Fort Defiance names Tehrani as new girls soccer coach

FORT DEFIANCE — Homes Tehrani is back in the Shenandoah District. Tehrani was named girls soccer coach at Fort Defiance in a press release sent out Monday afternoon.

Tehrani has a long history in Shenandoah Valley soccer. His coaching career began in AYSO in 2000. Following that, he coached the Riverheads girls varsity team for eight years followed by several years coaching a Staunton boys soccer travel team. For three years he coached Stuart Hall, then started at Lee High (now Staunton High) in 2011, first with the girls and then with the boys from 2013 to 2022.

In 2019 he led the Lee boys to a Class 2 state championship, beating mighty George Mason 2-0 in the title match in Radford. The year before Tehrani led the team to the state semifinals, but ended up missing the state tournament because of a family emergency out of the country. The next season he led Lee back to the tournament and was there, on the sidelines, for the championship victory.

"Overwhelming emotion for me," Tehrani said after the championship game in 2019. "For not being here last year and the way we finished this year ... I wanted to beat George Mason."

Tehrani also coached at Mary Baldwin for 10 years, serving as assistant for four seasons and head coach of the women's team for six years.

In 2023, he coached the Fort Defiance JV boys and last season he coached the Augusta United U14 club team.

"I'm very excited about this new challenge at Fort Defiance," Tehrani told The News Leader. "I hope to bring my experience to elevate their potential, maintain high competition, and let them experience what it feels like to win the state championship as I did in 2019."

Fort Defiance is coming off a three-win season in which it did advance to the Region 2B tournament, losing to Clarke County in the first round.

"Coach Tehrani’s vast experiences and connections in the soccer community will be a valuable addition to our community," Fort AD Richard Miller said in the release.

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This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Fort Defiance names Tehrani as new girls soccer coach