|
 Benny Artiaga
returns to Cerritos College for his second
season as head coach with great excitement
as 2006 figures to be one of the best teams
Cerritos College has fielded to date. Back
in 2005, the Falcons finished third in
conference and advanced to the playoffs
before getting knocked out by eventual state
semi-finalist Rio Hondo. During the 2004
season, the team embarked on a magical
season that culminated with them playing in
the state championship game for the first
time in school history after winning the
conference championship.
Now entering
his fifth year overall with the Falcon
coaching staff, Artiaga was the lead
assistant in the 2004 season, as the team
finished the year ranked #3 in the nation
and #2 in the state. He served as Interim
Head Coach three seasons ago while assuming
roles with recruiting, scheduling,
academics, budgeting and team management.
Artiaga holds
a national Class B license from the United
States Soccer Federation (USSF), National
Fitness Level 1 diploma also from USSF and
an advanced diploma from the National Soccer
Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). He
has also been invited to serve on the USSF
soccer training staff. After playing for the
Falcons on their 2001 team, Artiaga remained
with the team in a coaching capacity. Among
his qualifications are playing under two
soccer programs (Cerritos and Long Beach
City College), while during his time
enlisted in the military, he captained the
United States Navy team to a silver medal in
the 1996 RIMPAC Hawaii Tournament against
Chile and participated against various
select regional teams across the country.
Artiaga
graduated from USC in 2003 with a Bachelor’s
degree in Public Relations and an emphasis
in Sports Journalism. He completed his
Master’s degree in Sports Management and
Administration from Long Beach State in 2005
and is currently working on his doctoral
degree in Sports Psychology from the
University of San Diego for Integrative
Studies.
Professionally, he has worked for the Los
Angeles Galaxy and in the USC Sports
Information office under Mike Garrett and
Tim Tessalone, while also working as a
personal fitness trainer for the athletic
department for three years training many
athletes from various sports. Artiaga also
serves on the coaching staff with the Los
Alamitos High boy’s soccer team with Falcon
assistants Donovan Martinez (Los Alamitos
High boy’s head coach) and Pat Rossi (Los
Alamitos High girl’s head coach) in which
the Los Alamitos boys captured the
conference championship by going undefeated,
advanced to the Division 1 final four and
finished the year ranked 7th in
the nation. |
