Carlos Martinez, 33, is JCU’s new soccer coach, effective July 18, but that doesn’t mean he is new to Bulldog athletics. Martinez is the older brother of Jarvis’ previous soccer coach who coached the men’s and women’s soccer teams for the past three years.
“I was assisting my brother here at JCU,” Martinez said. “Most of the students already know me. Last year, JCU had a great season. The men’s team went to a semi-final conference for the first time in Jarvis's soccer history, and we lost no home games.
“This year, our goal is to qualify for nationals. Our goal for the women’s team is to make it to the conference tournament final four, which we have never done before,” he said.
Martinez said he grew up kicking a ball and dreaming of becoming a professional soccer player. His parents used to take their three boys to soccer games at stadiums around their home country of Venezuela.
“I always wanted to be a professional soccer player,” he said.
Watching professional soccer fueled those dreams. When Martinez was 16, that dream came true.
“I was 16 when I began competing at the professional level,” he said. “I represented the Under 17 national team as a mid-fielder. Then, for seven years, I played professional soccer for Mineros de Guayana of Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela.”
Martinez came to the United States from Venezuela in 2017. He attended Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois, where he and the soccer team made the national tournament for the first time in that college’s history. Once he completed his associate degree, Martinez transferred to Louisiana State University in Shreveport (LSUS) to complete his bachelor’s degree in business management in 2020.
Martinez said he and his brother both love soccer and always talked about wanting to coach a soccer team together. Living in Shreveport allowed Martinez to assist his brother coaching at Jarvis a few days a week. When his brother was offered a coaching job in Florida, Martinez stepped up.
Martinez and his wife, Atenas, have two sons, age 5 and 6 months.
Jarvis Christian University empowers students to achieve their career goals through an affordable academic experience that prepares them for a life of significance. Whether a student is a recent high school graduate or a working adult seeking career advancement, Jarvis Christian University develops students of all ages intellectually, socially, spiritually, and emotionally.
