Tennant McVea

Tennant McVea
Personal information
Full name	James Tennant McVea
Date of birth	20 January 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth	Ballybeen, Northern Ireland
Position(s)	Centre Back
Team information
Current team	Lionsbridge FC
College career
Years	Team
2006–2009	Loyola Greyhounds
Senior career*
Years	Team
2006	Ards F.C.
2008–2009	Fredericksburg Gunners
2010	FC Lahti
2011–2012	Norfolk SharX (indoor)
2014–2017	Virginia Beach City FC
2018–2023	Lionsbridge FC
International career
2006	Northern Ireland U19
2006	Northern Ireland U18
2005–2006	Northern Ireland U18 Schools
2005	Northern Ireland U17
Managerial career
2008–2009	Fredericksburg Gunners Youth
2011	Northern Ireland U18 Schools (asst.)
2012	Beach FC Youth
2013–2015	Old Dominion Monarchs (asst.)
2016	Elon Phoenix (asst.)
2017–2024	Old Dominion Monarchs (assoc. head coach)
2024–	Old Dominion Monarchs
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 May 2020

James Tennant McVea (born 20 January 1988, in Ballybeen) is a Northern Irish former footballer, and manager. He has served as head coach for Old Dominion University men's soccer team since 2024.

Career

Early career in Northern Ireland

McVea played youth football for Ards FC in 2004. While at Ards, he made multiple international appearances for Northern Ireland at U17, U18, and U19 levels.^[1] McVea moved to the United States to attend and play college soccer at Loyola University Maryland, after being scouted by the then-coach for the Greyhounds, Mark Mettrick.^[2]

College

McVea played for four years at Loyola. In his freshman season, he was named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) All-Rookie, and MAAC Second Team squad. He was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, and earned spots on the league First Team, and the NSCAA/adidas North Atlantic Regional first team in his sophomore year.

In his Junior year he was again named MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, MAAC First Team, and the NSCAA/adidas North Atlantic Region first team but was also awarded NSCAA/adidas 1st Team All-American honors, and was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list.

As a senior, McVea was again on the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list and was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Year for a third straight year, making him the first player to receive the accolade in 3 consecutive seasons.^{[citation needed]} He was also a MAAC First Team selection, NSCAA/adidas North Atlantic Region first team selection, and was nominated for the prestigious Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.^[3]^[4] He finished his college career having played 83 games for the Greyhounds, with 6 goals and 2 assists to his name. He was named to the MAAC 40th Anniversary Men's Soccer Team on September 1, 2020.^[5]

Professional

McVea turned professional in 2010 when he signed to play in Finland for FC Lahti in the Veikkausliiga.^[6] He made his professional debut on April 17, 2010, in the team's 2010 season opener against FF Jaro.^[7]

McVae returned to the US to play for the now-defunct Norfolk SharX of the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 2011/2012 season.^[8]

Coaching

In 2011, McVea served as assistant coach of the Northern Ireland Schools Football Association in Belfast before returning to the US.

McVea then went on to served as an assistant coach for the Old Dominion Monarchs men's soccer team from 2013-2015, including during the team's 2014 Conference USA championship run. McVea left to serve as assistant coach to the Elon University men's soccer team for the 2016 season, but returned to ODU in 2017 as associate coach.^[9] McVea was named head coach of the ODU team in 2023, following the retirement of long-time coach Alan Dawson.^[10]