Cal State Fullerton head men’s soccer coach Bob Ammannreturns for his eighth year at the helm of the Titans’program in 2013, tasked with building his alma mater into acontender in the always-difficult Big West Conference.
After spending 15 years on the sidelines as an assistant andpart-time coach to long-time Fullerton manager Al Mistri as well asfour seasons in net as a player, Ammann was appointedMistri’s successor as the seventh head coach in the DivisionI history of the program on Dec. 5, 2005. Ammann had been afull-time assistant from 1995-05 and served as an part-timeassistant from 1991-94, helping the Titans to five trips to theNCAA Tournament, including the national semifinals in 1993 and thequarterfinal round in 1994.
"I am extremely honored and very excited to be taking charge ofthe men's soccer program at my alma mater," said Ammann at the timeof his appointment. "I appreciate this opportunity and look forwardto bringing the program back to the national prominence that weonce had. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, but I amconfident and very eager to make sure that the necessary steps aretaken to achieve our goals."
Over the last three seasons, Ammann has twice led his Fullertonside into the Big West Conference Tournament, including becomingthe only No. 4-seeded team to knock off a top-seed in 2010 when theTitans edged UC Irvine, 2-1, on the road. In 2012, his teamfinished 8-12-1, but earned a berth into the tournament after beingpicked to finish last in the league’s South Division andseventh overall.
Ammann, who enters the 2013 season with a 49-75-15 (.406)overall record and a 20-43-9 (.340) mark in Big West play, made hisdebut in 2006 and had an immediate impact as the Titans improvedfrom four wins to seven victories, including a pair of one-goalheartbreakers (the first in double overtime) to eventual NCAANational Champion UC Santa Barbara in Big West play. A year later,an injury-plagued Fullerton squad saw slight improvement to 7-10-3overall, but slipped to just five wins in 2008.
The 2009 campaign brought renewed hope and the Titans narrowlymissed out on their first winning season since the turn of thecentury, ending up 8-9-2 overall and 4-5-1 in Big West play –the most conference victories for the program since 2004 (4-6)– during a season that saw Fullerton battle into overtimeeight times (3-3-2 in those contests).
In 2010, Fullerton slipped slightly to 7-12-2 overall, butfinished 4-6 in Big West play to finish in a tie for fourth –its best finish since posting a identical record in 2004 –and make postseason magic in the Big West Tournament, where itupset top-seeded UC Irvine behind the brilliant play of goalkeeperBryan Escalante, making his first collegiate start after starterTrevor Whiddon was hurt during practice. Escalante, who had playedin only eight total minutes all season to that point, finished withseven saves behind goals from Nick Posthuma and Kevin Venegas toupset the Anteaters, 2-1.
The 2011 season showed signs of tremendous promise as the Titansburst out of the gates to the tune of a 5-0-1 record over theirfirst six contests, which included a double-overtime scoreless drawwith top-ranked Akron in only the second game of the year. However,Big West play proved to be Fullerton’s undoing as the Titansstruggled to a 1-6-3 mark in conference play to end the year at the.500-mark (7-7-5) – its first non-losing season since a15-6-1 mark in 2000 that ended in the first round of the NCAATournament at Stanford.
As head coach, Ammann has coached 16 players to a total of 23All-Big West Conference citations, including nine first-teamhonors. Under his watch, former Titan Michael Farfan also earnedBig West Freshman of the Year and Soccer America FreshmanAll-America honors in 2006, while twice earning NSCAA All-Far WestRegion laurels in 2006-07.
Ammann was a Titans' goaltender during the 1983 through 1986seasons. He posted 12 career shutouts including six in the 1986season when he helped the Titans capture the Pacific Coast AthleticAssociation championship and their first NCAA Division I playoffberth. His best goals against average was 1.25 in 1985, his juniorseason. His younger brother, Mike, was the Titans' goaltender 1990through 1993 and went on to a long career in professionalsoccer.
"I'm proud of the fact that I have been involved with six CalState Fullerton NCAA Tournament teams," says Bob, who was thegoalkeeper in 1986, a part-time coach in 1993 and 1994 and afull-time assistant coach in 1996, 1998 and 2000.
Bob played at the professional level for Neuchatel Xamax of theSwiss First Divison in 1989 and 1990. He also played for Brightonand Hove Albion F.C. in England, the Edmonton Brickmen of theCanadian Soccer League and the Los Angeles Salsa of the AmericanProfessional Soccer League.
He is serving his third year as a regional representative forthe U.S. Soccer Academy, assigned to scout and evaluate U16 and 18talent in the West for the U.S. national team.
Ammann is one of four former Titan student-athletes now servingas head coach at his or her alma mater, joining Demian Brown(women's soccer), Rick Vanderhook (baseball) and John Elders (crosscountry / track and field). The Titans have had several more inthat category at one time including former coaches Lynn Rogers andJulie Knight-Bowse (women's gymnastics), Dan Lewis and ArdeshirAsgari (wrestling), Donny Daniels (men's basketball), George Hortonand Dave Serrano (baseball), Michelle Gromacki (softball) and MikeHinojos (fencing).
Ammann was born on May 27, 1965, and he graduated from Mater DeiHigh School in Santa Ana. Bob and his wife, Liz, and their childrenRobert Anton, Faith Elizabeth, and Stella Rae, live in Mira Loma,Calif.
Coach Ammann's Administrative Career at Cal StateFullerton
• Served as the Coach's Representative on the NCAA SteeringCommittee during the University's certification period
• Served on the hiring committees for Director of AthleticAcademic Services, Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities,Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance, Women's Soccer HeadCoach and Assistant Men's Soccer coach
• Currently serves as a committee member on the GenderEquity Committee 2001-present
• Served as the NCAA Site Representative for Men's NCAAplayoffs
• Currently sits on the University Advancement Committeerepresenting the library, athletics, counseling, and extendededucation
• Currently sits on the University Faculty HearingPanel
Coach Ammann's Scouting/Coaching Career OutsideCSF
• United Stated Soccer Federation Development Academyscout, 2009-present
• United Stated Soccer Federation Development Academymarket training coach, 2009-present
• U-18 National team staff coach Carson, Calif.; October6-13, 2009
• United States Soccer Federation "A" license (highestlicense available)
• National Soccer Coaches Association of America Big WestConference representative, 2009-present
• Director of Goalkeeping, Stampede FC, Legends FC &PSA Soccer Club
• Professional Match Evaluator for Major League Soccer,2011-present
All-Big West Conference Selections and Other HonorsUnder Ammann as Head Coach
• Eugene Brooks (2006, First Team)
• Michael Farfan (2006, First Team); (2007, FirstTeam)… 2006 Big West Freshman of the Year… NSCAAAll-Far West Region Second Team in 2006-07… Soccer AmericaFreshman All-America in 2006
• Gabriel Farfan (2006, Second Team); (2007, SecondTeam)
• Amir Shafii (2006, Second Team)
• Skyler Thuresson (2007, Honorable Mention)
• Matt Sanders (2007, Honorable Mention); (2008, FirstTeam); (2009, Honorable Mention)
• Brent Douglas (2007, Honorable Mention)
• Celso Alvarez (2008, Honorable Mention); (2009, HonorableMention)
• Shay Spitz (2009, Honorable Mention)
• Nick Posthuma (2010, First Team); (2011, HonorableMention)
• Kevin Venegas (2010, First Team); (2011, First Team)
• Trevor Whiddon (2010, Honorable Mention)
• Gerzon Blanco (2012, Honorable Mention)
• Ian Ramos (2012, First Team)
• Jesse Escalante (2012, First Team)
