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Dave Giffard
Dave Giffard wrapped up his 14th season at the helm of the VCU Men’s Soccer program following the 2023, accumulating a 116-98-46 overall record with the Rams.
During his tenure at VCU, Giffard has garnered many coaching honors. In 2023 he was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the second time, having already earned the honor in 2018, Giffard was also named one of the Top 10 coaches in college soccer by Top Drawer Soccer in 2016. In addition, Giffard was named the 2012 Virginia State Coach of the Year.
Under the direction of Giffard, VCU men’s soccer has soared to new heights. The Rams have been a force in the A-10, compiling a 57-20-22 conference record and making five appearances in the conference title game (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2023) and recently VCU claimed its second A-10 regular season title (2018, 2023). Under Giffard, the Black & Gold have made three NCAA Tournament appearances (2012, 2013, 2017) including the #14 overall seed in 2012 and the #16 overall seed in 2017. The squad made it to the second round in both 2012 and 2017.
The Rams have gained national attention under Giffard, with at least one appearance in the national top-25 poll 10 of the last 11 seasons and more than 20 top-25 wins. He continually recruits some of the best players in the country to play in a VCU uniform. In the last nine years, VCU has had six top-25 recruiting classes, including four of the last five seasons.
Giffard has an impressive track record of developing young players who come to play under him. Recently, two VCU Men’s Soccer players have been ranked one of the nation’s Top-10 best players by Top Drawer Soccer. In 2018, Siad Haji was ranked the #8 player in the nation, and Rafael Andrade Santos was ranked #6 in 2017. Giffard has coached six student-athletes to All-American honors in Siad Haji, Juan Monge Solano, Rafael Andrade Santos, Dennis Castillo, Romena Bowie and Ulrik Edvardsen. Twenty-four of Giffard's players have been named United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) All-Region players. In addition to national honors, Giffard’s athletes continue to accumulate conference honors, including six Conference Players of the Year (Siad Haji, Rafael Andrade Santos, Dennis Castillo, Jason Johnson, Celio Pompeu, Andrey Salmeron) and 60 All-Conference players.
Since he started coaching in 1999, Giffard has been a pipeline to the pros, with more than 150 of his athletes having gone on to play professionally. In his time at VCU, more than 40 of Giffard’s players have gone on to the pro ranks. His former athletes have played in leagues in the United States, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Sweden, Netherlands and Costa Rica to name a few. In the last ten years, VCU has had eight MLS Draft Picks. In 2020, Ryo Shimazaki was selected in the 3rd round and 59th overall by The Columbus Crew. In the 2019 draft, Siad Haji was selected #2 overall by the San Jose Earthquakes. Haji is the highest draft pick ever out of VCU in any sport and tied with Marcus Camby for the highest draft pick of any sport in the A-10. Other draft picks from VCU include Jason Johnson, Dennis Castillo, Dakota Barnathan, Juan Arbelaez, Kharlton Belmar and Rafael Andrade Santos.
Since 2013, VCU is one of only 12 schools that has had multiple Generation Adidas contracts. VCU joins Syracuse, Akron, North Carolina, Indiana, UCLA, Maryland, Louisville, Wake Forest, Creighton, St. Louis and UCF in this category. Not only does Giffard develop his student athletes on the field, but also in the classroom. The VCU Men’s Soccer GPA is consistently over 3.0, earning them multiple United Soccer Coaches academic awards. In the last nine years, VCU has boasted a perfect Academic Performance Rating of 1,000 five times.
VCU Men’s Soccer has been heavily involved in the community participating in events such as Celebrate RVA, Team Impact, Prism Soccer Camp, and Feed More.
Giffard holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from MacMurray College and a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from UAB. Giffard also serves as a scout for US Soccer. He resides in Glen Allen with his wife Marisa, son Regan and daughter Reese.
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