FC Copa Academy Coach Dimitri Vassiliadis Named To EDP’s Promising Young Coaches Under 30

FC Copa Academy Coach Dimitri Vassiliadis

Named To EDP’s 2021 Promising Young Coaches Under 30 List

METUCHEN, NJ - FC Copa Academy Coach Dimitri Vassiliadis has been named to EDP’s annual Promising Young Coaches Under 30 List. Based on nominations from club directors, Coach Dimitri has joined 29 other coaches under the age of 30 across EDP’s national footprint who have been recognized for their hard work, dedication and ability to develop players and teams. Vassiliadis joins fellow FC Copa Academy Coaches Matty Berman and Andrew Santos in receiving this prestigious recognition, as Berman and Santos were named to EDP’s 2020 Promising Young Coaches Under 30 List last year.

“All of us at FC Copa Academy wish to congratulate Dimitri and all the outstanding young coaches recognized by EDP,” said FC Copa President and Executive Director of Coaching Roberto Aguas. “Dimitri has been an extraordinarily dedicated coach and contributor since joining our full time staff, and he has served as a perfect example within our mission to retain and develop outstanding coaches.”

Coach Dimitri joined FC Copa in 2019 with four prior years of coaching, including stints at Saint Joseph and Saint Thomas Aquinas High Schools. Vassiliadis had an extraordinary playing career prior to dedicating himself to coaching. After two successful years at Rutgers University, he departed to pursue professional offers in Europe. He went to Cyprus and signed a professional contract with second-division team Olympiakos Lefkosias, where he played for 2 seasons. In his first season, he featured in every game. He then signed for THOI Lakatamias, also in the second division in Cyprus. After injuries shortened his career, he moved back home to New Jersey to immediately start his coaching career.

"I am honored for the opportunity to share my passion and experience with our players at FC Copa Academy each day,’ said Dimitri Vassiliadis. “I am grateful to Coach Roberto, the entire FC Copa staff and EDP for the platform to be nominated and included in this prestigious annual list."

Read the full EDP Promising Young Coaches List here.

About FC Copa Academy www.fccopa.com

FC Copa Academy is a professional soccer organization founded in 2004, which has appeared in 26 state, 19 regional and 7 national finals & championships. FC Copa has one of the highest college placement rates in the country, both soccer and academic, having placed over 360 students into over 180 collegiate programs and developed over 24 professional and national/international team players. A soccer family consisting of over 750 members from the ages of 5 to 19 that come from all areas of NJ, NY, and PA. FC Copa is a year-round soccer development program assisting players in reaching their greatest potential with three locations; FC Copa Rutgers (Middlesex County, New Jersey), FC Copa Millstone (Monmouth County, New Jersey) and FC Copa Brooklyn (Aviator Sports in Brooklyn, New York). The focus is on educating the complete player with a knowledgeable and caring staff. FC Copa Academy teams compete in premier level leagues, tournaments, showcases, and competitions locally, regionally and nationally. FC Copa Academy fields both boys and girls teams in each age group from U7 through U19 and beyond. FC Copa is a founding member of the USL Academy. In addition to the youth academy, FC Copa Academy provides a pathway into the college, semi-pro and professional levels via its New Jersey Copa FC teams competing in its collegiate programs (U20 and U23), USL League Two and United Women’s Soccer team.

About EDP www.edpsoccer.com

Established in 1999, EDP has continued to update, innovate, grow and align their league and tournaments schedules to create the best recruiting opportunities for players, in order to be seen by college coaches from all over the United States. EDP's focus is to help every player with not only their potential in soccer, but in their academic goals and personal development as well. Using every program as a means to empower youth soccer clubs and prepare their young athletes for the next stage in their academic careers, while at the same time, educating players and parents on the journey getting there.