Following the resignation of head coach Alex McNutt, the Carleton Ravens women’s soccer team has named assistant coach Raz El-Asmar as his replacement.
El-Asmar came to the Ravens in the 2012-13 season and worked under McNutt for the past two years.
El-Asmar said he “sort of grew into [his] role with the team and started to do more and more.”
“I’ve been in coaching for over 20 years,” El-Asmar said.
During this time, he said he worked as a technical director with a local soccer club, Capital United, which he helped found in 1999.
“Previous to that I had coached at Algonquin College as well for a couple of years,” El-Asmar said. “I’ve also coached at the provincial level, especially the U-15 to U-18 levels.”
Carleton’s director of recreation and athletics, Jennifer Brenning, said El-Asmar’s extensive knowledge, technical expertise, and experience coaching women at the university level are what made him a good choice for the position of head coach.
“He’s a very well-qualified and experienced coach,” Brenning said. “We wanted to make sure it was a smooth transition for the program.”
El-Asmar said he is excited about his new position.
“I feel blessed, to be honest with you, and I’m excited about it,” he said. “I’m happy and it was a good fit for both the program and myself as well.”
El-Asmar said he hopes to ensure there is continuity for the team even though the coach has changed.
“Stability is important at this level. I want to make sure that at least from a starting point we continue to grow on recent successes that Alex was able to reach,” he said.
El-Asmar said there is a big difference from his past position as the assistant coach to being the head coach of the team.
“There is a huge difference in the sense that as the assistant coach, you’re there to support the head coach. The actual philosophy and then the actual plan is delivered by the head coach,” he said. “As the head coach, now you look at the program where it is and then you build based on where it is and then you try to grow.”
Fifth-year defender and team captain Briana De Souza will not be playing with the Ravens next season, but she said she thinks El-Asmar is a good choice.
“He knows what the team’s about and our style of play so I think its going to be a pretty smooth transition,” she said. “I think he brings a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of experience . . . and his philosophy of soccer is very close to what Alex was teaching the last five years.”
Brenning said the team will miss McNutt, but said she thinks El-Asmar will do a great job with the team.
“For Alex it’s a loss for sure, he’s a great guy, a great coach, but I think Raz will do a great job,” she said. “He certainly has the knowledge and expertise to continue to develop this program.”
