Story written and posted by Anthony Perry '08, Fisher College Assistant Athletic Director/Sports Information
BOSTON, MASS. – A familiar face and Falcon has returned home as John Del Valle has been named the Head Coach for Men’s and Women’s Soccer, as announced by the Fisher College Athletic Department this morning. Del Valle played one season as the team’s goalkeeper in 2011 before embarking on his coaching career which led him to six seasons on the Fisher sidelines.
“I am pleased to announce that we have hired John Del Valle as our new Soccer coach.” said Scott Dulin, Fisher College Director of Athletics. “JD has been a part of this program as a student-athlete and a coach from 2011-2017. He has also been a part of the coaching staff for all of our soccer teams that have qualified for post-season play. We are happy to have him back in the position as Head Soccer Coach for both the Men’s and Women’s programs. He bleeds Fisher blue and is a work horse, and I am excited to see where he brings both teams. “
A now veteran coach, Del Valle returns to Beacon Street with plenty of coaching experience in both Men’s and Women’s Soccer. This past fall, Del Valle was an assistant coach for the Suffolk University Men’s Soccer program along with being an assistant/goalkeeper coach for the Babson College Women’s program.
“I would like to thank [Fisher College] President Steve Rich, Shiela Lally (Dean of Students) and Scott Dulin for bringing me back home to lead the Fisher Soccer programs.” Del Valle said upon his hiring. “Being a former student-athlete and a coach here for so long, I have a unique understanding of how to navigate the challenging waters that lay ahead of us. It is a challenge I am ready for and I am excited to work with these two soccer programs.”
At Suffolk, Del Valle coached under former Fisher Head Soccer Coach Bill Maddock and helped the team to an 8-9-1 finish in his first season. He was hired prior to the start of the 2020 season, which was cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. During this past fall, the Suffolk goalkeepers allowed 1.69 goals per game against a very tough Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) schedule. The Rams finished 8th in the CCC and lost their opening round tournament game to Wentworth, 2-0.
On the Women’s side, Del Valle coached the Babson women for three years (two seasons) in which the Beavers made consecutive New England Men’s and Women’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) post-season appearances, 2019 & 2021. This past fall, the Babson starting goalkeeper was named to the NEWMAC All-Conference First team after leading the conference in shutouts and finishing second in wins (8), goals against average (0.44) and save percentage (.918). She also finished the season with an impressive streak of 777 minutes without conceding a goal over eight games. The team ultimately fell to Worcester Polytechnic Institute during penalty kicks in the NEWMAC Quarterfinals.
Prior to his previous stops at Suffolk and Babson, Del Valle served as the Associate Head Coach at Newbury College, serving as the recruiting coordinator and goalkeeper coach of both the Men’s and Women’s programs. Del Valle helped the Nighthawks men’s team to a historic 2018 campaign that saw the squad capture the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) regular-season and tournament titles on the way to the program’s only NCAA Tournament appearance.
Del Valle began his coaching career here at Fisher first as an assistant coach from 2012-2015 before being promoted to the Head Coaching role in 2016. Over his six seasons as a coach, Del Valle helped to build both programs to regional and national prominence. Both teams earned two appearances in the Association of Independent Institutions (AII), now known as the Continental Athletic Conference (CAC), tournament with the Women’s program capturing 10+ wins in three of his six seasons. The 2014 & 2015 teams each won 12 games and advanced to the AII Tournaments while the 2017 campaign saw the program finish a program best, 13-4-0.
As a student-athlete for Fisher, Del Valle spent one season (2011) as the team’s primary goalkeeper and set the program record for 226 saves in a single season. The 226 saves is also the second best in a season in NAIA history. His collegiate playing career began at Massasoit Community College (NJCAA Division I), where he backstopped the Warriors to back-to-back NJCAA Region XXI New England Championships in 2004 and 2005.
Coach Del Valle resides in the Boston area and can be reached at jdelvalle@fisher.edu or 617-236-8815.