July 21, 2009
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State men's soccer assistant coach Sami B. Nedjar has been named the ninth-most influential person in San Diego County by the website XKSanDiego.com. Nedjar joins head coach Lev Kirshner (No. 15) and incoming recruit and three-time U.S. national team member Jose Altimirano (No. 38) on the 50-person list.
Entering his second year with the Aztecs, Nedjar has expanded SDSU's recruiting efforts throughout the West Coast, focusing mainly on the San Diego area. This year's class (announced on June 12) features two San Diego County products, including Altimirano and Torrey Pines High School goalkeeper Blake Hylen (No. 7 ranked goalkeeper in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com).
Nedjar, who is also the special projects coordinator and camp clinic coordinator at San Diego State, has been instrumental in organizing free clinics and seminars for players and coaches across the San Diego area. At the clinics, the Aztec coaching staff discusses tactics and game analysis before and after SDSU games.
A graduate of Oceanside High School, Nedjar has 24 seasons of coaching experience under his belt, including 12 at the collegiate level. Nedjar has also worked as a professional coach for Hotspurs United Soccer Association, where he developed 21 state Olympic Development Program (ODP) players, five regional and four youth national team players, including U.S. Olympic team member Sal Zizzo.
Nedjar was the head women's coach at Cuyamaca College (2000-04) where he guided the Coyotes to two straight Pacific Coast Conference championships (2001-02). While at Cuyamaca, Nedjar also coached both the Granite Hills High School boy's (1999-05) and the girl's squads (1996-2004). Nedjar led the boys' team to four straight CIF San Diego Section championships and put together a 66-game unbeaten streak. Nedjar's squads managed to finish among the top 10 in the nation three consecutive years and a No. 1 ranking in 2003 with a 28-0-3 record. Nedjar also led the Granite Hills girls' team to six league titles.
Nedjar also served as the director of coaching with Hotspurs from 1991-2007 where he supervised and evaluated a club with over 30 boys and girls teams. He acted as a liaison between players and college coaches.
Nedjar has received a number of accolades throughout his coaching career, including the High School Coaching Legend Award (2006) by the San Diego Hall of Champions and CIF San Diego Section, the California High School (large schools) Boys Coach of the Year (2004) by the NSCAA, and the National Youth Girls Coach of the Year (2001) by the NSCAA.