Our Team Members

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Coach Andre grew up and has lived in the heart of the Ironbound all of his life. He spent his youth career playing for Den of Lions SC in Newark, NJ.

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“Success is no accident. It is the hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all love of what you are doing.”

Dr. Vincent Codella serves as both the Academy Medical Director of FC Copa Academy as well as the Official Team Doctor for both the UWS and NPSL New Jersey Copa FC teams.

“Hard work beats talent, when talent does not work hard”

Marty has been the Varsity Soccer Coach at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange for the past 24 years.

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Coach Andrew is an alum of FC Copa Academy and now joins us as the Director of Operations and as Director of Futsal.

Coach Craig brings over 35 years of experience as a player and coach to FC Copa Academy.

Coach Dimitrios, a full-time staff member at FC Copa Academy, has 4 years of coaching experience at many different levels under his belt.

Coach Hector joined FC Copa after an impressive nine-year head coaching tenure with his East Brunswick United FC team.

Coach Lennard joins FC Copa with over a decade of experience as a coach, having previously served as Director of Coaching for DTS.

"It’s been a special opportunity to come back and coach at the club that helped me so much throughout my youth career. Working alongside my mentor, Coach Roberto, and the entire staff as well as having great groups of players and families continues to make this experience special."

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"We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” - Archilochoslike

Atkinson joins FC Copa after serving in senior positions at New York-area clubs over the past seven years.

Dr. Thomas DiPaolo is a graduate of Mercy College in New York, holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy and is licensed to practice in NY and NJ.

Jef Thiffault joins FC Copa Academy as Director of Club Development and Communications with an impressive background in American soccer administration.

Coach Lori plays a vital role in player development at FC Copa Academy. She has been influential in preparing and assisting over 200 FC Copa Academy alumni for the transition to playing college soccer across all levels.