MIDDLESEX COLLEGE NAMES JAVIER VELASCO HEAD WOMEN'S SOCCER COACH
Middlesex College Director of Athletics Rocco Constantino has announced that the college has hired Javier Velasco as the Head Coach for Women's Soccer.
Velasco has been the Head Coach of the Men's Soccer program for the past five years and will remain in that role, leading both the Men's and Women's squads. He is eager to get started on recruiting and building the Women's Soccer program immediately.
"I want to thank Middlesex College President Dr. McCormick and our AD Rocco Constantino for trusting me and giving me the opportunity to lead our Men's and Women's Soccer programs," said Velasco. "I am excited about building our Women's program and making it as competitive and successful as our Men's program."
Constantino has spoken highly about the recent success of the Women's Soccer program and is confident that Velasco can build on that success.
"Coach Velasco has done a tremendous job with our Men's Soccer team and it's going to be great that our Women's program will benefit from his leadership and expertise," said Constantino.
Velasco will take over for Adrienne Giordano, who had a successful four-year run as the Women's Soccer Head Coach, reviving the program coming out of the Covid shutdown.
In 2024, Giordano's last season, the Women's Soccer program advanced to the District Finals and was one game away from qualifying for the NJCAA National Division III Tournament. That same season, Velasco led the Middlesex College Men's Soccer team just as far.
In his five seasons as Head Coach of the Men's Soccer program, Velasco has led Middlesex to a record of 42-29-11, turning the Colts into one of the strongest Division III programs in Region 19. Middlesex had struggled to a record of 7-16 over the two seasons prior Velasco being hired as Head Coach.
In addition to his successful record, Velasco has also done a fantastic job developing individual players. Under Velasco's tutelage, Jamie Madrid became the first Colt to be named First Team All-American in over 20 years and just the second First Team All-American in program history. Madrid was also named the Region 19 Men's Soccer Player of the Year in 2022 and the Middlesex College Male Athlete of the Year as well. Velasco was also voted the Middlesex College Men's Sports Coach of the Year by his colleagues in 2022.
In addition to Madrid, Velasco has coached multiple All-Region players and has sent players on to compete on the NCAA four-year level after their time at Middlesex.
Velasco is a USSF National B licensed coach and brings three decades of youth, high school, college and semiprofessional experience to Middlesex. He is the President and founder of Javier Velasco Soccer Academy and Head Coach of their UPSL Premier Semiprofessional team and U17 UPSL Academy team. Prior to joining Middlesex College, Velasco was the top assistant coach at NCAA Division I NJIT and served as the Head Coach for multiple boys and girls soccer coaches on the high school level.
As a player, Velasco starred as an All-State soccer player at North Brunswick High School. Velasco played for Kean University men's soccer program in 1996 reaching the New Jersey Athletic Conference Final, He was also a member Centenary (NJ) College's 1995 Small College Athletic Association National Championship team and was the Most Valuable Player of the title game. Earlier, he played at Mercer County College, which reached the National Championship game when he was there in 1994.
On the professional level, Velasco was a standout for the North Jersey Imperials, Central Jersey Riptide and New Jersey Stallions of the United Soccer League Pro (USL) during his six-year career. He also competed against MLS teams in US Open Cup competition, such as Miami Fusion and DC United. He also played for several semiprofessional teams like Kearny Scots NJ and Hermes SC in NY.