Blue Springs Soccer Academy | Academy Director

At Blue Springs High School, Ari scored 54 goals and had 36 assists for a total of 144 points. He received multiple recognitions for All-Conference, All-District, All-Metro, and All-State. During his senior year, Ari set the school record for most goals in a single game (5) and most goals in a single season (27). Scoring eight goals in six post-season games, Ari lead Blue Springs High School to win its first and only Missouri Class 4A Soccer State Championship in 1996. He was voted Kansas City Metro Player of the Year and Sports Connection Player of the Year.

Coach

Ari Rodopoulos

Ari was recruited by numerous NCAA Division I schools, and he attended Santa Clara University on a soccer scholarship. During his tenure, Santa Clara was consistently ranked among the best teams, including an 11-0 undefeated streak in 1999 while ranked No. 1 in the nation. He received numerous collegiate accolades, including All-West Coast Conference, William & Mary Tribe Classic MVP, University of San Francisco Classic All-Tournament Team, Santa Clara University Nike/Coca-Cola All-Tournament Team, West Coast Conference Player of the Week, Soccer America Player of the Week, and Santa Clara University Offensive MVP.

Ari helped Santa Clara reach two back-to-back NCAA Division I College Cup Finals, including the semi-final in 1998 and the final in 1999. In the NCAA championship game in 1999, Ari received the Chevy Co-Player of the Game award and was voted to the College Cup All-Tournament Team. In 2000, he received Pre-Season All-American honors before leaving Santa Clara early to explore professional opportunities. Ari still ranks among the best all-time at Santa Clara in multiple statistics, including Single-Season Goals, Career Multi-Goal Games, and Quickest Goal. He finished his collegiate career at Rockhurst University and graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Philosophy in 2002.

After college, Ari played in the Premier Development League and in the A-League. In 1999, Ari trained with Servette FC and Etoile Carouge FC in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2000, he was an NPSL first-round draft pick and played for the Kansas City Attack before going to law school in 2003.

In 2016, Ari became a volunteer assistant varsity coach for the Lee’s Summit High School Lady Tigers. In 2016, the Lady Tigers nearly doubled the number of goals scored from the prior season and attained a school-best third place finish in Missouri Class 4A Soccer.

In 2019, Ari served as assistant varsity coach for the Blue Springs Wildcats. In 2019, for the first time in over a decade, the Wildcats had a winning season and defeated crosstown rivals Blue Springs South and Lee's Summit North.