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Camilo Valencia joined Mohave Community College in August 2022 as the director of soccer programs and men’s team head coach.  He will lead the way to help MCC create the first-ever college athletic program based in northwestern Arizona.  

Prior to MCC, he spent six seasons as an Assistant Men’s Soccer Coach at UNLV, ending his tenure as the Interim Head Men’s Soccer Coach in 2021. Valencia first joined the staff in July 2016, helping guide the Rebels to the 2016 WAC Tournament Title and a 2016 NCAA second round appearance.

Prior to joining UNLV, he spent two seasons as the top Assistant Coach at Sewanee: The University of the South in Tennessee. As the lead assistant for the Tigers, he assisted in all aspects of running the team while also serving as the recruiting coordinator.

Valencia began his coaching career as the Technical Director at Club Sport Legends in Cali, Colombia from 2012 to 2015. This program provides Colombian student-athletes an opportunity to continue to play competitive sports while attending a university in the U.S.

Before stepping into coaching, Valencia played professionally in the Colombian first division for Cortulua and Boyaca Chico and in Argentina for CSD Flandria. Additionally, he played for the U-20 Colombian National Team in 2003. He played for 12 years and is a product of the youth programs of Colombian powerhouse Deportivo Cali.

As a student-athlete Valencia was a captain at Yavapai College, where he guided the Roughriders to the 2007 NJCAA National Championship. He then transferred to UNLV playing for the Rebels from 2008 to 2010.

A graduate of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Valencia received his bachelors of science in Business Marketing in 2011 and received his master’s degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from the California University of Pennsylvania in 2016. He holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) “B” License and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National and Advanced National Diplomas.

A native of Washington, D.C., Valencia and his wife Kalie welcomed their daughter Alana in July 2018 and son Lucas in 2021. 

Cynthia Cervantes

Women’s Soccer Head Coach
Administration

Phone: (866) 664-2832
Email: ccervantes@mohave.edu

Mohave Community College just announced the hiring of a head coach for northwestern Arizona’s first-ever Women’s College Soccer Team.

Cynthia Cervantes was most recently the women’s team head coach at Western Texas College, and is currently assistant coach for the U.S. Western Region Olympic Development Program working with her friend and mentor Olympic Soccer Champion Brandi Chastain. At MCC, in addition to helping build the region’s first women’s college soccer program, she will also be an instructor and assist with student life activities.

Cervantes has been playing soccer since she was 12 years old and started coaching youth soccer in her hometown of El Paso, Texas at the age of 16. She earned bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and Physical Education from Eastern New Mexico University, and her master’s degree in sports science from Ohio State University. She then became an instructor and a college coach, Director of Coaching for the El Paso Juventus Soccer Club, and Coach for New Mexico Youth Soccer.

She has also racked up some impressive awards, including:

2010, 2011 – MVP EL Paso Player of the Year
2011 – Conference of the Carolinas Conference Champion
2019, 2020, 2021 – El Paso Coach of the Year
2022 – 30 Under 30 Class with United Soccer Coaches

Coach Valencia said he and Cervantes will be very busy over the next year and half setting up a system to support successful athletic programs in a region that has never had a college athletic team. It is a lofty goal which entails many facets most people outside of college athletics may not realize, such as ensuring the college meets all requirements of the National Junior College Athletic Association, NJCAA, and the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference, ACCAC.

The coaches will also work closely with the college to build every internal and external process, essentially from scratch. This includes creating student-athlete recruitment and academic policies and procedures, developing scholarship funding sources, medical and athletic training guidelines and requirements, ensuring suitable housing for student-athletes, and community outreach plans that include developing soccer camps and clinics throughout the region, possibly as early as this coming spring and summer 2023 terms.

She started December 1st, 2022!