ST. JOSEPH - Missouri Western head women's soccer coach Aaron Avila is stepping down from his position due to personal health concerns. Avila was selected to succeed Chad Edwards as the Griffons head coach on July 23.
"I would like to thank Josh Looney and the entire Missouri Western community for the great opportunity given to me," said Avila. "It has been very tough for me to make the decision to step away from coaching. I know my focus needs to be on my family and my health moving forward. I wish the team nothing but the best and I know Josh and his staff will provide them what they need to be successful"
"Aaron and I have talked this through and I realize how difficult it was for him to reach a decision to step away from soccer to focus on his health," said vice president for intercollegiate athletics Dr. Josh Looney. "Our heart goes out to Aaron and his family. He is a winner and we will all be rooting for him.
"In addition, the women in our soccer program have been through a lot over the last month. They are a resilient, gritty and successful group with solid senior leadership. We remain committed to them and this head coaching search."
Avila came to the Griffons after a successful four-year tenure as head women's soccer coach at MIAA associate member Newman University. His four winning seasons at Newman extended a streak of zero losing seasons as a head soccer coach. Avila brought winning soccer to Newman after the program had experienced five consecutive losing seasons, going 37-22-16 in his time in Wichita. Across stints at Newman and Barton Community College, Avila owns a college coaching record of 104-52-25. He also went 125-27-3 as a head high school soccer coach.
The national search to select Missouri Western's next head women's soccer coach will continue.
--- MWSU Athletics ---