McGill University Athletics

(updated Dec. 7, 2016)


Jose-Luis Valdes was appointed head coach of the McGill women's soccer team in January, 2013 after serving one year as interim head coach of the McGill Redmen. In 2017, he will enter his fifth season behind the helm of the Martlets with a 32-28-12 record overall, including a 23-21-12 mark in RSEQ regular season play.

In 2013, his first outdoor campaign as bench boss of  the Martlets, Valdes guided the team to an 8-3-3 third-place finish in the eight-team RSEQ conference.

Fluent in English, French and Spanish, the 35-year-old native of Montreal previously served 11 seasons (2001 to 2011) as an assistant coach with the McGill women's team, helping the Martlets win five conference titles.

A goalkeeper for the McGill Redmen from 2001 to 2004, Valdes graduated from McGill in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in physical and health education.

He has had several international stints as an assistant coach, including the Canadian women's soccer squad at the FISU World University Summer Games in Taipei City (2017) and Gwangju, South Korea (2015).

In May, 2012, Valdes was part of the Team Canada coaching staff that won a silver medal at the CONCACAF women's under-17 tournament in Guatemala, where Canada qualified for the 2012 FIFA U-17 women's World Cup in Azerbaijan.

In March, 2010, he was part of the Team Canada staff that won gold at the CONCACAF under-17 women's championship tournament in Costa Rica, where Canada posted a 4-1-0 record and qualified for the FIFA World Cup in Trinidad & Tobago.

Valdes holds a national B coaching license from the Canadian Soccer Association after serving as a coach with the Quebec Soccer Federation from 2002 to 2010. With the Federation, he served as head coach of the provincial U-15 and U-16 teams after stints as an assistant coach with the U-14 and U-16 women's programs.

In 2009, he was an assistant coach with the Laval Comets, a women's semi-pro team.