Staff
Paul Dowell
Bethesda SC Head Coach
About Paul: Coach Dowell joined the BSC program in the spring of 2021, coaching in the boys YDP program. Before joining Bethesda, Paul served as the Girls Varsity Head Coach at Gaithersburg High School for eight years and as the Girls Junior Varsity Head Coach at Sherwood High School for four years. He has also coached at BSC Academy Coach Kert Mease’s Golden Goal Academy for the past 15 years. As a player, he was a four-year starter at Frostburg State University. Paul has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Teaching from Frostburg and a Master’s Degree in Educational/Instructional Training at Johns Hopkins University.
Email: pdowell@bethesdasoccer.org
Mike Montross
U16 and U17 Boys Academy Assistant Coach
Coach Montross will be joining the BSC program for the 2020-2021 fall season, assisting our Academy Program as they begin play in the MLS Developmental League.
Mike has a lengthy history working at the highest levels in college soccer. He is currently an Assistant Coach at American University.
In his first season at American, Montross oversaw a rebuilding team that picked up three Patriot League wins and was competitive in every other league contest. He coached one Academic All-Patriot League player (Tim Neumann) and a league-best 20 members of the PL Academic Honor Roll in 2019.
At Villanova, Montross was promoted from an assistant coach to associate head coach during his four seasons. He helped with all aspects of the program including recruiting, practice planning, video analysis, player development as well as academic success. During the 2016 season, the Wildcats appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history and finished the season with their highest RPI. On the recruiting trails, Montross was part of the first two (2016, 2017) top-20 ranked classes in program history.
Additionally, he coached and helped develop multiple award winners on and off the field. This included six players named to the All-Big East teams, three named to the All-Big East Freshman team, and three players named to the NSCAA/United Soccer Coaches All Region Team as well as multiple All Big East academic award recipients.
No stranger to the Patriot League, Montross spent two seasons at Lehigh (2013-14) where he helped the Mountain Hawks make the second highest RPI jump of any Division I program (from No. 187 to No. 78) and recorded double-digit victories for the first time since 2006. He coached and recruited multiple All-League players as well as academic award recipients. In 2014, five players were named to the Patriot League All-Conference teams, one player to the Academic All-Patriot League team, and one player to the NSCAA All Region Team. In both of his years at Lehigh, the team earned the NSCAA team academic award.
While at Georgetown, the Hoyas posted the most single-season wins (19) in program history and earned a Big East Blue Division championship while advancing to the Finals of the NCAA College Cup. That year, Steve Neumann was a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist and earned College Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player, while Brandon Allen was named the Big East Rookie of the Year as well as the national rookie of the year by a number of outlets. That unit also featured two All-Americans as well as six All-Big East honorees. Academically, Keon Parsa was honored with the Elite 89 Award, given to the student-athlete at the College Cup with the highest GPA.
Throughout his coaching career, Montross has worked with and prepared 18 student-athletes that signed professional contracts or were drafted by the MLS.
Montross is a 2011 graduate of Dickinson College, where he earned four varsity letters and and captained the team as a senior. He helped lead his team to its first two conference and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2007 and 2008 and was also on the Dean’s List. The native of Bethesda, Md., received a degree in international business and management and minored in Spanish.
Pierre Dyer
Bethesda SC Head Coach
About Pierre
Pierre joined the coaching staff in the 2021-2022 season. As a Bethesda Soccer Club player alum, Pierre went on to play DIII as a 4-year starter at Swarthmore College. He won two conference championships and an ECAC championship and was featured twice in the NCAA round of 16. He also played semi-professional soccer for NW London in England.
Pierre started coaching with two amateur teams in the Boston and London area before returning to DC and rejoining BSC as a coach.
Pierre is obtaining his ‘B’ license. He has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the London Business School and a Bachelor’s in Economics from Swarthmore College.
Email: pdyer@bethesdasoccer.org
Jason Harris
Director of Scouting
Jason has spent the past two years coaching for the Largo High School Boys Varsity team. In his first season as Assistant Coach, his team made it to the 1A Regional Championship, and in his second season, as Head Coach, they advanced to the regional semifinals. Jason played his club soccer at numerous academies across Maryland but is proud to be Bethesda alumni as a member of the Bethesda Mavericks. In addition, he was a four-year varsity high school player at both St. Johns College High and Bowie High School.
Jason has primarily worked within the Youth Development Program and with our Soccer Juniors Clinic but will be coaching our U17 White team in 2020-2021. He currently holds a USSF National ‘D’ Coaches License and is currently working on his ‘C’ License for USSF and UEFA. He aims to continue his soccer education with the hope of coaching at the highest level or becoming a scout.
