Westmoreland Names Jason Demko Head Men's Soccer Coach

YOUNGWOOD, Pa. - The Westmoreland County Community College men's soccer program will have a new head coach when the team begins the 2021 season, as Jason Demko will be guiding the Wolfpack program.

 

Demko takes the reins to the Wolfpack after most recently serving as head coach at nearby Hempfield High School for three seasons. The program built up to a roster of 27 players in his final season and won five matches in 2019, the most by the team in four years.

 

In addition to coaching at Hempfield, Demko has worked with several clubs and academies in the area, including a six-year stretch with Foothills Soccer Club in which he led boys and girls teams to several championships and finalist finishes at tournaments. He also ran his own Academy for three years and spent time with Belle Vernon Youth Soccer, the University of Pittsburgh Shoot to Score Academy and South Park Soccer Club.

 

Demko takes over a Wolfpack program that did not play in 2020-21 due to COVID and finished 1-6 in 2019, with that one win being their first since 2015. With it being two years since the Wolfpack took the field, Demko sees this opportunity at Westmoreland, who is scheduled to open the season Aug. 25 at Penn State-Greater Allegheny, as a chance to really build a program from the ground up.

"What really interested me in this position is a chance to build a program from scratch," said Demko. "The program showed improvement the last time they were able to play, but with that being a couple years ago now, this is like starting over and what you get out of it is yours."

With his connections to local clubs and programs, Demko will be looking for the type of student-athletes who want to put in the work to get better and be strong in the classroom, while meshing as a team to find success.

 

"I want to recruit the type of student-athletes who aren't afraid to work or to fail and to put in the time and effort to improve every day," said Demko. "It's a given that we want high character recruits with integrity but we need a strong work ethic and desire to always improve.

 

"And as a team, we will always field a team that is physically fit and ready to compete for 90 minutes," said Demko. "We will always strive to be successful academically and on the field and we'll work together to accomplish both."