Sugar Shinohara

Coach in Attendance

USC head women's soccer coach Jane Alukonis announced the addition of Shigeyoshi “Sugar” Shinohara as an assistant coach on the Trojan soccer staff on April 22.

Shinohara came to USC after serving as an assistant at Arizona State for the past five seasons.

“I couldn’t be more grateful to have Sugar join our coaching staff,” said Alukonis. “Sugar is an extremely special human. His coaching and mentorship will have a lifelong impact on our student-athletes. Sugar is a teacher at heart, super intelligent, and has an especially enthusiastic and positive coaching demeanor. I can’t wait for the players to experience his high-energy delivery and everyday passion for life. He spreads joy everywhere he goes.

“Sugar was a big part of ASU’s recent success and I owe a huge thank you to Head Coach Graham Winkworth for his openness and selflessness in the process. To Sugar and his wife Arin, welcome to the Trojan Family!”

Shinohara helped lead the Sun Devils to winning seasons three of the five years he was there and helped guide the program to its first postseason appearance since 2014 when ASU made the NCAA Tournament in 2020, picking up the program’s fifth postseason win that season. During his tenure, ASU also produced its first All-American since 2002, when Nicole Douglas earned third-team honors in 2021.

“Firstly, I would like to thank Ray Anderson, and all of Sun Devil Athletics, for giving me the opportunity to work at Arizona State,” said Shinohara. “I would particularly like to thank Graham (Winkworth), Jo (Chubb), and all past and present players for a wonderful five and a half years as a Sun Devil.

“Moving forward, I am both humbled and excited for this great opportunity to become a part of such a decorated program. I would like to thank President Carol Folt, Director of Athletics Mike Bohn, Lindsay Jaffe and Coach Alukonis for inviting me to be a part of the Trojan Family. After meeting with Coach Alukonis and her staff, learning their visions for the program moving forward, and meeting with the student-athletes, my wife Arin and I are increasingly excited about this new chapter. I cannot wait to get to Los Angeles to get started.”

Shinohara joined the ASU staff from Brevard College (Brevard, North Carolina) where he spent eight seasons – seven seasons as head coach of the women's program (2009-15) and one season as head coach of the men's program (2016).

In his only season leading the men's program, Shinohara led Brevard to its best season since joining the NCAA, as it finished 8-8-3. Included among the achievements was one of the biggest upsets in program history when it defeated eventual 2016 NCAA Division II national champions Wingate, 1-0, in the quarterfinal round of the South Atlantic Conference tournament.

Under Shinohara's direction, the women's program earned a berth in the South Atlantic Conference tournament for the first time in school history and set the school record for consecutive wins. Off the field, his team's 3.51 cumulative GPA was the second highest in the Brevard Athletics Department.

Prior to assuming the reins at Brevard, Shinohara served as an assistant coach at the University of Montevallo from 2005-09 under head coach Patricia Hughes. During his time at Montevallo, Shinohara was heavily involved in recruiting and the overall operation of the women's soccer program. He was part of a staff that led the women's soccer team to an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance and the Gulf South Conference Tournament title in 2007. UM was also a Gulf South Conference Tournament finalist in 2008.

Shinohara started his coaching career in Yamaguchi, Japan where he was the assistant for the Seiki Football Club of a group aged 10-16 from 1994-2001. From there, he moved to the United Soccer Academy where he was responsible for the day-to-day administrative operations as well as being a full-time coach where he coached one-on-one sessions with youth players.

In addition to his collegiate work, Shinohara was a member of both the Alabama Olympic Developmental Program (2005-09) and the North Carolina Olympic Developmental Program (2009-16). In that role he was responsible for evaluating and training players, as well as coaching in spring and summer camps in the district and state.

Shinohara holds an NSCAA Premier Diploma and an Advanced National Diploma as well as the F.A. Coaching License and the UEFA "B" Award International Coaching License from the Football Association in England. Most recently, he also added a National B License and a National Youth License from the U.S. Soccer Federation.