The Tulsa Revolution signed forward Levi Coleman on Monday. Coleman is a Tulsa native and is the first Revolution player under contract for the team’s inaugural year in the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL).
Coleman, a 6’2″ forward, has extensive soccer experience, having played youth league and competitive soccer as a youngster. His collegiate career includes time at Florida International University and Univ. Missouri – Kansas City, where he led the Kangaroos to the Summit League championship in 2009.
Coleman played his freshman and sophomore years at Booker T. Washington High School (Tulsa, OK), then played his last two years at Broken Arrow High School. He scored 21 goals and tallied 15 assists to lead Broken Arrow his senior season. Coleman finished as Oklahoma State runner-up three times during his career (freshman, junior and senior years). He earned all-conference, all-district, all-state and Tulsa World Metro Player of the Year honors his senior year. Coleman finished his high school career with 72 goals and 40 assists. In Club Soccer, Coleman played for OKC Spirit, and helped the team advance to the Oklahoma State Cup finals four consecutive seasons from 2002-2005, winning the title in 2004.
At Florida International University (2006-2007), Coleman was named to the Conference USA all-Freshman team, playing in 15 games, including starts against San Francisco and East Carolina. He made the most of his limited playing time his first year by scoring four goals and adding an assist. In his sophomore year, Coleman saw action in all 18, earning 17 starts.
After two years at FIU, Coleman transferred to University Missouri – Kansas City. During his junior year, Coleman was named a Second Team all-Summit League selection, and earned a spot on the all-Newcomer team. He started 19 matches and finished with three goals and six assists for a total of 12 points. the six assists were tied for the team-high, while the 12 points were third most on the squad. Coleman ranked 82nd in the nation in assists per game (.32), tied for second in the league in assists (6), tied for third in assists per game (.32) and was 10th in points per game (.67). He scored his first goal in Blue and Gold and added an assist in the 3-1 win at Florida Atlantic (9/5), tallied an assist in helping UMKC top Oakland to win The Summit League title (2009) and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Coleman signed his first professional contract with the Charleston Battery in April 2010 after being spotted at the 2010 USL PDL Showcase, and giving a strong performance in the pre-season Carolina Challenge Cup. He made his professional debut, and scored his first professional goal, on April 17, 2010 in a 3-2 win over the Charlotte Eagles.
Levi recently played for the NPSL’s Tulsa Athletics where they went undefeated in regular season play.
Levi previously competed in the PASL for Kansas Magic and Kansas City Kings and is no stranger to indoor soccer. His experience with the MISL’s Missouri Comets saw him honing his skills.
“Levi has significant experience at the professional level, and being a local player he’ll help the other guys adjust to the professional game,” said Revolution head coach Michael Nsien. “He has a great demeanor and we expect him to be a leader on the team.”
Coleman is a Tulsan who is the Director of Tulsa Happy Feet, a mobile soccer clinic that provides soccer classes to children of all ages in the area schools. He wants to continue to play professional soccer and be a role model for local youth.
“You can be as good as you want to be.” Coleman said, “The important thing is to practice and practice and build confidence. Don’t settle for where you are, you can be a great player. Just practice consistently and from there your confidence will grow.”
The Revolution will begin play in the PASL next month with three road matches against Illinois, Chicago and Dallas before returning home to the Cox Business Center (formerly the Tulsa Convention Center) on November 22nd against the Hidalgo La Fiera.
Ticket information can be obtained by logging on to tulsarevolution.pointstreaksites.com or by calling the Revolution office at 918-978-0900.