FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution have hired Rob Becerra, a 20-year coaching veteran with experience across Major League Soccer, the USL Championship, and the international stage, as the club’s new Director of Youth Development. Working in close conjunction with Sporting Director Bruce Arena and Technical Director Curt Onalfo, Becerra will oversee the Revolution Academy and direct the coaching curriculum, player development, and player identification across all four Academy age groups.
“Rob Becerra’s extensive experience across the professional soccer landscape and his proven track record of grooming young talent for the top tiers of soccer in the United States make him the perfect candidate to direct our youth development program with the Revolution Academy,” Technical Director Curt Onalfo said. “I have worked closely with Rob for many years, and he brings the perspective needed to meet our ambitions to enhance the player development pathway in New England. He will be a tremendous asset to our ability to identify and prepare our young players for the demands of the professional game.”
Becerra spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the LA Galaxy, working for both the MLS side and LA Galaxy II. He joined the Galaxy II coaching staff during the team’s inaugural 2014 season, when Onalfo was head coach, and spent three years grooming the Galaxy’s crop of rising talent at the USL Championship level. With Los Dos, he helped the club reach the playoffs in each season and claim the 2015 USL Western Conference crown. During his time with the second team, 11 players earned their promotions to the first team. Becerra followed suit in 2017 when Onalfo tabbed him to be his assistant coach for the MLS side. During his tenure in Los Angeles, he also held the role of Alliance Club Director.
At the collegiate level, Becerra served as Associate Head Coach at Stanford University from 2006-11, where he mentored 18 players to Pac-10 All-Conference selections. He joined Stanford following a head coaching tenure at Redlands University, where he led the Bulldogs to the most successful run in program history. With Redlands, where he also held the role of Assistant Athletic Director and Admissions Liaison, he compiled a 126-28-7 record while graduating his players at a rate of 95 percent. Becerra’s teams featured 45 all-conference selections and earned the school’s first ever NCAA playoff appearances, NCAA Division III Final berth, and five consecutive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Program titles. In 2001, he was named the All-Far West Region Coach of the Year.
Becerra, who holds a USSF A License and a Director of Coaching License, also brings extensive knowledge gleaned from various roles with U.S. Youth National Teams. He was an assistant coach with the U.S. Men’s Under-19 Youth National Team in 2019. As U.S. Soccer’s Technical Advisor for the Southwest Division from 2011-14, Becerra worked directly with nine different men’s and women’s national teams from the Under-14 through Under-23 age groups. In addition, he has lent his instruction to various U.S. boys’ and girls’ youth national team camps as a coach.
Becerra has also been coaching at the club and high school levels since 1993, winning numerous league titles and coach of the year honors during his career. He has enjoyed recent success as Director of Coaching for San Diego Surf SC. In 2018, he led the girls’ 2005-birth-year group to a national championship, while the 2003s finished as DA semifinalists. In 2020, Surf SC was the only club in the country to see all its teams win the Champions League bracket. The previous season, all three of the club’s DA teams qualified for the playoffs.
Becerra joins the Revolution Academy with the MLS NEXT spring season already underway. Three of the Revolution Academy’s four age groups resume play this weekend at Gillette Stadium. Click here to learn more about the Revolution Academy. For more information on MLS NEXT, the league’s new elite player development platform, click here.
