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Staff 2023/24

ECNL / ECNL-RL Director
Tiffany Roberts
ECNL-RL ECNL

2010 (U14) Head Coaches

Andrew Petrucelli Bryan Sabato

2009 (U15) Head Coaches

Andrew Petrucelli Tiffany Roberts
2008 (U16) Head Coaches
Mike Varela Harold Warren
2007 (U17) Head Coaches
Joe Paulsen Harold Warren
2006/05 (U18/U19) Head Coaches
Mike Varela Tiffany Roberts
Goalkeeper Coach
Joe Waggoner

 

U11-U13 PRE-ECNL Director
Jenny Jeffers
2013 (U11) Head Coaches
Dan Soutar
Jenny Jeffers
2012 (U12) Head Coaches
Dan Soutar
Bryan Sabato
Javi Torres
2011 (U13) Head Coaches
ECNL-RL ECNL
Joe Paulsen Summer Anderson

 

Tiffany Roberts
Utah Royals Academy & Girls ECNL Director

Coach Roberts was born in Colorado but raised in Phoenix attending Arcadia High school and playing for Sereno Soccer Club, the Arizona ODP program and the Region IV team.  She attended Santa Clara University where she advanced to the Final Four her Sophomore year and was team captain for the prestigious program her senior year.  She also holds a Masters Degree in Sport Administration from Xavier University.  She worked in Cincinnati where she was the Women's Executive Director at Kings Hammer while also serving as Cincinnati Development Academy's Academy Director in its’ first year.  While there, Tiffany coached across multiple age groups and lead both clubs to success.

Tiffany serves as the Director for the Utah Royals and is the liaison between our professional team in Utah. 

In 2022, Tiffany served as an assistant coach for the US Youth National Team during the U-17 World Cup where they made the quarterfinals.  She holds her A license and also has US Soccer Academy Director license.

Harold Warren
ECNL Staff Coach & Girls College Director

Warren, who was most recently the Associate Head Coach at Troy, joins the Utah Royals FC AZ with six years experience as NCAA Division I head coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and three years experience as an Associate Head Coach at the University of California (USC) where he helped the Trojans win the NCAA Division I national title in 2007. 

Warren began his coaching career at UC Irvine in 2002 before joining the University of Arizona in 2003 where he spent four years as an assistant coach. Following USC and UAB, Warren served as an assistant coach at Syracuse before joining Yavapai College where he helped guide the Roughriders to a postseason appearance in the NJCAA Division I Region I Championship. 

Coach Harold currently works as the RSL-AZ & URFC-AZ Girls College Placement Director and is a Head Coach on the ECNL Staff

Summer Anderson
ECNL Staff Coach & ECNL/ECNL RL Administrator

Anderson assists on the field for both the ECNL and ECRL teams as a staff coach as well as assisting ECNL/ECRL Director Tiffany Roberts with all admin responsibilities as it relates to the girls elite platform. 

Anderson's previous experience includes co-founding PA Crew Soccer Academy in Pittsburgh in 2006 and serving as a coach at Arizona Arsenal Soccer Club since 2012. With Arizona Arsenal Soccer Club, Anderson won four AYSA State Cup girls titles and was a Farwest Regional Finalist in 2017. Additionally, she was named 2017 AYSA Competitive Coach of the Year and was selected to the ECNL National Selection Game Staff. Since 2018, Anderson has coached in the ECNL.

Off the field, Anderson has served as an educator at Cooley Middle School since 2014 and has worked with Special Olympics. 

Bryan Sabato
ECNL Staff Coach

A veteran of Arizona soccer, Coach Sabato have been coaching in the Phoenix area since the 90’s. Bryan’s loyalty runs deep having coached with Sereno/Legacy/RSL-AZ/URFC-AZ from 2009 to the present coaching many teams along the way.  Bryan was the Head Coach of Mountain Pointe Boys Varsity from 2004-2014 and again 2016-2017 advancing to the State Semi-Finals 3 times, 4 times winning a Regional Championship, and named 3 times Region Coach of the Year.  

