPSoccer program (The Outreach Program for Soccer) in the Ann Arbor area since the Fall of 2006. A program for which Sam's players often volunteer, TOPSocer is a soccer program for children with mild to severe mental and physical impairments.

For Sam, coaching is an opportunity to teach the game that he loves and perhaps more importantly, teach the life lessons of that game to young people. Sam coaches like his hair is on fire and seeks to express the game and its value through powerful relationships built with his players. As one attracted to roles of leadership, committed to human service and teaching young people, coaching soccer has always been a natural ambition for Sam, and he is grateful for the privilege to have begun and to continue this journey at Pioneer High School.

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Bio of Coach Melissa Dobbyn

Melissa Dobbyn will begin her first year as the Pioneer Girl’s JV coach in the 2009 season. Melissa has been living in Ann Arbor for the past five years, as a student-athlete at the University of Michigan, playing for their women’s soccer team. She is originally from Livonia, Michigan, where she attended, as well as played soccer at Livonia Stevenson High School.

At the University of Michigan, Melissa is finishing up her undergraduate studies in Physical Education and health education, and is currently student teaching at Thurston Elementary School in Ann Arbor. She will soon be leaving Thurston to continue her student teaching at Pioneer High School in Physical Education. She will be graduating from U of M in May of 2009.

Besides playing soccer for U-M, Melissa also played for the Michigan Hawks women’s team from 2005-2008, which competed in the country’s most prestigious league for women, the W-League. Her and her team had a lot of success, earning trips to the playoffs for 3 consecutive years, and winning the conference title in 2005 and 2006. Melissa was also named MVP of the W-League in 2005, as well as U-19 player of the year, which were her 2 greatest accolades as a soccer player.

In the fall of 2008, Melissa trained a Dexter Soccer Club U-12 girl’s team, which was an experience she thoroughly enjoyed. She has also trained multiple teams and players from the Ann Arbor United Soccer Club, and has been a trainer at numerous soccer camps over the past 4 years, including U-M, Ann Arbor United, and Michigan Hawks.

Melissa feels that coaching will be her opportunity to share her passion for the game of soccer with young girls. As her playing career has come to an end, she is very excited about continuing with her involvement in soccer at such a well-known and athletically talented high school.

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Bio of Coach Michael Bona

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