The 2009 Men's Soccer team finished its first season of NJCAA competition with an 8-8 overall record under former head coach, John Panella. The team was able to defeat Globe in the Region XV championship game 4-0 allowing them to advance to the Region XXI semi-finals. The Avengers suffered a heart-breaking 2-1 loss in the final seconds of the match at the hands of Massasoit in the semi-finals.
The Avengers look to build on the foundation built by the 2009 Avengers with newly hired head coach, Kenichi Yatsuhashi. Coach Yatsuhashi has put together a schedule that includes local powers as well national powers at every level of the National Junior College Athletic Association. In addition to winning matches, the program’s goal is to graduate players, so that they are able to continue to be successful both academically as well as athletically at four-year institutions.
Brooklyn, NY- On January 8, 2009, Athletic Director, Kenney Wilcox, named Kenichi Yatsuhashi the second Head Coach of the Men’s Soccer team. Coach Yatsuhashi comes to ASA, after a stellar head coaching career spanning the past 9 seasons at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC). Yatsuhashi also performed double duty as the Head Women’s Soccer Coach for 5 of those seasons. During his stint at BMCC, Yatsuhashi’s teams have won 6 conference championships, a Region XV Championship, and a District Championship. In 2005, Yatsuhashi guided BMCC to the NJCAA Division III nationals, and finished the 3rd best team in the country. Because of his team’s success in 2005, Coach Yatsuhashi garnered individual honors by being named NSCAA Coach of the year by his peers. Prior to BMCC’s most successful in men’s soccer, Coach Yatsuhashi was selected to coach the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) All-Star team, which competed in the Goodwill South African Tour. On top of winning championships, Yatsuhashi’s teams have been chosen for two Region XV sportsmanship awards and two other Referee’s Association sportsmanship awards.
As a coach highly dedicated to his sport, Coach Yatsuhashi holds many licenses and certifications in coaching soccer. He holds a USSF A and National Youth coaching license, a CONCACAF International Coaching license, an NSCAA Goalkeeping diploma, and a KNBV Advanced diploma. With all of these qualifications Coach Yatsuhashi has been able to coach Suzuyo Shimizu, a Japanese professional women’s team; the ENY ODP program; local youth club teams, and served as an instructor for the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association Coaching Education Program.
“We are very excited to bring aboard a coach with as much experience and enthusiasm about the sport of soccer as Coach Yatsuhashi,” Athletic Director, Kenney Wilcox, explains. “We are very confident he will make the ASA the same kind of power that BMCC has been in past nine years under his tutelage.
Determined to bring the same success he had BMCC to ASA, Coach Yatsuhashi states “I am very determined to take the ASA Men’s Soccer team to the National Championship in years to come.”
Prior to his coaching career, Mr. Yatsuhashi played professionally for a Division II team in Brazil. The Aichi, Japan native currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
Menzie Taylor is the Men’s Soccer Assistant Coach at ASA. He is a former Student of Globe Institute of Technology graduated in 2006; he was also a part of Globe Knights men’s soccer team played for 2 years. He’s former national player for Guyana National team with 27 caps under is belt at the youth national levels under 17 world cup qualifier team, U 19, U 21 and U 23 before he migrated to the United States of America in 2002 where had to start in whole life around. He’s a motivated aspiring youth coach who has the desire to elevate this program into greater things.
