JUNIOR PIONEERS SOCCER CLUB

Coach Amaral has been with the Junior Pioneers since 2002.  He has recruited many fine players from Ludlow and from across the state.  Several of his former college athletes are now part of the Pioneers program as players and coaches.  Many of the players on the U16 team have been with him since they started playing for the Junior Pioneers at age 10.  He also coached the Pioneers U17 boys summer team and LYSA youth teams.  Along with the late Larry Nascimiento, he brought a youth team to Belgium to play in the Flanders Cup, a prestigious European Tournament.  Their U18 team made the finals.   He has also taken players to Brazil where they practiced and played in a professional soccer club.  Teams such as Belenenses, Sporting, Olhanense and Eaton College have played at the Gremio Lusitano in Ludlow through the efforts and coordination of Coach Amaral. 

For many years, Coach Amaral has been associated with the Vogelsinger Soccer Academy, now a NIKE sponsored summer soccer program for serious, talented soccer players from around the world. He continued to coach one of the youth players, Chris Houser, on a private basis. Houser went on to play on the U.S. National Team and the Tampa Bay Mutiny.  Before moving to Arizona, Houser played for the Pioneers. Coach Amaral continues to work with NIKE in the summer and coordinates the NIKE spring soccer clinic in Holyoke. He has arranged for other players to have experience playing for such teams as Anderlect in Belgium and Belenense in Portugal. He has lent his expertise to other soccer camps, such as the Metro Stars in New Hampshire and the Wildcats Soccer Academy where he was co-director with Benny Brewster.

During his year tenure at Elms college, Coach Amaral led the Elms College Blazers' women's soccer team to the 1999 NAC Tournament championship, and two years later led the men's team to its first-ever conference title. In addition, several players under his tutelage have earned All-Conference and All-American honors.  Robbie Gomes, from Ludlow, has NCAA honors for being #1 in the nation for goals scored and for points per game.   Coach Amaral's summer soccer camp has been a successful addition to the college and has inspired both junior athletes and aspiring youth coaches.

Coach Amaral played collegiate soccer at Westfield State College from 1973 to 1976, and led the Owls to four consecutive NCAA championship appearances. He still ranks as the program's 12^th all-time leading scorer with 37 goals and 90 points.

He played soccer professionally for 12 years for the Castelobranco-Benefica Soccer Club of Portugal, the New Britain Falcons, Hartford United, Gremio Lusitano of the Connecticut Soccer League, and Lowell United in the L.A.S.A. League of Massachusetts. He has close ties to, and has played for the Ludlow Gremio Lusitano Futbol Club. He has served as a soccer analyst for ESPN, a consultant to Spalding soccer, coach of the Springfield Sirens women's professional soccer club in 2001, and was a United States Soccer Federation licensed official.  He holds a Professional Coaches Certificate.  Coach Amaral is a college recruiter and scout for several Clubs in the US and Europe.

A native of Portugal, Coach Amaral has taught foreign languages at Holyoke High School since 1980 and has been an acting vice-principal for many years.  He is an adjunct professor of Portuguese at the Elms College.  He received his bachelor's degree in modern foreign language from Westfield State College, and earned his master's of education in administration from Elms College.