Assistant Coach Aaron Faro
Date of birth:
March 11, 1981 		Hometown:
North Chili, NY
High school:
Churchville-Chili (1999)		 College:
Messiah College (2003)
Year at Messiah:
First		 Family:
Wife (Christine), daughter (Emma)

Former Messiah standout Aaron Faro will begin his first season as a member of the Falcons’ coaching staff in 2009, being named first-year head coach Brad McCarty’s top assistant following a national search.

Faro will also serve as the athletics recruitment coordinator in his full-time role, functioning as a liaison between the admissions and intercollegiate athletics departments at Messiah.

“I am very excited to have Aaron be a part of our coaching staff, a part of the program and a part of Messiah,” said Brad McCarty, Messiah men’s head soccer coach. “He is a quality individual who has much to offer to the culture and environment here at the college.”

A pioneer of the current state of Messiah men’s soccer, Faro helped the Falcons to their first two national championships (2000, 2002) while capturing several outstanding individual honors, including NSCAA All-American and MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year as a junior.

Since that time, Faro has spent five years playing professional soccer while also working in sports ministry. He’s coached both club and varsity high school soccer, giving what McCarty calls “a hand-picked, excellent fit for the soccer program, the athletics department and the college as a whole.”

Much of Faro’s experience stems from his work at Missionary Athletes International (MAI), one of the world leaders in sports ministry. Since graduation, Faro has both played and worked for the United Soccer League’s Charlotte Eagles organization — a subsidiary of MAI. Faro’s playing career spanned five seasons with the Eagles, helping the club to the USL National Championship in 2005 while aiding to runner-up finishes in both 2004 and 2006.

Faro also spent the last four years of his playing career as the Charlotte Eagles camp director, overseeing all aspects of 20-plus camps each summer while managing over 60 staff members. Under Faro’s leadership, the Eagles’ sessions grew to include camps for high school and college teams as well as camps for underprivileged youth in the inner city and Hispanic communities of Charlotte.

When Faro hung up his competitive cleats, he took over as the Charlotte Eagles team camp director, ministering to Christian high school and college teams both on and off the field. In 2008, Faro began splitting his summers between Charlotte and Chicago where, in another MAI organization, Faro served as an assistant director at the Chicago Eagles Summer Academy. There, Faro was responsible for the recruitment of college participants, coaching the men’s team and camp curriculum writing.

Faro’s leadership has spanned well beyond United States, however, as the North Chili, N.Y. native has led sports ministry tours in Holland, Japan, Thailand, Laos, India, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and Brazil.

“Aaron demonstrated excellent leadership skills throughout his four years here at Messiah, and continued that development during his six years with MAI as a player, administrator and sports minister,” McCarty said. “I am looking forward to Aaron’s influence on the guys’ lives through his personal experience, his passion for sports ministry and his gift of discipleship.”

In addition to his work with MAI organizations, Faro also served as a high school varsity boys’ soccer coach at Grace Academy (Charlotte) from 2003 to 2009, winning the National Association of Christian Athletes (NACA) Division I National Championships in 2004, 2005 and 2008. Faro was named the NACA Coach of the Year in 2004. He also served as the head coach of the U16-U18 Mecklenburg Union Futbol Club from 2003-2009.

A sport and exercise science major who graduated magna cum laude from Messiah in 2003, Faro was a three-time all-conference performer for the Falcons, serving as team co-captain in his senior season.

In his role as athletics recruitment coordinator, Faro will work closely with the admissions department, serving as a point person for intercollegiate athletics at open houses and on-campus visits. Faro will also oversee a variety of home athletic events in his administrative role, managing the department’s event staff.

Faro and his wife, Christine, recently had their first child — Emma — in March. The couple will be moving to the Grantham area at the outset of the 2009-2010 academic year.