June 22, 2012
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State women's soccer head coach Mike Friesen today announced the hiring of a new associate head coach as well as two assistants. Juan Pablo Favero is the program's new associate head coach while Chris Lemay and Tammy Lenham step into assistant roles for the Aztecs.
"I am very excited to have a full staff for the upcoming season," Friesen said. "These coaches bring a variety of experiences to the team and I am excited to work with each of them."
As a first assistant at South Florida, Favero was responsible for overseeing the team's forwards and the Bulls' offensive and defensive strategies.
Favero, who has 14 years of coaching experience, was the head women's soccer coach at Georgia College & State University for two seasons (2008-09), where he led the program to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008.
Prior to his time at GCSU, Favero spent five years at Newberry College in South Carolina. He recruited an entirely new team after his first year as head coach and helped lead the program to its first-ever winning season the following year. In 2004, Favero led his squad to NSCAA and NCAA regional rankings en route to being named South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year.
Favero has also coached at Missouri Baptist (1999-2003), Palm Beach Atlantic (1994-1999) and John I. Leonard High School (1997-1999) in Greenacres, Fla.
"Juan Pablo Favero is a very experienced college coach that brings success in a variety of areas," Friesen said. "He is an experienced recruiter, a great teacher of the game and his educational background in psychology and counseling will add another dimension to our student-athlete's experience. He has a unique ability to connect with people and he shares the vision for the program, which goes way beyond the field."
Chris Lemay, who has 19 years of experience, comes to Montezuma Mesa having coached the U9-U16 girls teams for the San Diego Surf Soccer Club. Since 2008, Lemay has led his teams to three State Cup Championships, one finals appearance and four semifinal berths. In 2010, he was selected as the San Diego Surf Girls Coach of the Year.
Prior to his time with the San Diego Surf squad, Lemay was an assistant for the women's team at UC Riverside (2003-06). In his time at UCR, the Highlanders went 45-20-14 and 14-9-9 in the Big West, while earning a berth in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
"Chris is a very influential coach in San Diego, Southern California and across the country," Friesen said. "Chris is a great tactical and technical coach who will be another valuable asset to the program. Chris has a variety of experience in the soccer community that will help further our success."
The final addition to the SDSU women's soccer staff is Tammy Lenham. A four-year letterwinner at UC Santa Barbara, Lenham finished her playing career in 2009, and joined the coaching staff in January 2010 where she worked with the Gaucho goalkeepers.
"Tammy will be concentrating on our goalkeepers, but is excited to jump into the college game as a coach," Friesen said. "She was a standout at UCSB and I am confident that she will have success here as a coach. Tammy is energetic and organized, and will be able to add to what we have developed here at SDSU."
"I am excited to have such a well-rounded staff," Friesen added. "I feel all of us will complement each other's strengths and weaknesses to accomplish some great things on and off the field."