Willy Merrick enters his fourth season as the head men's soccer coach at Ohio Dominican University. During this span, he has compiled an overall record of 30-18-7, including a 13-5-2 record in the team’s inaugural season at the Division II level in 2010. Merrick spent three seasons as the top assistant to former head coach Eric Nichols before becoming the eighth head coach in program history.

During the 2010 campaign, Merrick guided the Panthers to a second place finish in the GLIAC regular season standings and a runner-up finish in the GLIAC tournament, falling 6-5 in a penalty kick shootout to No. 21 and top seed Ashland. Merrick also helped lead the team to a 2-1 overtime victory over fourth-ranked Charleston (W.Va.) en route to receiving 2010 GLIAC Coach of the Year honors.

In three seasons at the helm, Merrick has coached two NCAA Division II All-Midwest Region performers and 16 all-conference performers.

Prior to joining the Panthers staff, Merrick spent five years as the head varsity soccer coach at Thomas Worthington High School.  During that time, he led the team to the 2001 State Championship, 2002 State Runner-Up, two consecutive regional finals and earned a No. 6 ranking in the National Top 25 Boys High School Soccer poll.  In 2000, Merrick was named the Ohio Capital Conference Coach of the Year.  In addition to coaching at Thomas Worthington, Merrick held coaching positions at Westerville North High School and the Eagles Soccer Club of Upper Arlington, and is currently coaching with the Columbus Crew Soccer Club.

Merrick spent seven years playing professional soccer with stints with the Buffalo Blizzards, Columbus XOGGZ, Cincinnati Silverbacks, Lexington Bandits and the Indiana Blast of the United States Independent Soccer League (USISL).

He began playing collegiate soccer with the University of Rio Grande before transferring to Marshall University, where he was a three-year letterwinner in soccer and football from 1989 to 1992.  In 1992, he was a member of the Division I-AA National Championship football team at Marshall.

Merrick and his wife, Joyce, reside in Columbus with his three step-children, Austin, Andrick and Ashley.