San José, Calif. - Eder Quintanilla has joined the San José State men's soccer program as an assistant coach, head coach Simon Tobin announced on Thursday.
He arrives at SJSU after spending the last four years as a member of the San Jose Earthquakes Development Academy coaching staff, most recently serving as the head coach of the Earthquakes' U19 team. Quintanilla will continue to serve in that role with the Earthquakes while he is on-staff with the Spartans.
"I want to thank Coach Tobin and the rest of the San José State University administration for this incredible opportunity to join the Spartan family," says Quintanilla. "Simon and I have known each other for several years and we both see soccer in a similar way - we share important values and a philosophy about how we want to play and instill a team culture. Given my current working relationship with the San Jose Earthquakes, we see great potential for everyone involved as I merge into this position with SJSU."
While with the Earthquakes, Quintanilla applied his evaluation techniques and personal knowledge stemming from his earlier playing and coaching days to advance a fast-growing academy program. There are currently nine Earthquakes Academy products on the San José State roster.
"Eder will be a great addition to this coaching staff," Tobin says. "He has experience working with some of the top young players in the country through the Earthquakes Academy and has a great knowledge of the game both worldwide and in the United States."
Prior to joining the coaching staff at the Earthquakes Academy, Quintanilla helped guide Wake Forest's resurgence back into one of the top collegiate programs in the nation.
He joined the Demon Deacons as the team's director of player development in 2014 and served as an assistant coach for the 2015 season, a campaign that saw the club win the ACC title en route to an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
"Having already worked at Wake Forest, I'm excited to have a chance to join the collegiate environment again while continuing my involvement with the Earthquakes," says Quintanilla. "I am eager to combine that knowledge as we aspire to make San José a unique destination for players. I'm looking forward to working with Coach Tobin and helping student-athletes become the best versions of themselves on and off the field."
No stranger to the youth soccer scene prior to arriving in Winston-Salem, Quintanilla was the U12's coach and scout in the historic club of the Spanish "La Liga" Athletic Club Bilbao, an Academy known for developing talented young players each year for the Spanish National Team.
He graduated with a Spanish national soccer coaching title equivalent to UEFA "A" and has experience coaching in both England with the Hollingbury Hawks soccer club and in Mexico with Coerver Sport, partners of West Ham United of the English Premier League.
Quintanilla graduated from the University of the Basque Country in 2009 and holds a Master's degree from INEDI School (Spain). He also played soccer as a professional for 3rd Division teams in Spain such as Erandio, Indautxu and Deusto.