Fanta Cooper enters her first season as an assistant coach with Jacksonville women's soccer in 2018. A former head coach, professional player and collegiate star, she will assist Head Coach Laura Kane with primary coaching duties and recruiting.
Cooper comes to Jacksonville from Western Texas College in Snyder, Texas, where she served as the Head Women's Soccer Coach for four seasons. Under hear leadership, the Westerners appeared in a pair of Regional V Finals, and made a trip to the NJCAA District Semifinals in 2016.
A native of Oklahoma City, Okla., Cooper came to WTC following roles as a Graduate Assistant and Assistant Coach at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, N.M. from 2011-13, while earning a master's degree in physical education with an emphasis in sport administration.
She began her coaching career in 2001 with Eclipse Soccer Club in Libertyville, Illinois. She also served as an assistant coach at Mount de Sales high school in Maryland. In 2009, she coached with the Milwaukee Kickers Soccer Association, and spent six years working part-time as a high school or club assistant coach. This included stints with the Naperville Soccer Association in Napperville, Ill. (2010) and The Sanneh Soccer Foundation in St. Paul, Minn. (2011-15).
Cooper was drafted by the Carolina Courage in the inaugural WUSA College Supplemental Draft in 2001, prior to the league's first year of existence. She spent seven years as a member of the Chicago Cobras of the USL W-League from 1997-2004, helping the team to capture the league championship in 2000 and winning Defender of the Year in 2003. She continued her playing career with two separate stints in Sweden and with the Jersey Sky Blue and Chicago Red 11 of the USL W-League from 2005-10.
An accomplished collegiate player at Wisconsin-Milwaukee while earning a bachelor's degree in history, Cooper started in all 80 games as a defender from 1997-2000. A two-time Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year winner, she earned All-MCC honors in each of her four years, and held a spot on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and the SoccerBuzz All-Great Lakes Region teams three times.
Cooper earned a bachelor's of arts in history from UW-Milwaukee, and holds a National "D" Coaching License with the United States Soccer Federation.
