Jan. 6, 2012
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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Josh Walters, who helped Florida State reach the 2011 College Cup, has joined the UCF women's soccer staff as an assistant coach, head coach Amanda Cromwell announced Friday. Walters brings seven years of Division I experience to the UCF staff.
He spent the last two years as Florida State's director of soccer operations. Prior to arriving in Tallahassee, Walters was an assistant coach at Utah State for three seasons. From 2005-06, he was an assistant coach at fellow Conference USA and future BIG EAST program Houston.
With the Knights, Walters will serve as the program's recruiting coordinator. He fills the position that was vacated when Colby Hale was named the head coach at Arkansas in December.
Walters joins a UCF program that has enjoyed great success under Cromwell. The Knights have participated in five-straight NCAA Championships and advanced to the Elite Eight of the tournament this past year.
"We're very excited about Josh joining our staff," Cromwell said. "He is so passionate about the game of soccer. He was a big part of Florida State's successful program. Josh is ready to recruit and coach on the field. He has a ton of connections, both domestically and internationally. I have every bit of faith that Josh will do a great job here."
At Florida State, Walters was responsible for the day to day operations of the program, including team travel, gameday operations and community involvement.
While with Utah State, Walters served as the recruiting coordinator and first assistant responsible for general attacking shape, set pieces, recruiting visits, team travel, video analysis, camps and scheduling opponents. Along with his duties for Utah State, Walters earned positions on both the Region IV and Utah Olympic Development Program (ODP) staffs.
In his first two years at Utah State, Walters was instrumental in helping the Aggies increase their goal total from 18 in 2006 to 40 in 2007. Utah State scored a solid 32 goals in 2008. On the other side of the ball, goalkeeper Ali Griffin had another strong season earning second-team All-WAC honors. She ended the season with a 1.12 GAA and ended her storied USU career with a 1.00 GAA.
Walters came to Utah State from Houston, Texas, where he was an assistant coach for the Cougars, working primarily with the defenders and goalkeepers. Under his guidance, Houston's goalkeepers posted the lowest goals against average in school history of 1.10 GAA and set a school record with five shutouts in 2005, his first season with the Cougars.
Before his stint at Houston, Walters served 12 months as a First Lieutenant with Brigade S2 (Military Intelligence) of the Florida National Guard during Operation Enduring Freedom V in Bagram, Afghanistan. While in Afghanistan, Walters set up and directed a soccer clinic as well as a series of games for Afghan youths.
During his military deployment, Walters received the Bronze Star for Valor and Service, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal.
Prior to his military duties, Walters was the head coach at Lawton Chiles High School in Tallahassee from 2000-05. A 2004 graduate of Columbia Southern University, Walters received his bachelor of arts in sports management and graduated cum laude. Walters holds an NSCAA Premier Diploma, as well as NSCAA Goalkeeper Advance National and USSF "B" licenses.