Coaches

Bruce Arena - General Manager/Head Coach

One of the most successful head coaches in U.S. One of the most successful head coaches in U.S. National Team history and a two-time MLS Cup Champion Head Coach with D.C. United, Bruce Arena was named General Manager and Head Coach of the LA Galaxy on August 18, 2008. Arena, who is the seventh coach in club history, oversees all of the club's soccer operations, including training, tactics, scouting and player acquisitions. He compiled a 2-5-3 record over the final two and a half months of the 2008 season after joining the Galaxy.

The all-time leader in wins amongst coaches in U.S. National Team history, Arena led the U.S. to the FIFA World Cup twice, including an historic quarterfinal berth in 2002 in Japan/Korea. Arena took over as head coach in November 1998 and was in charge for nearly eight years, collecting a 71-30-29 all-time record, while leading the U.S. to the CONCACAF Gold Cup title in 2002 and 2005, the 2000 Nike U.S. Cup championship, as well as a third place finish in the 1999 Confederations Cup in Mexico.

A two-time MLS Cup winning coach, Arena is one of just four coaches ever to win the MLS Cup on more than one occasion. Additionally, only he and current Seattle Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid have won multiple MLS Cup championships and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Arena was the first coach in D.C. United history, joining the club for its inaugural season in 1996. He would spend three seasons with United, reaching the MLS Cup three times, winning it twice, in addition to reaching the U.S. Open Cup Final twice, winning one. He also helped United become the first MLS team ever to win the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the Interamerican Cup, winning each in 1998.

After a slow start to their inaugural season, Arena helped re-vitalize United behind the play of Bolivian duo Marco Etcheverry and Jaime Moreno and led the club to a second place finish in the Eastern Conference. Then, after losing their first postseason game against the MetroStars, Arena and United won their next five games to win the inaugural MLS Cup, culminating with a 3-2 extra time win over the Galaxy in the rain at Foxboro Stadium. Ten days later, United completed the “Double” by becoming the first MLS club ever to win the U.S. Open Cup, defeating the Rochester Rhinos 3-0.

Arena followed up that performance a year later by being named the MLS Coach of the Year after leading United to the best record in MLS and a second MLS Cup championship in as many years, defeating the Colorado Rapids 2-1 at RFK Stadium.

In 1998, his final season with United, Arena again led United to the Eastern Conference championship, finishing the regular season with the second best record in the league. But despite becoming the first MLS club to win the CONCACAF Champions Cup in August of that year and the Interamerican Cup, United fell in their bid for a third consecutive MLS Cup title, falling to the Chicago Fire.

Following the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Arena parted company with the U.S. National Team and returned to MLS when he was named the Sporting Director and Head Coach of the New York Red Bulls in August 2006. He spent a year and a half with the Red Bulls, compiling a 16-16-10 record while helping New York reach the postseason both years. He helped to develop young stars like Jozy Altidore and Dane Richards while also signing players like Juan Pablo Angel, who was a finalist for the MLS MVP award and the Newcomer of the Year Award in 2007. The 57-year old New York native has a career regular season record of 79-56-13 in MLS and a postseason mark of 14-5-2. He has the eighth most regular season wins in MLS history and needs seven more wins to become the third coach in MLS history to have 100 or more wins combined in regular season and postseason play.

Following a brief stint at the University of Puget Sound (1976), Arena was named the head coach at the University of Virginia, in 1978. He held that position for 18 years, helping the Cavaliers to five ACC Tournament Championships and five National Championships, including four in a row from 1991-1994.

Dave Sarachan - Associate Head Coach

Dave Sarachan enters his second season as the Galaxy's Associate Head Coach after being hired by the club on August 18, 2008, the same day that Bruce Arena was named the club's General Manger and Head Coach. This is the fourth time in his coaching career that Sarachan has worked with Arena, having previously served as his assistant at the University of Virginia (1984-1988), D.C. United (1998) and with the U.S. National Team (2000-2002).

