 Each summer, Centurion Soccer seeks out the very best coaches it can find in an attempt to provide a broad array of both USA and international training. For summer 2010, we're happy to present Aaron Faro. "I believe we've finally found a coach that has exactly the right mix for which we're searching here at Centurion Soccer," explains Coach Lucas, Director of Centurion Soccer Camp. "Aaron has excelled as a player, both as an amateur as well a professional. In addition, he now serves in an extremely successful college program at Messiah. Finally, he has a heart that seeks after God. He'll be a great addition to our staff." Coach Faro is the top assistant coach at Messiah College, Grantham, PA. While a student at Messiah, Faro helped the Falcons to their first two national championships (2000, 2002) while capturing several outstanding individual honors, including NSCAA All-American and MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year as a junior. In his first season as an assistant coach, Faro helped guide the program to its NCAA Division III-record seventh national championship.
Prior to returning to his alma mater, Faro spent five years playing professional soccer while also working in sports ministry. He coached both club and varsity high school soccer, providing what McCarty calls “a hand-picked, excellent fit for the soccer program, the athletics department and the college as a whole.” Much of Faro’s experience stems from his work at Missionary Athletes International (MAI), one of the world leaders in sports ministry. Following graduation, Faro both played and worked for the United Soccer League’s Charlotte Eagles organization — a subsidiary of MAI. Faro’s playing career spanned five seasons with the Eagles, helping the club to the USL National Championship in 2005 while aiding to runner-up finishes in both 2004 and 2006. Faro also spent the last four years of his playing career as the Charlotte Eagles camp director, overseeing all aspects of 20-plus camps each summer while managing over 60 staff members. Under Faro’s leadership, the Eagles’ sessions grew to include camps for high school and college teams as well as camps for underprivileged youth in the inner city and Hispanic communities of Charlotte. When Faro hung up his competitive cleats, he took over as the Charlotte Eagles team camp director, ministering to Christian high school and college teams both on and off the field. In 2008, Faro began splitting his summers between Charlotte and Chicago where, in another MAI organization, Faro served as an assistant director at the Chicago Eagles Summer Academy. There, Faro was responsible for the recruitment of college participants, coaching the men’s team and camp curriculum writing. Faro’s leadership has spanned well beyond United States, however, as the North Chili, N.Y. native has led sports ministry tours in Holland, Japan, Thailand, Laos, India, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and Brazil. In addition to his work with MAI organizations, Faro also served as a high school varsity boys’ soccer coach at Grace Academy (Charlotte) from 2003 to 2009, winning the National Association of Christian Athletes (NACA) Division I National Championships in 2004, 2005 and 2008. Faro was named the NACA Coach of the Year in 2004. He also served as the head coach of the U16-U18 Mecklenburg Union Futbol Club from 2003-2009. A sport and exercise science major who graduated magna cum laude from Messiah in 2003, Faro was a three-time all-conference performer for the Falcons, serving as team co-captain in his senior season. In his role as athletics recruitment coordinator, Faro works closely with the admissions department, serving as a point person for intercollegiate athletics at open houses and on-campus visits. Faro also oversees a variety of home athletic events in his administrative role, managing the department’s event staff. Faro and his wife, Christine, recently had their first child — Emma — in March of 2009. The couple currently reside in Grantham. |