Email: jharris@bethesdasoccer.org
Daniel Akinkoye
Bethesda SC Head Coach
About Daniel: Daniel Akinkoye is entering his third season as a head coach at BSC. A player Daniel played with the #1 nationally ranked Olney Rangers, Potomac U-16, and DC United’s U-18 academy. These club experiences allowed him to play with and against current professional players and exposed him to top NCAA D1 programs before landing home at American University. Daniel spent the past spring season training in Germany with professional club SC Paderborn and other German clubs. In addition to working at BSC, he also serves as a coach at Forza Soccer School. He has enjoyed coaching players from ages 5-14 at the Bullis Soccer Academy for the last 9 years and currently holds a USSF National ‘D’ Coaches License.
Email: dakinkoye@bethesdasoccer.org
Mikayla Krinetz
Bethesda SC Head Coach
About Mikayla: Coach Krinetz joins the BSC coaching staff after an extensive playing career in the Maryland area. Before graduating from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County with a degree in both psychology and photography, she played goalkeeper. At UMBC she also served as the Vice President of the UMBC Student Advisory Committee and is a representative of the America East Student Advisory Committee. She is also a founding member of the Retriever Project, a student-athlete mental health initiative. She has previously coached at soccer camps at both UMBC and the United States Naval Academy. Mikayla played high school soccer at Broadneck High School and is an alumnus of the BSC program.
In addition to her work on the pitch, she volunteers at her local SPCA.
Tyler Martin
Bethesda SC Head Coach, BSC Summer Camp Director
Coach Tyler is in his second full season as a BSC head coach after joining the club at the start of the 2019-2020 season. Tyler has been with Bethesda since he was seven years old. His understanding of the club’s goals and expectations is high. He has spent many summers with the club working at camps and will continue for summers to come. Tyler graduated from Catholic University in the spring of 2019, receiving a Bachelors’s Degree in Elementary Education. He currently holds a USSF National ‘D’ Coaches License.
As previously mentioned Tyler is an alumnus of the Bethesda Soccer Club. After his youth career, Tyler went on to play four years at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and then four years at Catholic University of America. At BCC, he received honorary mentions from The Gazette and helped the team to multiple competitive seasons. On both teams, Tyler was named to leadership roles and helped the younger players become more accustomed to the team.
Email: tylermartin@bethesdasoccer.org
Damar Bess
Bethesda SC Head Coach
About Damar: Coach Bess joined BSC in the winter of 2018 and has primarily worked within the Youth Development Program and with our Soccer Juniors Clinic. He currently holds a USSF National ‘D’ Coaches License and is currently working on his ‘C’ License for USSF and UEFA.
Coach Bess is also on the path of working to become a professional first-team coach with ambitions of coaching in the Champions League
Email: dbess@bethesdasoccer.org
Kevin Layton
ECNL Girls Director U15-U19
About Kevin: Coach Layton joined the BSC program for 2019-2020 after over a decade of coaching youth and collegiate soccer in the region. He will be coaching Bethesda’s U12 and U15 ECNL sides during the fall.
Prior to joining Bethesda, Kevin served as the Head Coach of the MRM Coyotes, which won over 20 top-flight championships including the Bethesda Premier Cup and had 19 players go on to play NCAA Division I soccer. He would later go on to serve as the Director of the Girls Youth Academy at MRM, working with players ages 8-13. He has also served as the Girls Varsity Assistant Coach at Good Counsel High School where his side won six Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championships. At the collegiate level, Kevin has previously worked as a Volunteer Assistant Head Coach and Interim Head Coach at George Washington University.
In addition to his work as a coach he is also the owner of MEGA Soccer, a soccer training company based out of the Montgomery County area. Before starting his coaching career Kevin played college soccer at Towson University and was a member of the Northern Virginia Royals PDL team in 2003 and 2004.
He currently holds UEFA B License, USSF B License, NSCAA Premier Diploma, USSF Youth license, WFA Periodization Diploma, La Liga level 1 and level 2 Formation Methodology Courses, KNVB International Course. He also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.
Email: klayton@bethesdasoccer.org
Haroot Hakopian
Bethesda SC Head Coach
About Haroot: Coach Hakopian has been a part of the BSC family for over 20 years coaching at multiple different age groups throughout his over two decades of work. He currently coaches the club’s U18/U19 ECNL Threat and the U18/19 ECRL Freedom.
In addition to his experience with BSC, Haroot is the Varsity Girl’s Soccer Coach at Churchill High School as well as the Director of Girl’s Soccer for Montgomery County Public Schools. He has served as the president of the Maryland Association of Coaches of Soccer (MACS) and is the current National Chair for the High School Scholar All-America Committee. He also served on the NSCAA Hall of Fame Committee and in January 2019, he was selected to serve on the United Soccer Coaches Board of Directors
Haroot carries a USSF National ‘E’ Coaches License and has an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and an NSCAA Special Topics Diploma in Match Analysis. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in English/Literature from the University of Maryland and his Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in Adolescent Psychology from Scranton University. He is currently working on his Doctorate in Organizational Leadership and Learning at Vanderbilt University.
Email: hhakopian@bethesdasoccer.org