A veteran coach with experience in college soccer and MLS as well as with the U.S. National Team, Sarachan, 54, began his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Rochester (1976-77) and Cornell (1983) before joining Arena's staff at Virginia in 1984. After five years with the Cavaliers, Sarachan returned to Cornell, his alma mater, to become the school's head coach in 1989. In nine seasons with the Big Red, Sarachan compiled a 64-63-16 record, a pair of NCAA Tournament berths and an Ivy League Championship before moving to the professional game as an assistant coach with D.C. United in 1998.

After two seasons with United, during which he helped lead the club to an MLS Cup title in 1999, Sarachan joined forces once again with Arena, the man who brought him to United, this time with the U.S. National Team. Sarachan helped the U.S. qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan/Korea where they had their best finish since 1930, reaching the Quarterfinals before losing to the tournament's eventual runner-up Germany.

Following the 2002 MLS season, Sarachan was named the head coach of the Chicago Fire, a position that he held for four and a half years, helping lead the Fire to the 2003 Supporter's Shield and that year's MLS Cup Final, while also winning the MLS Coach of the Year award that season. Sarachan also helped lead the Fire to a pair of U.S. Open Cup Championships in 2003 and 2006.

In his time with the Fire, Sarachan's teams had a record of 55-50-31 in regular season games and reached the postseason three times. Under his direction, the Fire never failed to at least reach the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, reaching the Final three times and winning the tournament twice.

A native of Rochester, N.Y., Sarachan is a graduate of Cornell University where he was an All-American soccer player, helping lead the Big Red to the NCAA Tournament as a senior. Prior to entering the coaching ranks, he played professionally in both the NASL, with the Rochester Lancers and the MISL with the Pittsburgh Spirit, Buffalo Stallions, Baltimore Blast and Kansas City Comets.

Trevor James - Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development

Trevor James enters his fourth season as assistant coach with the Galaxy after starting with the club on June 10, 2006. In addition to his role as one of Bruce Arena's assistants, James is also the Galaxy's Director of Player Development. In this role, he oversees the LA Galaxy Youth Academy, which is the club's official youth development program. Featuring Under-16, Under-18 and Under-20 teams the Galaxy Youth Academy represents the Galaxy by wearing the team's logos and colors. As Director of Player Development, James oversees all aspects of the youth development teams' creation and growth.

The Galaxy's longest tenured coach, James served as an assistant under Frank Yallop from June 2006 until Yallop's departure in November 2007. At that time, James became the Galaxy's interim head coach, leading the club in a pair of postseason friendlies, tying the Vancouver Whitecaps 0-0 and defeating the Minnesota Thunder on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the inaugural Copa Minnesota.

James has more than 10 years of international experience as a player. He began his career in his native England as an apprentice at Ipswich Town in 1975 before moving on to play for Viking Stavangar of the Tippeligaen (Norwegian First Division) in 1978. Two years later, at the age of 21, James returned to England and was signed by Colchester United in 1980. The 49-year old, who was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England, came to the United States in 1984 to co

nclude his career with the Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). Following his retirement from professional soccer in 1985, James moved into the coaching ranks. He was initially hired as a youth academy coach at Ipswich Town, before moving to Colchester United as the club's Reserve Team Manager. Following his stint at Colchester, James was on the move again as he was hired by John Taylor in 2000- 2001 to be his First Team Coach and Chief Scout at Cambridge United of England's League One.

James holds coaching licenses from U.S. Soccer, UEFA and the Football Association (The FA) where he was on the coaching education staff. He is the founding director of School Of Soccer, USA; a youth soccer coaching school based here in the Los Angeles area, which is run by his wife, Tiffany.

Cobi Jones -- Assistant Coach

A true Galaxy legend who scored the first goal in club history, Cobi Jones enters his 14th season with the club and his second as an assistant coach. In March 2007, Jones announced that the 12th season of MLS would be the final season of his long and distinguished playing career. Shortly after the conclusion of the 2007 season, Jones was named by Ruud Gullit to be one of his assistants for the 2008 campaign. Following Gullit's departure in August 2008, Jones was named the club's interm head coach, leading the Galaxy to a 2-2 draw with Chivas USA, which clinched the Honda Superclasico for LA. Jones, 39, is the only player in MLS history to have played each of the first 12 seasons of the league's history with the same team, having joined the Galaxy in March 1996. The club's all-time leader in nearly every statistical category, Jones scored 70 goals and added 91 assists in 306 career regular season games. Jones is one of just three players in league history to record 70 goals and 90 assists during his MLS career and one of five players to have appeared in 300 or more matches.

