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For the past nine years, Rosensweig has served as the director of coaching for the Soccer Organization of Charlottesville-Albemarle (SOCA), which offers opportunities for 3,500 youth and adult soccer enthusiasts to enjoy each season.

In late July, Rosensweig will complete his tenure at SOCA after almost a decade of service.

"I'm really proud of what we've accomplished here and convinced that the club has great things on the horizon," said Rosensweig, a one-time assistant coach at the University of Virginia under former Head Coach April Heinrichs.

"I'll miss the great people I have had the honor to work with and serve. At the same time, I'm looking forward to finding new ways to serve the community."

Cultured and cultivated, Rosensweig can as easily discuss Italian literature and media as he can inspire a throng of teenagers searching for direction.

“In some ways, this is a dream job for me,” Rosensweig said in an interview on “Sports Rap” on Sports Radio 1400 WKAV. “As a kid, I always had a dream of forming a soccer club that was more than a collection of teams. Rather, a home for soccer players and coaches.”

A quarter century old, SOCA has blossomed into this "home," thanks, certainly in part, to Rosensweig.

“It started with incredibly dedicated volunteers,” he said, “and look at it now.”

A City resident since moving to Charlottesville after earning an M.A. in English at Georgetown University, Rosensweig is by no means your everyday soccer coach.

Rosensweig earned his Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia in 1999 and holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas.

Rosensweig has also penned a book – it’s called Retro Ballparks: Instant History, Baseball and the New American City, an exploration of the cultural and economic role of retro baseball parks.

“City planning has always been a passion of mine,” said Rosensweig, the newest addition to the Charlottesville Planning Commission. “There are good ways to build a city and bad ways.”

In an interview with Charlottesville Tomorrow, a non-partisan media outlet dedicated to ensuring sensible growth, Rosensweig said that he studied several models of redevelopment while researching his first book

“The common thread among all of them that were successful and sustainable was that the neighborhood was involved from the very beginning,” he told Charlottesville Tomorrow.

Rosensweig and his wife, Julie, have a one-year-old son, Sascha.

“This is difficult, but I have a 16-month old son,” he said. “I’m looking for more balance in my life.”

Downtown Athletic and CVaSports.com are proud to honor coaches at all levels. Dan Rosensweig, as the "Coach of the Week" recipient, you are invited to visit Downtown Athletic Store in Seminole Square Shopping Center to pick up a Russell Athletic polo courtesy of CVaSports.com and Downtown Athletic.

Posted by Jerry Miller on April 21, 2008 11:46 PM | Permalink

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