How did former coach John Melody help change the landscape for soccer in Erie?
One in a series of profiles from the Erie Times-News on the Metropolitan Erie Sports Hall of Fames’ 2023 class.
The Metropolitan Erie Sports Hall of Fame will enshrine its latest inductees on June 28.
It’s a class top-heavy with coaches, which includes former Mercyhurst University soccer coach John Melody. The speech by the Dungarvan, Ireland, native should stand out from others because of his distinct accent.
It's an accent Melody hasn’t lost it since he enrolled at Mercyhurst University in 1986. That year, he traveled overseas to attend the school and compete for its men’s soccer program.
The 1990 graduate returned to his home country to play as a professional, but returned to northwestern Pennsylvania several years later.
“You don’t make life plans when you go back that far,” Melody said. “Obviously, I knew I was going to be here for four years, but who knows what happens after that. I did leave after I graduated but came back to coach Mercyhurst.”
“Been here ever since.”
A local soccer staple
Melody joined the soccer staff of his college alma mater in 1995. He was promoted to head coach of the Mercyhurst men’s and women’s teams, which he simultaneously led from 1997-2001.
Mercyhurst’s men were 70-21-4 over that span and its women 72-19-6. Melody received multiple coach of the year awards for each program from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The inductees: Which coaches, athletes have been named to the Metro Erie Sports Hall of Fame 2023 class?
Melody also assisted the soccer staffs for the rival Gannon University Golden Knights in years that followed. Last fall, he returned to Mercyhurst and served as the interim coach for its women’s team.
However, the Erie Commodores FC represents Melody’s largest contribution to the sport.
The Commodores, originally the Erie Admirals SC, began play in 2009 as a member of the National Premier Soccer League. Pedro Argaez, the club’s founder, hired Melody as the original coach.
Melody assumed ownership several years later and rebranded the club with its current name in 2015. He also initiated the creation of a United Women’s Soccer team under that same banner in 2021.
Erie’s soccer landscape is vastly larger than when Melody initially stepped on Mercyhurst’s campus 37 years ago.
“We’ve absolutely seen it grow with men’s and women’s college soccer and now at the professional level,” he said. “Soccer is in a good place and to be part of that growth is pleasing, for sure.”
Melody’s commitment to Erie as a home away from home isn’t limited to that sport. He's also a full or partial owner of the local U Pick 6 restaurants, plus the John Russell Brewing Company on upper Peach Street.
'Strive to do wonderful things'
Melody arrived in Erie the same year the hall’s inaugural class was enshrined. Current president Nancy Eisenman-Elwell is trying to determine if he's its first European-born inductee.
Foreign import or not, Melody’s local contributions on and off the pitch make him an easy example of the proverbial American dream.
“We’re still trying to live it,” he said. “That’s a daily thing. We’ll continue to strive to do wonderful things in this community.”
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: John Melody changes soccer landscape in Erie, earns Hall induction
