MELBOURNE, Fla. (November 6, 2021) - Jeff Carr never imagined he would be inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame when he started the Eastern Florida State College women's soccer program in 2010.

But 11 years and 150 wins later, Carr will be inducted in the NJCAA Women's Soccer Hall of Fame on Nov. 14 before the start of the NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament at Daytona State College.

"I never thought that it would grow to where we are today. I just knew we had to get better every day, we had to grind and have that chip on your shoulder to never be content and never be satisfied. I just wanted to be competitive and not embarrass the school. I would never have imagined us having this much success," said Carr who is also the college's associate vice president for athletics.

Carr started the women's soccer program from scratch, remembering back to the days without a field to play on, playing the first scrimmage on the baseball field to practicing on a field with a tree on it and mound after mound of fire ants. They played games all over Brevard County, from Palm Bay Regional and Melbourne Central Catholic to Viera Regional Park until they built what is now called Orlando Health Stadium on the Melbourne campus.

And despite those challenges, Carr led the team to the national tournament eight straight seasons and finished runner-up twice in 2012 and 2015.

"I am really proud of what we have done, with the support of Dr. Richey and Jack Parker, its special," Carr said. "We have done a lot in a small period of time and we are fortunate that the Eastern Florida State College women's soccer program is one of the top programs in the country year in and year out." 

Carr is quick to point out that it is the players that have made all of this possible and the Newcastle, Ontario native has had some really special players over the years.

"I have been fortunate enough to recruit some really special players that make your program great. I think you can be a good coach and if you can't recruit the best, it really won't matter," Carr said. "If you look at some of the teams we had, we had a 29-goal scorer and another with 27 and several more that have scored in the teens. But the true secret is the love they had for each other, the chemistry on almost all of the teams is what made us so successful year after year.

"It has been a blessing to be here from the beginning and see the fruits of all that labor, but I am so excited about all of the young ladies I have had the pleasure of coaching. Some are mothers, some are playing professionally, some are having great careers in whatever they have chosen to do. To see them do well is special. The relationships are what I cherish, even more than the wins. To be honest, I don't remember the wins as much as I remember the losses. Fortunately, we don't have as many losses, but I remember some still to this day."

As this year's team is preparing to compete in the national tournament for the 10th straight season looking for its first title, it is only fitting that the coach that started it all will be recognized before the tournament begins.

After all, Carr had some of his biggest wins and most memorable moments during the national tournament.

 "We made some great runs, even when we were seeded really low, we made a great run to the final four," Carr said. "It was exciting, even the games we lost were exciting, most were close one-goal games. The process to get there and we never, ever thought we wouldn't get out of pool play, that was our mentality. And the teams bought into what we preached and it just carried over from every class to the next. The new girls learned from the returners that that is how it is here.

"I wouldn't trade it for anything, it was very special."