Former Wayne Valley Soccer Coach Gets Top Job At Saint Joe's

METUCHEN, NJ — Wayne native Sam Roca will step into the role of head soccer coach at Saint Joseph High School, succeeding Brian Jenkins.

Roca, who was most recently the head coach at Wayne Valley High School, is the owner and director of Dark Stars Elite Soccer Training LLC, and a former collegiate and professional player.

"Sam checked all of the boxes,” said Saint Joseph Athletic Director Mike Murray. "He has experience running and building a Group IV program, he laid out a clear vision for where he sees our program heading, he is a gifted communicator and teacher, and I think our players will be able to relate well to a coach that walked in their shoes and developed into a D1 soccer player."

Roca played college soccer at the University of South Carolina and High Point University, before playing professionally in Canada and Sweden. He also played semi-professionally for the Ironbound Soul S.C., of Newark.

He believes in what's already established within the soccer program, and thinks he can take it to another level.

"There is already a solid foundation with this soccer program," Roca said. "I want to come in and build upon that foundation and push forward."

Roca described a bulldog style of play, saying he expects to put pressure on other teams to match the intensity of Saint Joe's.

"I want us to be aggressive when we have the ball and tough when we’re defending it. I want us to be a team that other team’s hate to play against because we play with 100% effort for the full 90-minutes," he said.