Tina Estrada was named the San José State Women's Soccer Head Coach on Friday, April 8, 2022, after serving the prior two months as the interim. 2023 was her seventh year as part of the Spartan women's soccer program.
In 2022, Estrada led the Spartans to the Mountain West regular-season title, the Mountain West tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans finished the regular season with a conference-best record of 6-3-2. In the Mountain West Championship, the Spartans were dominant defensively as they did not concede a goal in 310 minutes.
Estrada was the associate head coach for the 2020 and 2021 seasons after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach for the Spartans.
In her first season as an assistant coach at San José State, Estrada helped lead women’s soccer to the 2018 Mountain West Tournament Championship and the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Five Spartans from that squad earned Mountain West All-Conference honors, including three on the first team. Two more were named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Pacific Region.
In 2019, Estrada helped lead the Spartans to their fifth-straight Mountain West Championship Tournament, the only team in the conference to qualify for the last five MW Tournaments. Three players earned all-conference recognition, including the MW Defensive Player of the Year and first team selection, Kristen Amarikwa.
Estrada joined the Spartans after spending three seasons as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Saint Mary’s (2015-17). During that time four Gaels were selected All-West Coast Conference (WCC) and another was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-West Region choice.
Upon her arrival in Moraga in 2015, Estrada helped coach Hannah Diaz to First-Team All-WCC honors, the first for a Saint Mary’s player in five years. The Gaels started the year 5-0-2, beat conference foes Pepperdine and San Diego on the road and played nationally ranked Santa Clara to a draw.
At the conclusion of the 2015 season Estrada was named the NSCAA National Assistant Coach of the Year. She beat out a pool of the top-nine assistant coaches in the country representing each region.
Saint Mary’s was honored nationally by the NSCAA in two of Estrada’s three years on staff as an All-Academic Team for programs that maintain a team GPA of 3.0 or better.
Prior to her time at Saint Mary’s, Estrada was an assistant coach for six seasons at DePaul University. She began her time with the Blue Demons as a graduate assistant in 2008 and was appointed as assistant coach in May of 2010.
DePaul reached the title match of the 2013 Big East Tournament and went on to play in the NCAA Tournament. In all, five Blue Demons were selected All-Big East including one Goal Keeper of the Year with Estrada on staff.
That same year Estrada was nominated and accepted into the NSCAA’s 30-Under-30 education and mentorship initiative for a select few young up-and-coming NCAA coaches. The program included a trip to the association’s annual convention and admission to the NSCAA Advanced Coaching Academy where she would earn a national diploma in 2014.
Estrada is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament. She reached it all four years as a star for the 2004-07 Santa Clara Broncos. She finished her playing career with 31 goals, 15 assists and 77 points while leading the team to four consecutive WCC titles.
Estrada graduated from Santa Clara in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. She went to on complete a master’s degree in digital cinema at DePaul University in 2013. Estrada has professional soccer playing experience with the Chicago Redstars.
Estrada, a Fremont, Calif., native, currently resides in San Jose with her wife and son.
What they are saying about Coach Estrada...
Brandi Chastain, Two-time U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist and FIFA World Cup Champion
"Tina is an excellent mentor for female athletes. She continues to learn, grow and give back to the players that are a part of her program. I was a fan when she was playing and I'm an even bigger fan now that she is leading. Her desire to help those around her be great is infectious."
Erin Chastain, Minnesota head coach
"Tina is an exceptional leader and mentor and I am thrilled she is being given the well-deserved opportunity to run her own program. Tina was a special player with a high soccer IQ and is really able to communicate that knowledge to the players she coaches. She's skilled, competitive, inspiring and most importantly, she's ready. This hire isn't surprising to me. I know how competent Tina is and the value she adds to a program. Tina's future as a head coach and the future of San José state women's soccer is very bright."
Lauren Hanson, SJSU former head coach
"Tina is an outstanding mentor for the young women within the program and incredible teacher of the game. I am thrilled for her to have this opportunity to lead the team into the future and put her stamp on the program. I can't think of a better person and coach to begin this new chapter with San Jose State women' soccer. Congratulations to Tina and SJSU."
Jerry Smith, Santa Clara head coach
"Congratulations to San Jose State University on the hiring of Coach Tina Estrada! Coach Estrada will have an immediate impact on the program. Tina was an amazing player for us here at Santa Clara University. She has also been a great assistant and associate head coach at a few programs including San Jose State. Coach Estrada is poised to become one of the best young head coaches in division one women's soccer. Her eye for talent, understanding of the game, teaching ability, communication skills, and leadership skills are all wonderful. The student-athletes will love playing for her and the program will continue to grow under her leadership.