Rosas Promoted to Head Men's Soccer Coach

Alberto Rosas has been named as Los Angeles Mission College's new Head Men's Soccer Coach.

Rosas has been an assistant coach with LAMC Men's Soccer since 2014 and brings a wealth of experience as a player and coach to his new position.

Rosas began his professional soccer career in 2012 when he was drafted to play for the Seattle Sounders. L.A. Galaxy picked up his pro contract in 2013, and Rosas played in the third division of the Professional Development League until 2014.

Previous to the Sounders, Rosas played for Birmingham High School and added three seasons at California State University, Northridge. In 2009 and 2010, Rosas received First Team All-American honors. 

Rosas began coaching in 2009. His first position was head coach of the girls' soccer team at Reseda High School. In 2010, he went on to coach boys' soccer at Oakwood Prep in North Hollywood. Deciding to move away from the high school arena, Rosas coached boys' club soccer for the Camarillo Eagles from 2013 to 2015, and is currently starting his third year with Real So Cal.

At LA Mission, Rosas was brought on as an assistant coach by Julio Castillo, who served as Head Men's Soccer Coach from 2012-2017. Now stepping into the main role, Rosas is excited to put his own stamp on the program. His main priority is establishing a new team culture.

"I think more structure and more discipline is something that I bring to the table," Rosas said. "We need to be more organized on the field and more structured in how we play. The last couple of years we lacked discipline and focus on the field and that's why we would end up losing close games."

To instill that discipline and focus, Rosas has already placed higher expectations and more responsibilities on his players outside of soccer.

"We're starting to do more study hall hours, tutoring centers, helping out with local club teams. The things we do off the field will come around to show on the field," he said.

Additionally, Rosas plans on initiating more community outreach by having his players do community service and host more camps. He believes building a relationship with the community will create more support not only for the men's soccer team, but the entire LAMC Athletic Department by extension.

Winning is obviously on his mind as he takes over a team that had a 5-12-4 record in 2017 – which included only one victory in 10 Western State Conference games – but at the moment, he's not focused on numbers so much as progress.

"This is a rebuilding year for the program, so our main goal right now is to compete," he said. A simple goal, albeit a hard one to actually achieve, as any coach will testify.

But Rosas has been proactive in the offseason. His first move as Head Coach was hiring a new assistant, Gustavo Gomez, who brings to the staff his own set of complementary coaching and playing experiences. Rosas said Gomez will contribute to the more technical aspects of the game, while he focuses on the Eagles' playing style for now.

Together, they hope to build a team that will consistently compete for state championships.