Huston-Tillotson College Women's Soccer

Dr. Carlos M. Cervantes enters his 6th season (1 season as assistant coach, 5 seasons as head coach) in the coaching staff of the women's soccer team at Huston-Tillotson University. He has worked on building the HT womens soccer program into a respected team in the region and the Red River Athletic Conference. He has focused on purposeful recruiting and instilling into the student-athletes the universitys core values (I.D.E.A.L) and the programs three pillars: good people, good students and good soccer players. Coach Cervantes has more than 34 years of soccer experience combined as a player and coach.  As a coach, prior to HT he served as head coach of the Texas State Womens Soccer Club in the Texas Collegiate Soccer League where he led the club to a 7-0-1 record. From 2007 to 2008, he served as head coach of The Ohio State University Womens Soccer Club in the Womens Midwest Alliance Soccer Conference (W-MASC) where he helped the Lady Buckeyes to a 9-0-1 record. In 2002-2003, he served as undergraduate assistant coach under Coach Abner Rodriguez in the mens varsity soccer team at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez campus.  As a player, he was an all-district player for Long Island City High School in the New York City Public Schools Athletic League (PASL) where he earned Rookie of the Year (1994), Leading Scorer (1995) and HS Award for Play Maker (1996). While in high school, he was selected for the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League N.Y. Select Team (1995-1997) and the City of New York U19 International Select Team. In college, he played for the mens varsity soccer team at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez campus (NCAA III) where he helped the program win a conference championship (1998-1999) and a second place (2001-2002). He earned Rookie of the Year Awards (1997-1998) and Excellence in Sports and Academics Awards (2001). Following his collegiate soccer experience, from 1998 to 2003 he played in the Premier Soccer League of Puerto Rico (First Division) as part of the Club de Futbol Atletico Añasco where he helped them win four national tournaments: Copa Legislador 1998, Copa San Antonio 1999, Copa Criolla 2002, and Copa Gigantes de Carolina 2003.  As a faculty, he serves as Chair in the Department of Kinesiology at Huston-Tillotson University where teaches courses in physical education, adapted physical education, motor behavior, exercise, health and wellness and public health. Dr. Cervantes is also a certified adapted physical educator (CAPE) and a member of the Society of Health and Physical Educators of America, the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities, and the Texas Association for Health, PE, Recreation and Dance. Dr. Cervantes has presented his work at state, national and international conferences. He has published his work at some of the major journals in his profession. Some of his traits are his passion for service to the community and the profession. All his courses include service-learning experiences as well as infused use of technology. He is actively involved in advocating and implementing physical activity programs for children with disabilities. He has earned various awards for his teaching and professional service.  A native of Barranquilla, Colombia; Coach Cervantes holds a B.A. in Physical Education Teacher Education from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, a M.A. in Adapted Physical Education Low Incidence Disabilities, and a PhD in Kinesiology with a concentration in teaching adapted physical education and health and physical activity promotion from The Ohio State University. This extensive educational background creates a unique perspective on his coaching philosophy and style. He resides in Austin, Texas with his wife Vanessa and 3 sons, Martin, Carlos and Diego.