Cam Rast
Encyclopedia
Cameron “Cam” Rast is a former U.S. youth international soccer defender
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 and current head coach of the Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...

 men’s soccer team.

Youth and collegiate career

Rast grew up in California where he played soccer with the Santa Clara Sporting Club. He attended Royal High School
Royal High School (California)
Royal High School is one of three public high schools in Simi Valley, California. Royal is part of the Simi Valley Unified School District and is located on Simi Valley's west side....

 in Simi Valley, California
Simi Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Simi Valley had a population of 124,237. The population density was 2,940.8 people per square mile...

. As a high school soccer player, he was a 1987-1988 Gatorade High School Player of the Year. After graduating from high school, he attended Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...

 where he played four seasons (1988-1991) as a defender
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 under head coach Steve Sampson
Steve Sampson
Steve Sampson is a soccer coach and the former head coach of the United States men's national team and the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer...

. His sophomore year, he was the captain of the Broncos as they made it to the NCAA championship game
NCAA Men's Soccer Championship
The NCAA began conducting a Men's Division I Soccer Championship tournament in 1959 with an eight-team tournament. Currently, the tournament field consists of 48 teams...

 only to have NCAA officials name Santa Clara and their opponents University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

 co-champions after four overtimes. The next year, Rast suffered a knee injury which knocked him out of most of the season. However in 1991, Santa Clara and Virginia met again in the NCAA title game. This time the game went through four scoreless overtimes before Virginia took the title in penalty kicks. On an individual level, Rast was named a first team All American
Division I First-Team All-American (soccer)
The Division I First-Team All-Americans are the best eleven U.S. college soccer players as selected by the NCAA.-1970–1983:From 1970 to 1983 the NCAA only named defenders and forwards in addition to one goalkeeper.-1983–present:...

 in both 1989 and 1991.

Youth international

While still in college, Rast was selected as a member of the U.S. U-20 national team at the 1989 U-20 World Cup. In that tournament, the U.S. took fourth place. Not only did Rast go to two NCAA championship games and take fourth in the U-20 World Cup, he also won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. soccer team at the 1991 Pan American Games
Football at the 1991 Pan American Games
The eleventh edition of the Men's Football Tournament at the Pan American Games was held in Havana, Cuba from August 4 to August 13, 1991. Eight teams competed, with title holder Brazil missing...

. He then capped his career as a youth international as the captain of the U.S. soccer team
United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Gold:* Michael Marsh — Athletics, Men's 200 metres* Quincy Watts — Athletics, Men's 400 metres* Kevin Young — Athletics, Men's 400 m Hurdles...

 at the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...

. This team did not experience the same level of success, going 1-1-1 and failed to qualify for the second round. The following year, he was part of the U.S. team at the 1993 World University Games
1993 Summer Universiade
The 1993 Summer Universiade, also known as the XVII Summer Universiade, took place in Buffalo, New York, United States of America.-Medal table:-External links:*...

.

Coaching

Rast was selected in the third round of the 1992 National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) Amateur Draft by the Cleveland Crunch
Cleveland Crunch
The Cleveland Crunch was formed in 1989 as an expansion team in the Major Soccer League to replace the Cleveland Force, which had folded on July 22, 1988. Akron businessmen George S. Hoffman and Stuart Lichter formed an ownership group, named Al Miller general manager and former Force star Kai...

. However, he has made his name since his collegiate and youth international career as a junior national and college coach. He served as the assistant coach to John Ellinger
John Ellinger
John Ellinger is a former American soccer coach of the Under-17 United States men's national soccer team, and former head coach of Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer....

 for the U.S. U-17 national team from 1997 through the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship
1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship
The FIFA U-17 World Championship 1999 was held in the cities of Auckland, Christchurch, Napier, and Dunedin in New Zealand between 10 November and 27 November 1999...

. At that competition, the U.S. took fourth place. He also served as an assistant coach of the U.S. U-23 national (Olympic) team at one of the Olympics. In 2002, Rast became the head coach of the Santa Clara men’s team, a position he holds today. In 2006, he was selected as the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year.

Besides coaching Rast is also an executive member of the U.S. Soccer's Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

 as well as the soccer member of the Athlete Advisory Council to the U.S. Olympic Committee.

On May 17, 2006 Santa Clara inducted Rast into its Athletic Hall of Fame.

External links

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