News: Champe High School Adds Boys Soccer, Girls Lacrosse Head Coaches

Aldie (July 5, 2012) - John Champe High School, opening in August, has named Andres Vera as the school's first head boys soccer coach and Kathy Gonzalez as the school's first head girls lacrosse coach. Both were approved by the Loudoun County School Board at the June 26 meeting.


Vera comes to Champe with a lifetime of involvement in competitive soccer. He played professional soccer in Argentina and Spain for nine years. Vera has been a coach at Chantilly high school, the Director of Coaching for Old Dominion Football Club (South Riding) and the technical director of the Chantilly Youth Association (Chantilly).

He is currently the President and founder of Soccer Performance International L.L.C.

Champe athletic director Joe Breinig, Jr.: "Vera is a dynamic leader, and has established long standing relationships with corporate sponsors (such as Adidas, Diadora, Score, Umbro, Lotto and McDonalds) and local youth clubs. Coach Vera is extremely excited to create and establish the Champe boys soccer program and build a solid and productive relationship with the community. His intensity, passion and vision will establish a solid foundation for the Knights program."

Gonzalez comes to Champe from having spent a majority of her life involved in lacrosse. Gonzalez played lacrosse at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School where she was a first team All American.

She has been coaching girls lacrosse for the past 16 years at the high school and college level. She has been head coach at King’s College for four years, head coach at Bridgewater College for five years and most recently the head coach at the Highland School.

Breinig: "Gonzalez, a resident of Fairfax, has shared her experience and knowledge of the game by coaching young women in the sport of lacrosse for years and is looking forward to the opportunity at John Champe HS. She is excited to develop a relationship with the community. One of her strengths is breaking down the basics and teaching individual skills to girls of all levels."

Gonzalez earned her BA in American government from Cornell University and Masters in sport studies (sociology of sport) from the University of Maryland.

Visit the John Champe High School website at http://lcps.org/jch and the athletic website at www.champesports.com to see more information about the athletic program, parent/student meeting dates, and important offseason activities.

Champe High School 2012-13 Head Coaches
Fall
Cheer: Cynthia Martinez
Cross Country: CaSandra Alexander
Football: Jason Dawson
Golf: Patrick Sheehan
Volleyball: Glen Gragasin

Winter
Boys Basketball: Kip Shallis
Girls Basketball: Will Patton
Gymnastics: Hope Spivey
Swim: Tamara Yaunches
Wrestling: Josh Hastings

Spring
Baseball: Joe McDonald
Softball: Kaitlin Petrella
Boys Lacrosse: Vik Ohri
Girls Lacrosse: Kathy Gonzalez
Boys Soccer: Andres Vera
Girls Soccer: David Madlin
Boys Tennis: Thomas Wehner
Girls Tennis: Amy Glen Obertubbesi
Boys Track and Field: Brandon Sanford
Girls Track and Field: CaSandra Alexander