EVERGREEN PARK, IL – Evergreen Park Community High School is proud to welcome Diego Rivas as the next head coach of the varsity boys soccer team. 

“I’m extremely excited to be the next head coach of the Evergreen Park Community High School boys soccer team,” Rivas said. “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a few years now, and I’m glad this opportunity has come.” 

Coach Rivas comes to EPCHS with a decade of high school soccer coaching experience, having coached at schools throughout Chicago. He started his high school coaching career at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School, where he coached the freshman team before moving into a role at his high school alma mater, Thomas Kelly College Preparatory High School. He spent three years as the head coach of the freshman boys soccer team at Kelly, where he also served as an assistant coach for the varsity and junior varsity programs. 

He then moved on to an assistant coach role at Mount Carmel High School for two years, and St. Rita High School for one year before officially being named the head coach of the Evergreen Park Mustangs’ boys soccer program last month. 

Coach Rivas also had a distinguished soccer playing career, which included starring for the team at Kelly High School and becoming a member of the first-ever boys soccer team in history at Roosevelt University in Chicago. He has the distinction of scoring the first goal in Roosevelt boys soccer team history and was part of a team that progressed from only winning two games his freshman year to one that won the conference championship, finished in the top 20 in the nation and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament his senior year. He still plays in local leagues around the South Side of Chicago to this day. 

Coach Rivas brings a coaching philosophy that fits with the goal of Evergreen Park Community High School athletics. 

“I’m all about the kids,” Rivas said. “I want them to have fun out there, and we want to do all we can to help them get into college if that’s what they are looking for. We’re going to do the best we can to get them to college and play at the next level.” 

Evergreen Park Community High School looks forward to having Coach Rivas on board for the boys soccer season this upcoming fall. He will serve as an assistant coach for the EPCHS girls soccer team this spring.