Coaching Staff At Grande Sports Academy

The Grande Sports Academy coaching staff embraces the unique Real Salt Lake philosophy of training and is recognized nationally and internationally for their professional playing and coaching experience.  They have all played and coached at the highest levels, international, national teams, MLS, and collegiate.  Their commitment and dedication is to youth development, training, and coaching.  The success of the Real Salt Lake – Arizona Academy is a testimony to their ability to transform talented soccer players in to outstanding competitive players.

Martin Vasquez

Head Coach
Director of Soccer

Martin Vasquez brings a wealth of professional playing and coaching experience to Grande Sports Academy, Home of Real Salt Lake- Arizona Academy (RSL-AZ). His coaching experience has recently been elevated when chosen to serve as assistant coach for the US Men’s National Team, having been hand-selected by newly appointed US Men’s National Team Head Coach, Jurgen Klinsmann.

Prior to Grande Sports Academy, Vasquez served as Head Coach for Major League Soccer’s Chivas USA for the 2009-2010 season. His transitional year at Chivas USA saw quality contributions by Justin Braun and Blair Gavin, and nice acquisitions of Paulo Nagamura and Rudolfo Espinoza.

Before his position as the Head Coach for Chivas USA, Vasquez had the role of Assistant Coach under Jurgen Klinsmann for powerhouse Bayern Munich for the 2008-2009 Bundesliga season. Vasquez began his coaching duties at Chivas USA in 2005, the year Chivas USA joined Major League Soccer. Vasquez served as an Assistant Coach until 2008. He initiated his Major League Soccer coaching career with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2004, as they finished second in the Western Conference.

Vasquez has a storied professional playing career in which he played for both the Mexican and United States National teams—the first player to have represented both countries. He played for two teams in Major League Soccer—the San Jose Clash and Tampa Bay Mutiny—and was part of Major League Soccer’s birth as a professional league. He was a standout role player with the Tampa Bay Mutiny for two years and named to the MLS All-Star Team in 1996.

Freddy Juarez

Assistant Coach
Residential Administrator

Freddy Juarez enters his second season as Assistant Coach and Residential Advisor for Grande Sports Academy, Home of Real Salt Lake- Arizona Academy (RSL-AZ). Juarez’s efforts on and off the field were vital in the successful inaugural season for the RSL-AZ teams. The U16 team finished third at Nationals and the U18 team completed their season in the top 16 in the United States.

Prior to his arrival at Grande Sports Academy, Juarez served as Coaching Director for New Mexico Striker FC from 1998-2010. He coached nine teams to the New Mexico State Championships, and his efforts resulted in 35 players who earned college scholarships. Juarez has developed seven players to the US Youth National teams, along with countless others who were selected for the Regional Team. He has three former players who play professionally, most notably Edgar Castillo, who currently plays for Club America—Mexico’s biggest soccer club. Juarez also coached New Mexico’s ODP teams from 2003-2010, building a reputation as one of the most successful for Region IV.

Juarez began his professional playing career with the El Paso Patriots in 1998, where he clocked over 12,000 minutes and started every game until 2004. Juarez contributed to El Paso’s successful run for four postseason appearances and earned Defensive Player of the Year twice.

After the 2004 season, Juarez was picked up by division rival Minnesota Thunder. He started every game for three years and helped lead the club to two postseason appearances, along with one quarterfinal and semifinal in the US Open Cup. Juarez was also called into camp for the US Men’s National Team in 2005. Juarez was versatile and adapted well on many playing surfaces and conditions, including playing indoor soccer for the NPSL Wichita Wings. He was a member of the US Men’s Futsal National Team for the Pan American Games in Brazil in 2007.

Tony Bruce

Assistant Coach

Residential Advisor

Tony Bruce brings over 30 years of coaching and college identification experience to Grande Sports Academy, Home of the Real Salt Lake Arizona Academy (RSL-AZ). Bruce gathers the student athlete’s academic and athletic goals and uses his experience and expertise to guide the student athlete to a college program that will allow the student athlete to become successful.
Prior to joining Grande Sports Academy, Bruce served as Assistant Director for the San Diego Surf from 2009-2012. During his tenure, Bruce successfully coached Cal South and Region IV Olympic Developmental Program teams and also served on the Education Staff for Cal South.

