University of Houston Athletics
Benatar Added to Soccer Coaching Staff
6/3/2022 2:15:00 PM | Soccer
Fleur Benatar named newest assistant coach for the Cougars
HOUSTON – Veteran soccer coach Fleur Benatar was named assistant coach for the University of Houston Soccer program, Head Coach Jaime Frias announced Friday.
"We are very fortunate to have Fleur join our Houston Soccer family," Frias said. "Fleur is someone I've known for 20 years and have wanted to collaborate with for a while now. She has a wide range of coaching experiences that will allow her to enhance our student-athlete's performances both on and off the field.
"She is a great teacher of the game, role model and motivator. Coach Benatar believes in the vision of our program and will work tirelessly to create a championship environment in Houston."
Benatar joins the Cougars staff after serving as the head coach for Coppell High School girls soccer, leading the squad to a 15-5-2 record and a third-place finish in Region 3 6-6A during the 2021-22 season. The team advanced to the first-round playoff game.
While at Coppell, Benatar was an assistant coach for the NPSL Denton Diablos, who won the 2021 National Championship.
In 2015, Benatar joined North Texas as an associate head coach. In her first season, the Mean Green won a program-best 19 games and shut out a program-record 15 opponents. They won the C-USA regular-season and tournament championships to earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. During her time with North Texas, she helped guide the Mean Green to four consecutive C-USA titles and three regular-season titles.
In 2001, Benatar was named as the first women's soccer head coach for Texas Woman's University. She led 47 women to All-Conference honors and six to All-Region Honors.
Prior to her tenure with the Pioneers, Benatar began her collegiate coaching journey as an assistant coach for North Texas in 2000, when the program captured its first conference title as it won the Sun Belt Conference regular-season crown.
Benatar has more than 25 years of experience coaching club soccer, working with Liberty FC, Sting Soccer Club, Solar Soccer Club and Liverpool FC America. She previously served as a coach for Region III of the Olympic Development Program, where she evaluated, coached and mentored top soccer players in the region.
Benatar has coaching experience across Texas at the club level, with the Olympic Development Program (ODP) and with U.S. Soccer. She also served as youth national team training coach at U.S. Soccer's Training Center in Dallas.
She is currently a U.S. Soccer National Talent ID Scout, holds a U.S.S.F. National "A" coaching license and is a state-level course instructor. Benatar has also attended U.S. Soccer National Team camps and is also a U.S. Soccer "C" course instructor.
A graduate of Richardson High School, Benatar played college soccer for two seasons at Arkansas before transferring to North Texas in 1996. She received her undergraduate degree in kinesiology from North Texas in 1999 and her master's degree in exercise science in May 2002.
Benatar and her husband, Will, have a daughter, Gabrielle and two sons, Fletcher and Phillip.
JOIN the COUGAR RESERVES
Fans are invited to join the Cougar Reserves to support Houston Soccer. Cougar Reserves members provide financial support directly to Houston Soccer for needs beyond the program's operating budget. For more information about levels of giving and benefits, fans can click here.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarSoccer on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarSoccer or on the team's Instagram page at @uhcougarsoccer.
"We are very fortunate to have Fleur join our Houston Soccer family," Frias said. "Fleur is someone I've known for 20 years and have wanted to collaborate with for a while now. She has a wide range of coaching experiences that will allow her to enhance our student-athlete's performances both on and off the field.
"She is a great teacher of the game, role model and motivator. Coach Benatar believes in the vision of our program and will work tirelessly to create a championship environment in Houston."
Benatar joins the Cougars staff after serving as the head coach for Coppell High School girls soccer, leading the squad to a 15-5-2 record and a third-place finish in Region 3 6-6A during the 2021-22 season. The team advanced to the first-round playoff game.
While at Coppell, Benatar was an assistant coach for the NPSL Denton Diablos, who won the 2021 National Championship.
In 2015, Benatar joined North Texas as an associate head coach. In her first season, the Mean Green won a program-best 19 games and shut out a program-record 15 opponents. They won the C-USA regular-season and tournament championships to earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. During her time with North Texas, she helped guide the Mean Green to four consecutive C-USA titles and three regular-season titles.
In 2001, Benatar was named as the first women's soccer head coach for Texas Woman's University. She led 47 women to All-Conference honors and six to All-Region Honors.
Prior to her tenure with the Pioneers, Benatar began her collegiate coaching journey as an assistant coach for North Texas in 2000, when the program captured its first conference title as it won the Sun Belt Conference regular-season crown.
Benatar has more than 25 years of experience coaching club soccer, working with Liberty FC, Sting Soccer Club, Solar Soccer Club and Liverpool FC America. She previously served as a coach for Region III of the Olympic Development Program, where she evaluated, coached and mentored top soccer players in the region.
Benatar has coaching experience across Texas at the club level, with the Olympic Development Program (ODP) and with U.S. Soccer. She also served as youth national team training coach at U.S. Soccer's Training Center in Dallas.
She is currently a U.S. Soccer National Talent ID Scout, holds a U.S.S.F. National "A" coaching license and is a state-level course instructor. Benatar has also attended U.S. Soccer National Team camps and is also a U.S. Soccer "C" course instructor.
A graduate of Richardson High School, Benatar played college soccer for two seasons at Arkansas before transferring to North Texas in 1996. She received her undergraduate degree in kinesiology from North Texas in 1999 and her master's degree in exercise science in May 2002.
Benatar and her husband, Will, have a daughter, Gabrielle and two sons, Fletcher and Phillip.
JOIN the COUGAR RESERVES
Fans are invited to join the Cougar Reserves to support Houston Soccer. Cougar Reserves members provide financial support directly to Houston Soccer for needs beyond the program's operating budget. For more information about levels of giving and benefits, fans can click here.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarSoccer on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarSoccer or on the team's Instagram page at @uhcougarsoccer.
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