John Montanaro begins his fourth season as the volunteer goalkeeper coach of the Northeastern men’s soccer team during 2019, having assisted the staff since August 2016.
Upon his arrival, Montanaro brought more than 26 years of coaching experience with him to the Huskies. He holds two coaching certifications: a United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) Advanced Regional Diploma and a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) F License.
During his playing days, Montanaro was a standout goalkeeper for his semi-professional club, Toronto ITALIA. Upon being named the 1982 Goaltender of the Year by the Italian Soccer League (Toronto, Ontario), he was drafted by the Toronto Blizzards of the North American Soccer League (NASL), but opted rather to attend Marist, where he was a student-athlete on the men’s soccer team from 1983 to 1987.
Montanaro first turned to coaching in 1990, joining the staff at Philips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, before accepting a stint the following year at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut. At the start of the 1996 season, he returned to Massachusetts to become the head goalkeeper coach for Belmont Hill School’s junior varsity squad, where he remained for 15 years until 2010.
In 2005, Montanaro teamed up with fellow coach Armen Bahlavouni to found the futsal club, FC Black Knights, in Belmont, Massachusetts. Since the club’s inception, Montanaro has been actively involved in the development of the organization’s Under-10 through U-19 programs. Beginning in 2010, he led the FC Black Knights U-13 age group to consecutive appearances in the Super F League (today’s U.S. Youth Futsal) national finals, guiding the elevated U-14 team to the national championship in 2011. Following his run to the title, Montanaro received the 2011 Boys' Coach of the Year award from the Massachusetts Futsal Association. During the 2014 season, he returned to the Super F League national finals with two age groups: U-14 and U-18.
Four years after co-founding futsal at FC Black Knights, Montanaro added an outdoor soccer program to the organization in 2009, taking the helm of the U-10, U-12, and U-14 squads. In 2015, he brought the club its first-ever USSF national championship, leading the FC Black Knights U-15 team to the title.
Montanaro coached a variety of programs for Valeo FC between 2010 and 2012, serving as the head coach of the U-12 squad, the assistant coach of the U-15 and U-16 squads, and the director of goalkeepers. He was also the head coach of Team Massachusetts Futsal in 2012.