Before his position as Assistant Director for the San Diego Surf, Bruce held dual roles as the Director of Coaching for Women’s Premier Soccer League’s LA Rampage from 2007-2009 and also was the Assistant Coach for California State University at Northridge.
Bruce’s involvement at high level youth programs resulted in numerous Championships. This includes being the ODP Regional Champions for consecutive years of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and again in 2009. He led his team to the title of Cal South National Champions in 2004 and State National Cup Champions in 2007 and 2002.

Bruce has coached several players who are now playing professionally, including AJ Soares and Ryan Guy with the New England Revolution; Servando Carrasco with the Seattle Sounders; Tony Beltran and Kyle Reynish with Real Salt Lake; Kyle Nakazawa, Brian Perk and Sean Franklin with LA Galaxy; Yura Movisisyan with FC Krasnor and a member of the Aremenian National Team; and Eugene Starikov with FC Tom Tomsk in the Russian Premier League.

Bruce played professionally in the North American Soccer League for the Los Angeles Aztecs and also in the Amercian Soccer League.

John Galas

Director of Goalkeeping

John Galas enters his first full-time season as Director of Goalkeeping at Grande Sports Academy, Home of Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy (RSL-AZ). He joined the team part-time in 2010-2011, and his coaching was essential in the successful inaugural season for the RSL-AZ teams. The U16 team finished third at Nationals, and the U18 team completed their season in the top 16 in the United States with his help. All three goalkeeping seniors received college scholarship offers, and one is playing professionally for Penarol—one of the top clubs in Uruguay.

Prior to Grande Sports Academy, Galas served as Associate Head Coach for the University of Arizona Wildcats from 2007-2009. His primary on-field responsibility was working with the University of Arizona’s goalkeepers, while assisting with the continued development in all facets of the program.

Before joining University of Arizona, Galas had a dual role as Director of Soccer Operations and Assistant Coach at the Portland Timbers for the seasons of 2006-2007. Galas’s responsibilities included opponent scouting, video coordination and analysis. He coached numerous players who played or are currently playing in Major League Soccer, including LA Galaxy goalkeeper John Saunders, Seattle Sounders Terry Boss and Nate Jaqua, Toronto FC Ty Harden, and Portland Timbers Mike Chabala.

Galas served as the Head Coach for the U18 team for the Oregon United for 2005-2006, and prior to that as the Assistant Coach for the University of Oregon from 2003-2005. While in Oregon, Galas trained numerous All-Conference and All American players across the nation. Galas’s successful collegiate career began with the Florida State Seminoles in 2000, where he helped guide them to three consecutive NCAA postseason appearances—including a pair of trips to the round of 16 and first-ever ACC Tournament Championship Match. Florida State went 42-23-6 in three seasons with Galas.

Carmen Munoz

Director of Personal Development

Carmen Munoz joins the team off the field as the Director of Personal Development at Grande Sports Academy, Home of Real Salt Lake – Arizona Academy (RSL-AZ). Munoz collaborates with the coaching staff and Vista Grande High School to ensure each student receives the athletic and academic support necessary to reach each player’s goals. She also works with the academy students on college prep, life skill courses, general tutoring and organizes extracurricular activities.

Prior to her arrival at Grande Sports Academy, Munoz resided in Jamaica to foster a partnership between the Peace Corps and Jamaican Football Federation to develop and implement a soccer and life skills manual labeled Reggae Kidz. Working with the Portland Football Association, Munoz supported semi-professional soccer clubs by strengthening their organizational capacities in grant writing, sponsorship, marketing, strategic planning, professionalism and general administration skills. Munoz facilitated over 50 soccer trainings, team building sessions and seminars on violence and values in sports, with elementary, high school and premier league teams.

Munoz was instrumental in the Peace Corps and worked as a Youth Development Volunteer in Guatemala for over 2 years. She taught Life Skills classes in three high schools and was on the committee that produced a Life Skills Curriculum in Spanish for Peace Corps Guatemala. She has also taught English for beginners, organized reforestation projects, directed weeklong sports and arts camp for over 125 youth in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, created and coached the first youth soccer teams in San Antonio, Sacatepéquez and created a local library with over 2,000 donated books. Munoz was the first woman to play soccer in Guatemala’s municipal men’s league, and was named team captain for the San Antonio Municipal Team.

A graduate of University of California – Berkeley, Munoz studied History and Spanish while graduating cum laude in 2007 and studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain. Munoz played for the OC Slammers and Irvine Strikers Football Club from 1998 to 2002.