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Columbia University

Columbia Athletics Department
 The Campbell Sports Ctr - 505 West 218th St New York, NY 10034
Division 1 New York Northeast
Private Small National competitor
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Coaches

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Ken Pollard

Kenneth Pollard is entering his 11th season as part of the Columbia men's soccer coaching staff in 2022. Pollard joined the Columbia men's soccer program in March 2012 as an assistant coach before being promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2018 season.


Pollard, a Wales, Great Britain, native, was a two-time Division II National Champion as a player at Southern Connecticut State University in 1990 and 1992. He served as an assistant coach at his alma mater from 1997-2001, capturing back-to-back national championships in 1998 and 1999. In 1999 he aided SCSU to a perfect season of 20-0-0.


Following his five-year stint in New Haven, Connecticut, Pollard joined the men's soccer program at Duke University as an assistant coach for the 2002-2003 season. In 2004, he served on the staff of the bronze-medalist women's U-19 National Team at the 2004 FIFA World Cup Championships.


He made his professional coaching debut in 2000 as an assistant coach of the New York/New Jersey Metro Stars in the MLS. In 2003, he joined the staff of the Philadelphia Charge as an assistant coach in the WPL.


Pollard comes to Columbia after serving a year as head coach of the Purchase College women's soccer program from 2009-10. As a first-year head coach, he led Purchase to a 6-2-1 conference record, a 100% improvement from the previous year. Pollard posts an impressive 158-34-14 record in his 11 years in coaching and playing collegiate soccer.


He graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with a bachelor's degree in Human Performance in 1994 and masters in exercise science in 2001.

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Kevin Valdovinos

Kevin Valdovinos is in his first season as an assistant coach on the Columbia men's soccer staff. Valdovinos was hired in April of 2022 after serving as the Director of Player Performance at Manhattanville College during the 2021 season.


While at Manhattanville, Valdovinos oversaw all areas of data and analytics for the men’s soccer program. He monitored, managed and drove the performance of its players, working closely with all staff members to present daily player reports prior to each training session and match. His other duties also included assisting coaching sessions and training activities, contributing to recruitment and the talent identification processes and assisting with player video analysis.


Valdovinos’ experience also branches to the club level as the Director of Player Development at White Plains Youth Soccer Club. There, he worked across various age groups (U10-U18), contributing to the player development process. He was also responsible for the planning, delivery and evaluation of age-appropriate coaching and training sessions, placing emphasis on each player’s technical development. Valdovinos is also a coach and trainer for Warrior Sports Academy in Port Chester. Additionally, he is the founder of his own business, Valdovinos Performance, which aims to work with clients across various sporting disciplines to enhance their athletic performance.


Valdovinos was a two-time NJCAA Academic All-American at Herkimer County Community College in upstate New York. After earning his associate’s degree, he went on to play for Pfeiffer University from 2017-19, earning a Bachelor of Science in health & exercise science in May of 2019. He is currently working toward his US Soccer National Coaching License.

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Joey Blasetti

Joey Blasetti is in his first year as an assistant coach on the Columbia men's soccer staff. Blasetti was hired in August of 2022 after serving as the assistant and goalkeeper coach at the College of Mount Saint Vincent since January of 2021.


Blasetti helped coach Mount Saint Vincent to the 2021 Skyline Conference Championship. On the way to the title, the Dolphins posted a record of 14-2-2, 9-1-1 Skyline, winning the school’s first conference title in men’s soccer. The Mount defeated No. 1 seed Manhattanville, 2-0, in the championship game, rolling into the NCAA Tournament with nine consecutive wins.


Blasetti brings coaching experience from multiple NCAA levels, the semi-pro ranks, club and high school. He has served as the assistant for the Westchester Flames in USL 2, Iona College, NY Cosmos Academy and Rye Country Day School. At all of those stops, Blasetti specialized with goalkeepers, overseeing tactical and technical development, conducting daily training sessions, breaking down film and teaching the physical and mental skills to succeed.


On the playing circuit, Blasetti was a collegiate goalkeeper for Adelphi University in 2016. He went on to play semi-professionally for FC Bruchsal in Germany. Those experiences took him on to Westchester United in the UPSL and the aforementioned Westchester Flames.


Blasetti holds a Bachelor of Science in recreation education from Lehman College. He currently resides in Yonkers.

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