Juan Pablo Favero enters his fifth season at San Diego State as the associate head coach after joining the Aztec coaching staff in June 2012.
Head coach Mike Friesen's right-hand man has been invaluable to the program since stepping foot on campus. Favero has been instrumental in both the Aztecs' on-field and off-field success through every aspect of coaching the Aztecs. Helping the team set and execute the "process," a different way of looking at goal-setting, as well as the yearly mental training and leadership development plans, have yielded unquestionable results as the Scarlet and Black is enjoying its most successful era in program history.
During his time at San Diego State, he has helped the Aztecs to an unprecedented four straight outright Mountain West regular-season titles, something that had never been accomplished in the 17-year history of the league. Along the way, SDSU has posted a 64-15-6 (.788) overall record, including a 35-4 (.897) record against Mountain West competition, won three MW Championships crowns and earned three NCAA tournament berths, including a Sweet 16 berth in 2012.
Team success breeds individual awards and Favero has been instrumental in helping Aztecs collect individual hardware as well. He has helped produce the program's first All-American since 1998, when Megan Jurado etched her name in the record book in 2012. In addition to Jurado, he has coached three conference tournament MVPs, two MW Defensive Players of the Year, one MW Offensive Player of the Year, one MW Freshman of the Year, 11 all-region performers, 15 all-MW tournament honorees and 25 all-MW selections.
Favero's coaching career has spanned 21 years at six different universities. The bulk of his experience has been as a head coach where he has accumulated an overall coaching record of 151-122-30 (.547) over 16 seasons.
He came to Montezuma Mesa after serving as the first assistant coach for the women's program at South Florida during the 2011 season. While at USF, he was responsible for overseeing the team's forwards as well as the Bulls' offensive and defensive tactics. He also coordinated the recruiting and video analysis for the program.
Previously, he held the head coaching position at Georgia College & State University, where he was at the helm for two of the best seasons in school history as his teams combined to finish with an overall record of 23-9-9. In 2008, his team cracked the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II Top-25, reaching as high as No. 19. In that same season, the Bobcats also made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Favero coached 16 all-conference players in two years at GCSU, four all-region honorees and the first All-American in school history in 2009. The Bobcats gave up just 10 goals that year for a paltry 0.48 goals against average. The team added consecutive NSCAA Academic and Ethics/Sportsmanship awards for the first time in GCSU history.
Prior to GCSU, Favero spent five seasons at Newberry College where he set school records for career wins (40) and winning percentage (.517). The 2007 squad recorded the program's best conference finish (second place) and best league mark in school history. The team also received votes in the NSCAA Division II Poll for the first time in school history.
In 2004, Favero led the Lady Indians to numerous school records, including best overall record at 13-5-1. He was named South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year in only his second year at Newberry, which was his third career coach-of-the-year honor. In five seasons at the helm, the Indians garnered 15 all-conference awards, including one honorable mention All-American.
Favero has a career-long pattern of taking programs from rags to riches, extending beyond the Lady Indians. He had a hand in rebuilding both the men's and women's soccer programs at Missouri Baptist University where he led his teams to NAIA prominence and earned American Midwest Conference Coach-of-the-Year honors in 2001 (men) and 2002 (women). He helped turn around both teams en route to each winning conference championships and earning national ranks.
Prior to his work at Newberry and Missouri Baptist, he also helped rebuild the soccer program at his alma mater, Palm Beach Atlantic University, where he served as the assistant for the men's program from 1994-1996 before taking the helm as the head coach for the 1997 and 1998 seasons.
Favero made the trek from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to the United States 25 years ago as a student-athlete on a scholarship to Marist College in New York. After later transferring to Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida, he won numerous awards and was a two-time Academic All-American. He received his undergraduate degree with honors in international business and marketing and later earned a Master's degree in counseling psychology.
He is a member of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), from which he holds a National "A" coaching license, and of the NSCAA, from which he holds the Premier Diploma. He is also a member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), the Argentine Association of Sport Psychology (APDA) and has a Level 1 Psychology for Soccer Certificate from the English Football Association.
In addition, he has worked as a sport psychology consultant with the U.S. Soccer Federation Coaching Schools, the NSCAA Coaching Schools, the River Plate Women's Soccer Club (Argentina), the Saint Louis University men's soccer team, the Thermo-King Corporation and several American and Argentine Universities amongst others. He has also been involved in coaching and sports psychology with the Georgia and South Carolina Olympic Development Programs. He has also published several articles on the topics of mental toughness, coaching and leadership.
Favero is married to his high school sweetheart, Christie. The couple has three children, Alejo, Keila, and Malena.