Head Coach Petar Draksin

Head Coaching Tenure: 16 years

Head Coaching Record: 151-126-26, .545

Years Head Coach for Sahuaros: 7th year

Since 1992, Petar Draksin has been the head coach for the men's program at Grand Canyon University. Last season, Draksin led Grand Canyon University to the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the first time in 10 years. The Antelopes also won their second consecutive Pacific West Conference title in 2007. Draksin was named PacWest Coach of the Year for the second straight year. Also in 1996, Draksin was named Far West Region Coach of the Year and NSCAA/Umbro Division II Coach of the Year and was given the honor of coaching the West Region All-American team at the Umbro/Select All-Star Game in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

During the summer of 2001, Draksin began coaching the Arizona Sahuaros professional and developmental soccer teams. In his first season, he turned the Sahuaros into a winner, taking them from a 4-12 record to a 11-5 mark. It was the first winning season in franchise history. In 2003, he led the Sahuaros to the Men's Premier Soccer League Championship with a 2-1 overtime win against the Utah Salt Ratz in Salt Lake City, Utah. The following season, his team was runner-up when the team became a member of the National Premier Soccer League.

After arriving in the United States at the age of 15, Draksin had aspirations to pursue a professional soccer career. He had stints with various indoor and outdoor professional teams. After five years as a player, Draksin decided to focus on his coaching career. He credits most of his soccer background to the prestigious New York Cosmopolitan Soccer League, where numerous successful coaches and players have participated.

Since 1982, Draksin has coached both boys and girls for various age groups in the Arizona Youth Soccer League. His teams have captured 20 state championships, three regional crowns and a national championship in the summer of 2000. He has served as the Director of Coaching with the Cisco Soccer Club and as the president of the Arizona Youth Soccer Association.

Besides coaching at Grand Canyon, Draksin was an assistant coach at Apollo High School for eight years (1985-93). His tenure at Apollo included eight consecutive playoff appearances, including one 5A state championship in '93.

| Home | About Us | News Room | Players | Staff | Game Info| Tickets | Directions |
|Youth Soccer | Events | Soccer Fanatics | Merchandise | Photo Gallery| Contact Us |

Arizona Sahuaros
PO Box 2647
Carefree, AZ 85377
Phone: 623-516-2133  Fax: 623-492-0602
E-mail:info@azsahuaros.com

Copyright © 2008- Arizona Sahuaros- All right reserved.
Web design by Vanessa Warburton, Karen Powers, Emily Johnson and Kevin Hart