Mercho Named CCAA Coach of the Year
André Mercho of the Aigles du Collège Ahuntsic has been named the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year.
Mercho was honoured during the 2022 CCAA Women’s Soccer National Championship, hosted by Champlain Saint-Lambert.
Ahuntsic was the class of the always competitive Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), finishing atop the conference standings with an unbeaten 9-0-1 record. The Aigles earned a spot at this week’s CCAA Championship with a 1-0 victory over Garneau in the Conference Championship gold-medal final.
“Coach Mercho is a true professional in all aspects of the game and his team was simply dominant this season in the RSEQ,” said Marlene Ford, CCAA Women’s Soccer Convenor. “André always has his team well prepared for their next opponent, focusing on all aspects of the game, and is very deserving of this recognition.”
Mercho joined the soccer program at Collège Ahuntsic in 2011 and has participated in five CCAA Women’s Soccer National Championships. This season, the Aigles went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 ranked team in the CCAA.
His team practices at Ahunstic centre around challenging oneself and always striving to be better than the day before. They also centre around preparing to face the next opponent and achieving the goals set after analyzing videos.
Mercho continuously monitors his student-athletes’ academic progress. He meets with them individually to check on their personal development and assists them with university placements.
In addition to his head coaching role at Ahunstic, Mercho also serves as the technical director with the FC Trois-Lacs club team.
“André had his team consistently at the top of the CCAA’s national rankings all season,” said Danick Lévesque, Athletic Director at Ahuntsic. “In addition to this achievement, he is an extremely devoted coach who is attentive to his student-athletes, and he is very involved in Collège Ahuntsic’s athletic community.”
Other nominees for the CCAA Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year award were Bobbie Taylor of the VIU Mariners (Pacific Western Athletic Association), Franco Imbrogno of the Concordia Thunder (Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference), Tory Walker of the Providence Pilots (Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference), Paul Giannini of the Mohawk Mountaineers (Ontario Colleges Athletic Association) and PJ Ward of the UNBSJ Seawolves (Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association).
The CCAA Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year recipient receives a customized ring provided by Jostens Canada, the Official Ring Supplier of the CCAA.
Source: https://www.ccaa.ca/sports/wsoc/2022-23/releases/2022_wsc_coy