BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – West Virginia Wesleyan athletics and head coach Adam Christensen are excited to announce the hiring of Pedro Rodrigues as the next assistant women’s soccer coach. He brings a decade’s worth of experience coaching within youth soccer at the club and high school level in Florida and North Carolina.

Pedro began his coaching career as a girls soccer assistant at Gainesville High School in 2010 and was head coach from 2013-2015, leading the Hurricanes to a FHSAA 4A District Championship in 2014. He then spent two seasons as a boys soccer assistant at Buchholz High School. For the 2017-18 season, Pedro was named head coach for the boys soccer program at Santa Fe High School. He led the Raiders to a FHSAA 2A District Championship and a regional semi-final playoff appearance after a 19-2-2 record, outscoring opponents 100-11 with 15 clean sheets.

Pedro was selected as the Gainesville Sun’s Big School Girls Coach of the Year in 2014 and Small School Boys Coach of the Year in 2018. During his high school coaching tenure in Florida, he was also coaching several boys and girls U10-U18 teams at Gainesville Soccer Alliance from 2011-2018. In 2019, he coached at Mebane Youth Soccer Association and Eno River Academy in North Carolina.

Rodrigues shared, “I am thrilled to join the women’s soccer program at West Virginia Wesleyan College. Our focus on developing the student-athletes through a culture of excellence both on and off the pitch will help ensure the team reaches its full potential. There is an exciting sporting project here with talented players and we as a staff have a shared vision on how to achieve success in the present and future.”

Rodrigues continued “It has been quite a personal journey to develop my coaching craft at the youth level before entering the collegiate game. I am grateful for the mentors I’ve received guidance from over the years at my previous clubs and high schools. It shows the opportunity available to those who haven’t had the traditional professional or collegiate playing experience to reach higher levels of the game as a coach.”

Pedro graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management. He also possesses a USSF National C License from US Soccer.