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BURNS ANNOUNCED AS NEW USL W COACH

By ACADEMICA SC STAFF, 03/07/23, 2:30PM PST

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The club would like to announce James Burns has been selected as the new USL W Head Coach

The club would like to announce James Burns has been selected as the new USL W Head Coach. James is a Manteca native with deep ties to the soccer community in 209. He currently coaches two boys' teams at Manteca FC, MFC 04/05 Rebels Red and Rebels White (2006s). James serves as Youth Technical Director for the club as well. In addition, Burns runs FirsTouch Futbol, a soccer personal training group.  Outside of coaching, he is the owner/editor of Front Row Preps, an HS sports journalism site.  He's also been a Sports Editor at The ModBee, The Merced Sun-Star, and the Manteca Bulletin as a former assistant coach at Sierra HS Girls Soccer.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to join a club with a rich history in the valley", said James. "Competing in the USL W League is going to be a tremendous challenge for our second-year program, but I can promise you this: We're going to train hard, challenge the players every step of the way, and do our part to raise the standard for women's soccer in this part of the valley."

"I want to thank the board of directors for the opportunity to guide the women's team. They've created a platform for the region's top talent, and I hope that our efforts this season continue to strengthen that pipeline. Our reward won't be wins alone, but the number of young girls who aspire to wear the gold and black."

"My ultimate goal is to build a roster that will compete and showcase well against teams from larger markets and with longer ledgers. I want our team to be a reflection of our communities -- hard working and talented, passionate and fiercely together."

Our USL W League season kicks off May 7th, make sure to get your season tickets to not miss a minute of the action. You can get your tickets at our shop right here.

Players interested in joining the squad can reach Coach James at James11Burns@gmail.com.