Vancouver Whitecaps FC are pleased to announce that James Merriman has joined the club full-time as Whitecaps FC Pre-Residency and Academy Centre assistant coach.
“James has been working with the club on a part-time basis, and now we are very excited to be able to bring him on board full-time,” said director of soccer development Dan Lenarduzzi. “James is another great young coach who will continue to add value and experience to our technical staff.”
In his role, Merriman will assist head coach Bart Choufour in delivering the club’s boys Pre-Residency program, a U-13 to U-15 group that feeds into the U-16 and U-18 Residency program. Merriman will also work closely with Choufour in growing and delivering support for the club’s Academy Centre programs, which currently encompasses seven locations: Kamloops, Kootenays, the Northern Academy based out of Prince George, Okanagan, Saskatchewan, Vancouver, and Vancouver Island.
A native of Nanaimo, BC, Merriman has spent much of his time working with his family on the island with Merriman Soccer. During that time he has worked with his father Bill Merriman, who among several roles is the current head coach of the Vancouver Island University (VIU) men’s soccer program.
Along with his recent part-time duties with Whitecaps FC, Merriman was assistant coach of the SFU men’s soccer NCAA Divison II program in 2012 and 2013. Prior to that, Merriman was assistant coach at VIU from 2009 to 2011. In his time coaching collegiately, the two programs combined to win four conference titles, made two NCAA Final Four appearances, and won a CCAA national championship, compiling an overall record of 64W-11L-9D.
During his playing days, Merriman played NCAA Division I soccer at the University of Denver before going on to play with Colorado Rapids Reserves and Victoria Highlanders FC, as well as Colorado Lightning in the Professional Arena Soccer League.
For more information on Whitecaps FC youth programs visit whitecapsfc.com/youth or contact Dan Lenarduzzi at dlenarduzzi@whitecapsfc.com.
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