University of Houston Athletics
Soccer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
The Houston Cougar soccer program has announced the hiring of assistant coach Brandon Bonilla to the coaching staff for the upcoming 2015 season, Head Coach Chris Pfau announced Monday.
“This is a great hire, and we’re very excited that Brandon will be joining us,” Pfau said. “He brings not only experience and coaching knowledge, but a great energy.”
Bonilla joins the Cougars following a banner year at Houston Baptist which saw the Huskies earn their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history. Bonilla helped lead HBU to a program best 10-game unbeaten streak (8-0-2) and the Southland Conference championship.
“I have gotten to know Brandon over the years on the recruiting trail and have been very impressed with him,” Pfau said. “As we continue to build our program, Brandon will make an impact on and off the field. I am very excited to continue to move forward with our soccer program, and to have a staff and team that are all on the same page is very important.”
Bonilla spent four seasons as an assistant coach at HBU, helping the Huskies find success in the Great West and Southland Conferences. In 2011 and 2012, Bonilla helped HBU reach the finals of the Great West Conference before making the jump to the Southland.
Prior to HBU, Bonilla spent two seasons at the University of Nebraska as a volunteer assistant coach. He worked with the attackers and helped lead the 2009 Cornhuskers to their best scoring output since 2002. Nebraska finished third in the Big 12, which was also its best finish since 2002.
Before the University of Nebraska, Bonilla coached the Omaha Football Club, leading the U11 and U12 girls to three tournament finals and one championship.
He coached the Texas A&M club team in 2008-09, as the Aggies finished with a record of 14-0-1.
From 2003-07, Bonilla was the manager for Texas A&M while completing his undergraduate degree, majoring in leadership and development. His duties included helping the head coach train the goalkeepers, and he was in charge of on-field operations. From 2007-09, Bonilla was the voice of Aggie soccer, providing play-by-play in the broadcasting booth.
Prior to moving to Nebraska, he spent five years at Aggieland Soccer Club, mentoring several boys and girls to top performances at the state level.
Bonilla helped lead a mission trip for a Christian soccer camp in Belize in spring, 2009 and was able to teach faith through the game of soccer. The camp was open to anyone in town. They started with 25 kids and by the end of the week had over 200 people wanting to be involved. The camp was held in the afternoons, so during the day they spent their time tutoring kids in school and cleaning and painting houses.
Bonilla has his USSF "C" license and NSCAA Advanced National, Goalkeeper "Level 1 and 2" badges.