Highly educated, Sabato earned his BA in Sociology in 1996 as a student-athlete, earned his MA in Educational Counseling in 2003, earned his USSF A License in 2005, and his TOPSoccer certificate in 2016.

Along with his duties with RSL-AZ and as a Head Coach on the ECNL Staff, Bryan has been a guidance counselor at Mountain Pointe High School since 2004.

Joe Waggoner
ECNL & ECNL RL Goalkeeping Director

Joe has coached goalkeepers at all levels in the US since the mid-90’s.  Joe worked as the head Goalkeeper Coach for North Texas ODP from 2001-2010, USYSA Region 3 Goalkeeping staff in 2009, leading the Region 3 Goalkeeping Staff in 2012-2013, and ran Goalkeeping for the National Team training centers during the 2011-2014 calendar years.  

From 2002-2017 Joe ran the highly successful KeeperZone Goalkeeper Coaching and Education in Dallas, Tx while working as the goalkeeper coach for Solar SC and Andromeda SC during multiple National Championship seasons.  In addition, Joe worked as the Goalkeeper Coach for Tx Spirit SC, Liverpool FC America, and Sting SC in Dallas.

Joe Worked on staff at Southern Methodist University (D1) with the women’s team from 2007-2013 then with the men’s team from 2012-2016.  In that time two players graduated to play professionally in Mexico and the MLS with Michael Nelson being drafted in the first round of the 2018 MLS College Draft.  During the 2014-2016 college seasons Joe also assisted Univ. of Dallas (D3) women’s soccer.

For the 2019 - 2021 Seasons, Joe worked as the goalkeeping director for the elite programs of RSL-AZ and URFC-AZ, then in 2021 Joe moved to work exclusively with the URFC-AZ girls ECNL & ECNL RL programs.

Mike Varela
Regional League Staff Coach

Coach Mike Varela has coached in the Valley for 16 years including club, ODP, Junior College, and High School.  Mike is a believer in education as he has completed the Grassroots license, Advanced National Diploma, the La Liga Methodology, the Raymond Verheijen’s Football Coach yearlong mentorship, Goalkeeping level 1 and 2 certifications and all the licenses up to his recently completed USSF “A” license.  Mike holds 3 separate Master’s degrees, is a High School Math Teacher, Coach, and former Assistant Principle.

Mike Grew up playing in Arizona for a local club in Glendale, won a High School State Championship, and played semi-professionally for teams in the Valley.  Outside of soccer and teaching, Mike has served 21 years in the United States Army.  He has served in combat, spent time as an Army Instructor, and currently serves in the Army Reserve.

Joe Paulsen
Regional League Staff Coach

Well versed in the Arizona soccer landscape, Paulsen’s experience in the Grand Canyon State includes coaching at the youth, prep, and collegiate ranks alongside a decorated playing career.

A proven program developer, Paulsen guided several turnarounds including at his alma mater Mesa Community College where in 2014 he helped propel the women’s soccer program to their best record since 2006 finishing at 9-6-5 as an assistant. At the prep ranks, Paulsen posted a winning record in 2014-2015 as head coach of the Chandler High School Girls Varsity Soccer team following the program’s 5-12 finish the year prior to his arrival. Building on the momentum, Paulsen went on to lead the Wolves to two state quarterfinals and one state semifinal appearance. Assuming the helm of Arizona College Prep Boys Varsity Soccer, Paulsen engineered the beginning of a powerhouse, improving the team’s yearly win total between 2013-2017 with the 2016-2017 season culminating in a 15-1 record and 3A Region 3 Championship with the lone playoff loss to eventual state champion Yuma Catholic. 

In 2019, Coach Paulsen joined the staff at Park University Womens soccer and became interim Head Coach during the 2021season.  In 2021, Coach Joe moved on to Justice College where he heads both the Womens and Mens Programs to this day

Building a foundation at the youth level, Paulsen has developed more than 20 teams under the banner of Real Salt Lake Arizona and is a Head Coach on the ECNL-Regional League Staff.

