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 7^th in the nation.

Donovan Martinez begins his second season as a member of the Cerritos College coaching staff. As a player, Martinez was an Olympic Development player in Northern California and was part of the Under-16 National Pool. He was a four-year varsity letterman at Fresno State and helped the team reach the Elite Eight as a freshman and won MPSL Scholar Athlete of the Year as a senior. Academically, Martinez received his Bachelors degree from Fresno State in Business Management and has been coaching at the high school ranks since 1994.

For the last five years, Pat Rossi has served as the head coach at Los Alamitos High and is set to begin his second season on the Falcon men’s soccer staff. He will also split his time and work with the Falcon women’s team. While coaching at Los Alamitos High, Rossi has led two varsity girls teams and two junior varsity girls teams to the Sunset League championship. Last season, the team went on to win the Division I championship and concluded the year rated #1 in the country by Student Sports Magazine. For his efforts, Rossi was named the Sunset League and CIF Coach of the Year. Rossi has also spent time as the head coach for the Under-14 Girls Cerritos United Soccer Club and for the Under-17 Girls Brea Blaze Club team.