Marine Cano will be entering his 32nd year as a college coach. Cano joined the Lion’s Athletic staff in February of 2006 where he assumed the position of head soccer coach and started both the men’s and women’s soccer programs (Men’s program in 2007, Women’s program in 2009.) coaching both sides in their inaugural seasons. Cano is currently the men’s soccer head coach. He concluded his time with the womens team in 2013 with an overall record of 22-54-3.
Cano has led the Soka Men for 7 seasons. Going into his 8th season he has a record of 40-67-4 with the Lions, putting his record as a men’s coach to 126-136-24. In both the 2010 & 2014 seasons, Cano has produced winning campaigns with 9-8-1 records. While at Soka, Marine has provided private training sessions to MLS players, including goalkeeper, Kevin Hartman, and Central Defender, Danny Califf.
On a professional level, Cano played 10 years as a pro soccer starting his career at 21 years of age with the Los Angeles Skyhawk’s. He was the first ever AYSO soccer graduate to sign a professional soccer contract in 1976. He was a candidate for rookie of the year in 1976 and was undefeated in 8 games in the same year he started helping LA get to the championship.
After a very successful rookie season with the Skyhawks, Cano was named to the USA National Team where he was invited to camp in New York. From there the USA team went on tour to Curacao, Surinam, and Haiti. In Haiti, the USA team played against Canada to qualify for the 1978 World Cup.
Cano left L.A. after 2 seasons when the NASL Ft. Lauderdale Strikers bought out his contract. There he played for head coach Ron Newman, and played with the late, great. George Best. He also competed for the starting goal keeping spot every training session with the legendary keeper, Gordon Banks.
In 1980 Cano came back home to California to play for the California Sunshine where he played for head coach Bob Ridley.
(Cano & Bob and are still close friends to this day.) The Sunshine lost in the semifinals that year to eventual ASL Champions Sacramento.
After that season the Cleveland Cobra traded the Sunshine to gain Cano's expertise in the nets, where he started and played every minute that year. At the conclusion of that season the Cleveland Force signed Cano to play indoor soccer in the MISL.
Prior to retiring from playing soccer Cano was recruited to play two more seasons for the LA Heat in the WSL. After those 2 seasons in 1991 he finally hung up his boots due to a severe knee injury.
For Cano the next best thing to playing the beautiful game, was coaching it, and he took on his first head coaching job ever at his former high school, Bishop Montgomery. The Knights were El Camino Real League Champs 2 years in a row with the Cano as their coach. Marine was also an assistant girls soccer coach at Palos Verdes High School where he coached Carin Jennings Gabarra and also worked with her in private lessons. Shortly after coaching at the high school level, Cano was named goal keeping coach/ assistant coach to the men’s soccer team at El Camino Junior College for Head Coach Bob Meyers.
After one season with the Warriors, Cano was then named assistant coach for the men’s soccer team at UCLA with Head coach Ziggy Schmid (Currently the Seattle Sounders Head Coach, MLS) for the 1981-1982 season.
Starting in 1982, Cano was the head coach for the Cal South Olympic Development Program girls U-16 and U-19 teams for 16 years. His ODP teams were Milk Cup Winners 11 times and Nike Cup winners 14 different times. Members of his ODP groups included Julie Foudy and Joy Biefield (Faucet). During his time on the ODP staff, Cano was also an assistant for the Cal South ODP U-17 and U-19 girls teams working with Jimmy Millender (Currently University of San Francisco head coach). During his stint with ODP, Marine was also member of the girls regional staff.
During the 1983-1984 season Cano was named the goal keeper coach/Assistant Coach to the University of California, Berkley’s women’s soccer program underneath the tutelage of the late, Bill Merrill. Merrill was the founder and first Head Coach of the Cal Berkley women’s soccer program. It was at Berkley that Cano coached goal keeper Mary Harvey, who would later become a member of the USA Women’s National Team.
In the spring of 1984, Cano received his first head coaching position at his alma mater, California State University, Dominguez Hills at just 28 years of age. He was put in charge of both the men’s and the women’s sides. During Cano’s nine seasons as the men’s coach for the Torros, his teams were CCAA champions in 1987 and runner up in 1988 and 1989 giving him an overall record of 86-69-20. While at Dominguez, Cano coached the likes of veteran MLS goalkeeper, Kevin Hartman and continued to work with him individually on many occasions prior to his MLS preseasons.
Cano also founded the women’s soccer program at CSU Dominguez Hills where he took his women’s team as a Division I program to a top 17 national ranking in 1986 and two final four NCAA Division II appearances (89’, 91’) and was crowned Division II NCAA National Champions in 1991 and a combined record of 123-53-12.
In the winter of 1993 Coach Cano was named Director of Soccer and head women’s coach at UC Irvine. He spent 12 season as head coach and led his team to 2 Big West Conference titles and 5 Big West Conference tournamnet appearances. Cano left Irvine in 2006. He still holds the record as the all-time winningest coach in UC Irvine women’s soccer history with a record of 113-96-27.
Marine holds his NSCAA National Advanced coaching license, as well as his USSF “A” license.
Marine resides in Aliso Viejo, California with his wife Julie, and has three children, Julianna, Max and Vinnie.
