Aztec Soccer Club is thrilled to announce changes to the Junior Girls staff for the 2023-24 season. The latest news is a continuation of the growth and expansion of the Aztec coaching and technical team that now supports teams across four regions.

Mo Keita, who has been a mainstay in the Aztec community for more than five years and arguably the most successful girls coach in New England, has been named Junior Girls Director. In that role, Keita will be responsible for overseeing the junior girls teams which span from birth years 2010 to 2016. Over the past three years, Keita has coached three national championship teams.

“I am looking forward to expanding my reach across the junior girls program,” said Keita. “I have had an opportunity over the past several years to work with many teams, and in this new role I will be able to connect with more families and players across multiple age groups and make a greater impact on the club.”

Serving as the Assistant Junior Girls Director will be Kelly Barresi, who has been a part of the junior girls coaching staff for more than four years. Barresi and Keita will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the junior girls program player experience and will form a formidable junior program team along with Jeff Winterton, the current Aztec Junior Boys director.

“There is no question that we now have the most experienced and strongest junior team staff in the region and possibly the Northeast,” said Mike Kersker, Aztec Club President. “Our focus has always been on player development, and placing these incredible coaches in positions where they can work with our youngest players will set the foundation for a very bright future and will give families the greatest value possible.”

Bolstering the junior girls staff next season will be the introduction of Oli Gunnarsson as the newly-named Boys and Girls Junior Technical Director and Nikki Arrington who will be taking over as the Assistant Girls Junior Academy Director.

Gunnarsson, a UEFA B and US Soccer B licensed coach, has been with Aztec for four years and also serves as an assistant coach for the Tufts University women’s soccer team. Next season, Gunnarsson will play a dual role as Head Goalkeeper Director - a position he has held for the past years and Boys and Girls Junior Technical Director where he will work closely with all of the junior girls coaches.

For the past season, Arrington has been working alongside Winterton as a staff coach for the junior boys program. Arrington began her soccer journey in the Junior Academy program for Winterton, played club soccer under the direction of Mo Keita for several seasons, and went on to a successful collegiate career at Rider University.

Earlier this month, Aztec announced that Joe Calabrese, a longtime Aztec coach and the current men’s head soccer coach at Endicott College, took on the role of Senior Boys and Girls Technical Director.