His best season in MLS came in 1998 when he set career highs for goals (19) and assists (13), despite missing nearly two months of play while with the U.S. National Team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. Jones tallied either a goal or an assist in 18 of the 24 games that he played that season and was named the Galaxy's MVP and a finalist for MLS MVP as the Galaxy set a league record for goals scored that still stands today.

A two-time MLS Cup winner (2002 and 2005), Jones was equally instrumental in helping the Galaxy win a pair of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championships (2001 and 2005) and the 2000 CONCACAF Champions Cup, making the Galaxy the second MLS club to have won that tournament.

In addition to his distinguished career in MLS, Jones was also a permanent fixture on the U.S. National Team from 1992-2004, playing in three consecutive World Cups (1994, 1998, 2002). For his career, Jones amassed a record 164 caps for the Red, White and Blue, scoring 15 goals and adding 22 assists, which are the second most in National Team history. In 2000, Jones had six goals and nine assists for 21 points in 16 National Team matches, setting a record for the most points in a year by a National Team player, a record that stood until 2007.

A native of Westlake Village, Calif., Jones played college soccer as a walk-on at UCLA, eventually leading the Bruins to the 1990 NCAA Championship. Enshrined into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2002, Jones finished his college career with 23 goals and 37 assists in 90 games. After representing the U.S. at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Jones went on to play overseas in both Europe and South America, spending time with Coventry City of the English Premier League and Brazilian side Vasco de Gama.

Ian Feuer -- Goalkeepers Coach

Ian Feuer enters his third season as the Galaxy's Goalkeeper Coach after having been hired by the club on September 1, 2007. Feuer, who played professionally in both Europe and the United States, has worked with more than 10 different goalkeepers during his time with the club, including recent signing Donovan Ricketts.

The Las Vegas native began his professional career in 1993 with Belgian side Club Brugge before briefly returning to the United States later that year to play for the L.A. Salsa of the APSL. After a short stint with the Salsa, the now 37-year old returned to Europe in April 1994 when he signed with West Ham United of the English Premier League. After a brief loan spell at Luton Town, he was sold outright to the club in December 1995. He remained at Luton, winning the Fans' Player of the Year Award in the 1995-96 season, until March 1998 when he again returned to the U.S., signing with the New England Revolution.

Feuer, who earned his first cap with the U.S. National Team against Morocco on March 18, 1992, appeared in and started 26 games for New England in 1998 before being traded to Colorado in February 1999. He started 19 games for the Rapids that season, as well as each of the club's two postseason matches, keeping eight clean sheets while compiling a 1.22 goals against average. After the 1999 MLS season he returned to West Ham and spent the next three years in England with the club.

In addition to his work with the Galaxy, Feuer, who currently resides in Southern California, also runs the Premier Goalkeeping Academy, which offers private coaching sessions and clinics to young goalkeepers.

Armando Rivas - Head Athletic Trainer

Hired in February 2008, Armando Rivas enters his second season as the Galaxy's Head Athletic Trainer. A native of Yucaipa, Calif., Rivas joined the Galaxy after spending seven years in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization.

The 31-year old Rivas began his career in athletic training as a student trainer with the Cal State-Fullerton men's soccer team in 1999. One year later, Rivas spent a season with the Angels, serving as a training intern during the 2000 Major League Baseball season.

Following his internship with the Angels, Rivas was hired by UCLA where he spent one year, working with the men's soccer team in Fall 2000 and the baseball team in Spring 2001, before re-joining the Angels organization in 2001. Over the next seven years, Rivas worked with various teams in the Angels minor league system, including the Arkansas Travelers, Cedar Rapids Kernals and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. During the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Rivas was the trainer for the Angels' AAA affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees.

