R.J. Bevers enters his ninth season as UAlbany's top assistant men's soccer coach. Since he joined head coach Johan Aarnio's staff, the Great Danes have amassed 56 victories, their three winningest seasons at the Division I level and an America East regular-season championship. As an assistant, he has also helped coach 16 players who garnered all-conference recognition.
Bevers previously served as the director of soccer training for Euro Futbol United, a premier youth club team in Vestal, N.Y. He was involved in the training and coaching of eight youth teams and handled organizational tasks such as scheduling, travel, budgeting and fundraising. Euro Futbol United won consecutive under-18 boys' regional indoor championships in 2000 and 2001, including winning the first State Cup for the Binghamton District in 12 years.
Bevers also held ownership of Soccer Xtra, an academy that specialized in small-group training and clinics for youth, ages 12-17. In addition, he coached the girls' varsity soccer team at Norwich High School in 2001 and led the Purple Tornadoes to their first winning season in school history with an 11-6 record. Bevers, who previously assisted with the Binghamton High School boys' soccer program, also coached for the State NY-E Olympic Development Program (ODP).
A native of Warnsveld, Netherlands, Bevers has 20 years of playing experience at the top amateur level in Holland. He holds two coaching diplomas from the Royal Dutch Soccer Association and has seven years of coaching experience at the Dutch Premier Youth Level. In 1997, he received a bachelor's degree in leisure management from the Leisure Management School in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Bevers completed his master's degree in sport management from SUNY Cortland through its online program in 2009, graduating with the highest grade point average in his class.
