Frank Pitt - Head Coach - Varsity Boys
Coach Pitt is in his sixth year as the Head Coach for the Boy’s Varsity team at NHS. He holds a USSF “A” coaching license and he has coached at the youth, high school, and collegiate level. Overall, he’s been coaching for 29 years. He was a former player at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Frank has extensive playing and coaching experience. Frank has a philosophy that the game should be fun and that practices should be developed with that in mind. He has a Bachelor's in History from UAB and a Masters of Education from the University of Montevallo. Since taking the reigns at Norcross, his teams have had four straight winning seasons. Three of the four saw his teams make 2nd Round the state playoffs. Last year's record was 9-8-1 and overall, Pitt's record at NHS is (49-18-3.) |
Ryan Burkhart - Head Coach - Varsity Girls
This will be Coach Ryan Burkhart’s sixth year as the Head Coach of the Lady Blue Devils varsity soccer team. He also has served on the coaching staff at UFA-Norcross for many years. Prior to moving to Norcross High, Coach Burkhart was at Northside High School in Warner Robins, Ga. He served two years as the assistant boys coach before taking over as the Head Coach for the women’s program, recording a 35-22-5 record from 2011-2014. While living in Warner Robins, he also ran many camps for the local club, Central Georgia Soccer Association. Overall, Coach Burkhart has been coaching soccer for 12 years. After graduating from Northside High School (2002), Coach Burkhart attended Georgia College & State University earning a Bachelor’s Degree in History (2007), and going on to earn a Master’s Degree in the Arts of Teaching (2008). During Grad school, he served as the assistant to the Sports Information Director at the university, working closely with the women’s soccer team at GCSU, among other sports. Coach Burkhart has been around the game of soccer his whole life. He played club soccer at the Central Georgia Soccer Association, and was a 4 year varsity player for Northside High School and the team’s captain his Junior and Senior year. Coach Burkhart also played 2 years of club soccer at GCSU. He still plays in the Silverback adult league to this day. |
Emily Diaz - Head Coach - Junior Varsity Girls
Emily Diaz grew up in Gwinnett County, attending Central Gwinnett High School. As a Black Knight, Coach Routh played all four years of Varsity soccer, spending the 2007 and 2008 season as the varsity captain. During these years, the team advanced to the county playoffs.
Coach Diaz grew up playing soccer at the Gwinnett County YMCA (1994-1999), but later advanced to play at Gwinnett Soccer Association (GSA). From 1999-2008 Coach Diaz played as a center midfielder for the Phoenix. Playing at GSA afforded her the opportunity to play in tournaments around the state as well as the country. Though she was offered scholarships to play in college, she was unable to do so due to a medical condition. As a college student at Georgia College and State University (GCSU), Coach Diaz was an active member, as both a player and a coach, of intramurals and sorority sports teams. Coach Diaz studied Criminal Justice and Criminology at GCSU. She graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice, as well as her Masters of Science in Criminology. She is married to her husband Ryann, who is an avid supporter of Blue Devil Soccer, and the two share a son named Johnathan. This is Coach Diaz’s fourth year teaching, as well as her fourth year coaching at Norcross. Previously Coach Diaz worked for the Department of Juvenile Justice. She currently teaches English within the Special Education Department. Go Blue Devils! |