In addition to his work with the Angels organization, Rivas spent offseasons working at the Sports Medicine Institute in Orange, Calif. which specializes in athletic training.

Rivas, who currently resides in Diamond Bar, Calif. along with his wife Elizabeth, graduated from Cal State-Fullerton in 2000 with a degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis on athletic training. In 2004, Rivas earned a Master's Degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis on athletic training from Cal Poly Pomona.

Cecelia Gutierrez -- Assistant Athletic Trainer

Cecelia Gutierrez enters her third season as assistant athletic trainer with the LA Galaxy. A former Galaxy intern, she was brought onto the athletic training staff during the 2007 preseason. As assistant athletic trainer, Gutierrez will assist the head athletic trainer in all aspects of the players' health. In July 2007, Gutierrez became a certified massage therapist and now serves additionally as one of the club's masseuses.

Gutierrez received her bachelor's degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Athletic Training from San Diego State University and is currently completing course work toward her Master's Degree. While at San Diego State, she worked with the university's football team as well as the University of California - San Diego's athletics program. There she assisted with the tennis, baseball, rugby, ice hockey and soccer programs.

Prior to joining the Galaxy, Gutierrez worked part-time with West Coast Sports Medicine (WCSM), a non-profit that offers under-funded Southern California schools with athletes insurance and certified athletic trainers. The Sacramento native first became exposed to the training profession while volunteering for AC Cruz Azul of the Central California Soccer League.

Shunta Shimizu -- Chiropractor/Active Release Specialist

Shunta Shimizu enters his fifth season with the Galaxy as the club's Chiropractor and Active Release Specialist. He was invited to be an intern at the Galaxy in the beginning of 2005 season after treating Cobi Jones and Peter Vagenas.

Shimizu specializes in active release technique, which breaks down scar tissue build up as a result of wear and tear of the body, injury, and post-surgery. His role with the Galaxy is to keep athletes on the field and speed up the recovery process after an injury.

Shimizu graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 2001 where he majored in Psychology. He then graduated from Southern California University of Health Sciences in 2004 and became a licensed Doctor of chiropractic in 2005. That same year he went on to become fully certified in Active Release Technique.

Ben Yauss - Strength and Conditioning Coach

Ben Yauss enters his first season as Strength and Conditioning coach for the Galaxy. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Yauss joins the Galaxy after having spent the last two and a half years working for Athletes Performance, who are also located at The Home Depot Center. While working for Athletes' Performance, Yauss spent time working with both the U.S. men's and women's National Teams, Chivas USA, Everton FC, as well as the LA Galaxy Youth Academy U-16 and U-18 teams.

Yauss earned a Bachelors of Science Degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Science from Indiana University in 2006. While attending IU, Yauss served as a strength and conditioning consultant for various collegiate athletes where he helped design and implement training programs.

Yauss is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (C.S.C.S.) through the NSCA and a Certified Personal Trainer (C.P.T.) through the American Council of Exercise.

Raul Vargas - Equipment Manager

A member of the Galaxy staff since the team's inaugural season in 1996, Raul Vargas enters his 14th season as the club's equipment manager. One of the longest tenured employees with the Galaxy and in all of MLS, Vargas was honored in 2008 with the MLS Equipment Manager of the Year award. His numerous responsibilities include the ordering and maintaining of game uniforms, practice gear and equipment, making certain these items are ready to go when the players are, wherever in the world the team may be playing.

A native of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, Vargas has long been involved in the sport of soccer. He spent several years playing in various local leagues in Los Angeles County as well playing for five-time Lincoln League champion Deportivo Obrera and for Cobras of the Olympic Soccer League. Vargas and his wife, Ana, reside in their Norwalk home with their four children Edson, Jair, Ruby and Gerson.

