The Georgia College & State University department of athletics and director Stan Aldridge have announced the hiring of Juan Pablo Favero as head soccer coach. Favero comes to Bobcat country from Newberry College, a Division II program in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC).
While at Newberry, Favero compiled a 40-37-13 mark over five seasons, setting school marks for career wins and win percentage (.517). The 2007 squad finished 8-5-6, taking the best conference finish in school history at second place. The school has had five seasons with .500-or-better success, four of which have come during the Favero era.
In 2004, Favero led the Lady Indians to numerous school records, including best overall record and best conference record, which were 13-5-1 and 4-3, respectively. In only his second year at Newberry, Favero earned SAC Coach of the Year, Favero’s third career conference coach of the year honor. Over his five seasons, the Indians garnered 15 all-conference player awards, including one honorable mention All-American.
“I want to thank the entire search committee as well as Dr. Aldridge, Jimmy Wilson and Steve Barsby for their role in this process,” said Favero. “The commitment to making my family comfortable and the commitment to the players and soccer program at GCSU played a huge role in my decision to accept the position.”
“Due to some solid recruiting, there is a good group of players here at GCSU that bring the program close to breaking through,” he added. “It’s much different than I’m used to in my career history of having to rebuild. This team is close to winning its first-ever Peach Belt Conference title, and that will be our goal. The girls are coming off the best season in school history, and now have raised the expectations and excitement around soccer at GCSU. They’re ready to break through to the next level, and I’m here to help them do just that.”
Favero has a career-long pattern of taking programs from rags to riches, extending beyond the Lady Indians. He had a hand in renovating both the men’s and women’s soccer programs at Missouri Baptist University before he arrived in Newberry. While at Missouri Baptist, he led his teams to NAIA prominence and was awarded with the American Midwest Conference Coach of the Year honor for the men in 2001 and for the women in 2002, as both teams went from struggling to winning conference championships and earning national ranks.
Prior to his work at Newberry and Missouri Baptist, he also helped rebuild the soccer program at his alma mater, Palm Beach Atlantic College. In 1994, he received his undergraduate degree with honors in international business and marketing and earned a Master’s degree in counseling psychology from the school in 1997. While coaching at PBA, he also served as a guidance counselor and coach at a West Palm Beach high school.
Favero is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), from which he holds the Premier Diploma, and of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), from which he holds a National "A" coaching license. He is also a member of the American Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP) and has a Level 1 Psychology for Soccer certification from the English Football Association.
He has worked as a sports psychology consultant with the Saint Louis University men’s soccer team and the Lou Fusz Soccer Club. Recently, he has done consulting for Thermo-King Corporation and the Carolina Elite Soccer Academy (CESA) out of Greenville, S.C. He has also been involved in coaching and sports psychology with the South Carolina Olympic Development Program. Additionally, Favero has traveled to Australia and New Zealand as a coach with the People to People sports ambassador teams.
Favero, originally from Argentina, is married to his high school sweetheart, Christie. The couple has three children, Alejo (8), Keila (7), and Malena (2).
