SCOTT JUNIPER NAMED WOMEN'S SOCCER HEAD COACH AT UC IRVINE
December 15, 2006
IRVINE, Calif. - Scott Juniper has been named head women's soccer coach at UC Irvine announced by Athletic Director Bob Chichester.
Juniper, 29, takes over the Anteater program after serving as the lead assistant with the team this past season under April Heinrichs. Prior to joining the Anteater staff, Juniper was an assistant coach with the UC Riverside men's soccer program for three seasons from 2003-05.
"I'm really excited for the opportunity to be the women's soccer head coach at UC Irvine," Juniper said. "The program is moving in the right direction and I'm looking forward to continuing that progress. It was a great experience working with April Heinrichs as she put the program in a great position to move forward."
Juniper is a 1998 graduate of the University of Bristol in England and received his Master's in sport and exercise science from the University of Bath in England in 2002. His Master's thesis was based on the group dynamics of elite soccer teams.
A collegiate soccer player in England at the University of Bristol, Juniper was named both freshman and player of the year in 1996, and was leading scorer in 1996 and 1998. During that time, Juniper represented England Universities at the regional level. In 2001, he was part of the National Championship winning team at the University of Bath. He also played for a number of teams in the English non-league pyramid.
"We are very enthusiastic about the opportunity to have Scott Juniper take over the leadership of the women's soccer program as head coach," Chichester said. "We have been very fortunate to have had Scott be part of the program over the past year and he has played a vital role as part of Coach Heinrichs' staff and the rebuilding of the program.
"Scott is highly thought of by those of us at UCI and by the soccer community," Chichester added. "His personality, values, and experience put him in a great position to build upon what he and the staff began to put in place over the past year. He has built some strong relationships and our student-athletes have a great deal of respect for him and enjoy working with him. We believe that recruited student-athletes should be extremely interested in being part of our program under his leadership.
Juniper replaces Heinrichs, who accepted a position with the United States Olympic Committee earlier this week.
