The St. Louis Ambush indoor soccer team announced a change in ownership structure yesterday in a press conference held at the Family Arena in St. Charles. Staying true to his track record of creating teams and leagues and then selling them, majority owner Andrew Haines has finally sold his stake in the franchise. The new ownership group includes Head Coach Tony Glavin, Shelly and Will Clark, and Dr. Elizabeth Perez.
Glavin was hired as Head Coach of the Ambush in December, marking the return to the indoor game of one of the sport’s legends. He was a midfielder/forward for the Steamers from 1980 to 1985. He also began his coaching career with the Steamers, serving as Assistant Coach from 1985 to 1987 and Head Coach from 1987 to 1988. He finished his indoor playing career with the Kansas City Comets, where he was Assistant Coach from 1989 to 1990 and player/Assistant Coach from 1990 to 1991. He also served as Head Coach for the Dayton Dynamo in 1990.
In 1994, Glavin founded the Tony Glavin Soccer Club in Cottleville. The club started with 11 youth teams in 1994 and has grown to over 30 teams today. In 2005, he was awarded a franchise in the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (USL PDL). That franchise became the St. Louis Lions and Tony has served as Head Coach since the team’s inception. Glavin also manages the Tony Glavin Soccer Complex, a 19-acre facility with five outdoor and one indoor fields.
Will and Shelly Clark have been part of the current Ambush ownership group since the beginning. They own Cardinal Surveying & Mapping, LLC and Cardinal Continuing Education, LLC. Shelly has a Bachelors of Science in Education from Kent State University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. She is also a Land Surveyor in Training in Missouri. Dr. Elizabeth Perez joined the Ambush ownership group in July. She is a Chiropractor and owner of Perez Family Chiropractic in St. Charles. A St. Charles native, Dr. Perez is a wife and mother of four. She received her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Logan College of Chiropractic. She has obtained an advanced degree in Rehabilitation, a certification in Veterinary Orthopedic Medicine and is currently working on her certification in Functional Medicine.
With the Lions and his other soccer ventures, Glavin has shown a consistent commitment to the St. Louis and St. Charles soccer communities. He said he is looking forward to expanding his role. “I am grateful for this opportunity to continue my involvement in our great soccer community. As Head Coach and Co-Owner of the Ambush, I will work hard to give our fans a successful product both on and off the pitch.”
The Ambush kick off the pre-season next weekend when they travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to tangle with the Rampage in a pre-season friendly on Friday, October 7. The next night, the two teams meet again at the Family Arena for a second pre-season contest this Saturday, October 8. The Saturday match will be part of the annual Fan Fest, which will include inflatables for the kids from Twist and Bounce, LLC outside the arena from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. with the first kick slated for 7:00. Following the match, fans will be able to come down on the turf to meet players and get autographs.
The Ambush will commence their 2016-17 home schedule on November 19 at the Family Arena. The team will compete in the Central Division of the 17-team Major Arena Soccer League. The complete season schedule is available on their official website, stlambush.com. Season and group tickets are available now. Call the Ambush office at 636-477-6363 for more information.
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We stopped giving the Ambush coverage early last season after one of our writers, Matthew Bird, wrote an article calling for a coaching change and predicting an 0-5 start for them after their first game and loss of the season. He also pointed out Haines’ well documented history of not paying players, having debts piled up, a new LLC forming, selling teams and leaving local ownership with the debts. Haines had already been evicted from his office space and then went on to sell the St. Louis Attack indoor football team, who became the River City Raiders. The writing was on the wall that history was repeating itself. Surprised he managed to stay in town as long as he did. We were threatened by them and it was demanded that the article be taken down. We were removed from notifications on press conferences and releases and probably had our media passes revoked as well. The team ended up going 0-6 and fired their head coach…
Unfortunately we didn’t get any entertaining voicemails to share with you like one of his former head coaches did after the same truths were made public:
Mick Lite served for 12 years in the military and is now an entrepreneur and photographer. Has worked as the official scorer and social media manager for the River City Rascals, Statistician for the Missouri Monsters and St. Louis Attack arena football teams, and as the Team Photographer and social media consultant for the St. Charles Chill, SLU Hockey, St. Louis Slam, and Gateway Grizzlies.
