Jason Perry enters his third season as assistant coach for the Oakland University men[apos]s soccer team, where he will continue to work with the forwards and defensive players, as well as assisting with the day-to-day duties of the men[apos]s soccer program, primarily in areas of recruiting, scouting, team travel, compliance and camps.
The team has won a Summit League title in both of Perry[apos]s first two seasons as an assistant. The 2009 Golden Grizzlies won the regular season title, while the 2010 OU team won the Summit League Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in school history.
Perry[apos]s work with the defenders has paid dividends as Oakland led the league with just 13 goals allowed in 2009. The team also tied for The Summit League lead in shutouts in 2010. Offensively, OU led the league in shots during the 2010 season.
Perry came to Oakland from the Flower City Soccer League in Rochester, N.Y. where he worked from 2007-09. There he managed a league that had 48 different teams with 500-600 inner city kids. Perry participated in training sessions and organized youth soccer indoor and outdoor tournaments. He also assisted in the development of the Flower City Academy, a program where local college students and former professionals volunteer a tutoring service to participants of FCSL in all academic subjects.
Prior to the Flower City Soccer League, Perry played professional soccer for the USL-1 Rochester Raging Rhinos in New York from 2005-07. There he was a two-time recipient of the Iacovangelo Community Service Award Player of the Year and three-time USL-1 Team of the Week selection. He also played for the Syracuse Salty Dogs of the USL-1 for one season and was drafted by the Los Angeles Galaxy with the third pick in the fifth round of the 2004 MLS Super Draft.
No stranger to OU, Perry was a standout player for the Golden Grizzlies, being named third team All-America in 2003, garnered all-region honors and was a three-time all-league selection. He was tabbed Summit League Defensive Player of the Year as a senior, becoming the first-ever player to earn that distinction. Perry also served as team captain in his final three seasons and was the first-ever player to be drafted by a professional soccer organization after being taken in 2004.
