UTM head soccer coach Phil McNamara has named Alex Zaroyan as a graduate assistant for the 2020 season. Zaroyan will work primarily with the goalkeepers along with assuming other day-to-day coaching duties.
“We are delighted to hire Alex to complete our staff for the fall season,” McNamara said. “I think it is an exciting challenge and opportunity for him. He will gain experience in every aspect of the job of coaching a women’s soccer program at the NCAA Division I level. Alex’s experience with breaking the game down on video and his goalkeeping qualifications made him stand out verses all other candidates for the position. His experience coaching on the junior college level and in the state of California could be a major asset on the recruiting front in the future. I know he is eager to get started and working with both our domestic players from all over the United States and our Internationals from several different countries. We are excited to welcome Alex to the UTM community.”
Zaroyan joins the Skyhawks after spending the 2019-20 campaign at Angelia College where he was an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s soccer teams. After a change in leadership during the season, Zaroyan and Fergus O’Connor co-led the program throughout the season and combined to go 18-18-2 between the two programs. While with the Roadrunners he helped lead both teams to the postseason while watching the men’s team notch its first playoff victory in one of the toughest conferences in the JUCO ranks along with knocking off a nationally ranked opponent. Academically, his players led all other sports at Angelina on the President’s and Dean’s academic lists.
“I am extremely excited to be joining the staff at UTM,” Zaroyan said. “UTM’s continued success in the OVC alongside a youthful and competitive squad shows the amount of talent embedded within the coaches and players. I am grateful for Phil (McNamara) and Leslie (Gillies) for showing me great hospitality and respect during the hiring process. Ultimately, I am excited to be joining this talented squad and I am committed to helping move their successes forward.”
Prior to his time at Angelina College, he spent the 2017-18 season as an assistant at Ursinus College. He also boasted coaching experience at the club level with Palumbo Soccer Club and Castro Valley Soccer Club. Outside of coaching, he has interned with the Philadelphia Flyers and Bethlehem Steel Football Club.
Along with his coaching abilities, Zaroyan has accumulated a diverse skill set while working all around the sport. He worked as a live charter and tracker with Match Analysis in the San Francisco Bay area, tracking more than 750 hours of soccer matches in leagues and teams ranging from Major League Soccer, Liga MX, U.S. Men’s and Women’s National teams and NCAA Division I programs across the nation.
Zaroyan’s own playing experiences ranged from playing recreational, club and high school soccer. He also had a trial with LIGA MX Academy Side, Tiburones Veracruz.
He has obtained his U.S. Soccer D and Cal South E licenses along with his U.S. Soccer National C license. He also boasts NCAA coaching certificates and Futsal with the NSCAA.
A native of Monrovia, California, Zaroyan began his collegiate studies at California State University-East Bay before finishing his bachelor’s degree in sports and recreational management with a concentration in governance and policy from Temple University in 2018.
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