Jesús Caballero - Equipment Coordinator

After assisting part-time last season, Jesús Caballero enters his first season with the Galaxy as the club's Equipment Coordinator. Caballero's duties include assisting in maintaining game uniforms, practice gear and ensuring that equipment is ready for all home games and team trainings. In addition, Caballero is on hand at every training session to prepare equipment for the day's activities.

A native of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, Caballero resides in Sun City with his wife, Maria Socorro, and three children Jesse, Jessica and Joanne.

David Kammarman - Director of Soccer Operations

David Kammarman enters his first season with the Galaxy as the club’s Director of Soccer Operations. Hired in February 2009, Kammarman work closely with Bruce Arena and the Galaxy coaching staff in the areas of player personnel, scouting, evaluation, agent and MLS communication, CBA compliance and player appearances.

In addition, Kammarman acts as the liaison between the front office and team related needs Kammarman, 37, joined the Galaxy following an extensive career in soccer in the United States, where he has worked with three other MLS clubs, the Chicago Fire, D.C. United, and the MetroStars (now New York Red Bulls) as well as with ESPN on their broadcasts of MLS and U.S. National Team games, including the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

A native of Laurel, Md. Kammarman played four years of college soccer at University of Delaware before joining the Delaware Wizards of the USL.

In 1996, Kammarman joined D.C. United where he served a variety of functions, first in media relations and assisting on the equipment staff under United head coach Bruce Arena. Kammarman spent three seasons with United when the club won two MLS Cup titles before joining the Chicago Fire and former United assistant Bob Bradley in 1999. From 1999-2002, Kammarman was the Fire’s equipment manager as the club won the 2000 U.S. Open Cup and reaching the 2000 MLS Cup Final.

Kammarman reunited with Bradley in 2003, moving to the MetroStars first as the clubs equipment manager before being promoted to the technical staff as an assistant coach and Manager of Soccer Operations prior to the start of the 2004 season.

He remained in that role until August 2005 and joined ESPN in 2006. With ESPN, Kammarman spent five weeks in Germany and was responsible for research and scouting for the lead broadcast team, working on 20 matches including the Opening Game and World Cup Final in Berlin. He continued that role for all Major League Soccer and U.S. Men’s national team games for the 2007 MLS season.

Shant Kasparian - Team Administrator

Shant Kasparian enters his second season with the Galaxy as the club's Team Administrator after being hired in January 2008. The Reseda, Calif. native was originally hired by AEG in February 2007 and served as the Director of Operations/Team Administration for the LA Riptide of Major League Lacrosse, helping the team win the first Western Conference Championship in franchise history that year.

A graduate of Arizona State University where he majored in Journalism and Mass Communication with an emphasis on media analysis and criticism, Kasparian first worked in soccer in 2004, serving as an intern for Major League Soccer at the 2004 MLS Cup at The Home Depot Center in the operations department. After graduating in 2005, Kasparian interned with both the corporate partnerships and operations departments at the league office in New York and worked on Barcelona's tour of the United States in the summer of 2006 as an operations consultant for the games at Giants Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey), Reliant Stadium (Houston, Texas) and the Los Angeles Coliseum.

In addition to his work with the Riptide in 2007, Kasparian was also a member of the Galaxy's day of game operations staff, assisting with field management and the setup of all locker rooms.

Athletes' Performance

Athletes’ Performance returns for its fifth season as the Official Performance Training Provider to the Galaxy. Athletes' Performance is recognized as the industry leader in offering the highest level of integrated performance training and performance physical therapy, as well as the most fully integrated training systems in the world. Athletes’ Performance systems have helped to power the best of the best in sport: Green Jacket winners, Grand Slam Titles, World Series Winners, Stanley Cup Champions, Super Bowl and NBA Champions, Olympic Gold Medalists, World Cup Medalists and All-Stars from every major sport.

With training facilities at The Home Depot Center, Athletes’ Performance is positioned to provide its worldrenowned integrated training system to help the Galaxy players achieve their individual peak performance levels. Through the integration of performance training, physical therapy and nutrition, Athletes’ Performance staff members create customized solutions for each Galaxy player helping to maximize productivity on the field and decrease injury potential.