Andrew Petrucelli
Regional League Staff Coach

An already incredibly experienced young coach, Andrew Petrucelli has a long career ahead of him.  After playing a season at Grand Canyon University, Andew switched over to gaining on the job experience as Director of Operations for the GCU Women’s Team from 2017-2019.  Previous to his time at GCU, Andrew had extensive experience working and coaching camps with prominent coaches across the country at LSU, University of Texas, and Southern Methodist University. Beginning in 2017 and continuing through 2020, Coach Petrucelli led the St. Mary’s High School Boys Varsity, achieving their highest ever win total in 2018.  In 2021, Andrew switched over to Combs High School for one season then moved on to lead boys Varsity at Arcadia High School in 2022 to the present.

Andrew has been on staff with Royals FC-AZ since 2019 and currently is a Head Coach on the ECNL-Regional League Staff.

Jenny Jeffers
U11-U13 Pre-ECNL Director

Jenny Jeffers, originally from Lake Zurich, IL, spent most of her youth career playing for Sockers FC Chicago. While growing up in Illinois she won state championships, was a regional champion, played for the Illinois ODP State Team and the Region II ODP team. She attended University of Tennessee between 2003-2007 where she earned her degree in Psychology. As a UT player she was a captain, an academic All-American, made three sweet 16 appearances, and was a 2x SEC tournament champion. She continued her career with the national finalists FC Indiana, national champion Buffalo Flash, played in Sweden, and was a developmental player for the Philadelphia Independence of the WPS. 

Jenny is entering her 14th year of coaching in Arizona and has worked for several clubs in the state. For those programs she has held various coaching and leadership roles including Technical Director for Coerver Arizona, Futsal Director, Director of Player Development, Assistant Director of Operations, GA/ECNL head coach, Technical Specialist for DA/GA/ECNL teams, and Director of Elite Girls Development. Jenny will be serving as the Utah Royals AZ Pre ECNL Director U11-U13.

Dan Soutar
Pre-ECNL Staff Coach

Soutar who grew up in Essex, England playing since he was 5 years old in local leagues and select teams.  While attending and playing for Southampton Solent University, Soutar started his coaching career with Premier League club Southampton FC working with their youth program and community camps. He got his first taste of MLS soccer in 2007 when he moved to LA to coach for MLS Soccer Camps running youth camps for the LA Galaxy and spending some time in Salt Lake City conducting camps for Real Salt Lake. Soutar moved to Phoenix in 2008 to work for what is now known as Phoenix Rising Desert foothills. During a year hiatus back to England in 2013 , he coached for two more premier league clubs youth systems in Arsenal FC and West Ham United. 

Soutar moved to RSL AZ in the founding year in phoenix , in the past 6 years has coached our u11 and u12 girls and many older girls teams as well and now serves as the girls north director of coaching. 

While in Pheonix, Soutar has also coached at Pinnacle High School, Notre Dame Prep School, ASU mens clubs soccer and Arizona ODP. 

Bryan Sabato
Pre-ECNL Staff Coach

A veteran of Arizona soccer, Coach Sabato have been coaching in the Phoenix area since the 90’s. Bryan’s loyalty runs deep having coached with Sereno/Legacy/RSL-AZ/URFC-AZ from 2009 to the present coaching many teams along the way.  Bryan was the Head Coach of Mountain Pointe Boys Varsity from 2004-2014 and again 2016-2017 advancing to the State Semi-Finals 3 times, 4 times winning a Regional Championship, and named 3 times Region Coach of the Year.  

Highly educated, Sabato earned his BA in Sociology in 1996 as a student-athlete, earned his MA in Educational Counseling in 2003, earned his USSF A License in 2005, and his TOPSoccer certificate in 2016.

Along with his duties with RSL-AZ and as a Head Coach on the ECNL Staff, Bryan has been a guidance counselor at Mountain Pointe High School since 2004.

Javi Torres
Pre-ECNL Staff Coach

Coach Javier born in Mexico City, Moved to the Phoenix area at young age, started playing at the age of 14 and ended up playing at the collegiate and semi-pro level. 

Coach Javier has been coaching club soccer in AZ since the age of 22. He has two years of experience assisting coaching at Ottawa University (OUAZ) and five years of experience at the club level.