Bio

Coach DaRocha joined the Emmanuel staff in 2001 as the Head Coach for the Men's and Women's Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field programs.  He has succeeded in fostering success for all six Saints' varsity programs, beginning from their inception during the 2001-02 seasons.  Under DaRocha's direction, Emmanuel's Cross Country and Track & Field programs have received received recognition at the conference, regional and national levels.

During his tenure at Emmanuel, DaRocha has been named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Cross Country Coach of the Year six different times. He was voted the GNAC Women's Coach of the Year in 2007, 2011 and 2014 and the GNAC Men's Coach of the Year in 2008, 2010 and 2012.  DaRocha led Emmanuel to double GNAC Cross Country Championships in 2013, as both the Emmanuel men and women won conference titles.  He has also coached the Saints to 30 individual All-Conference finishes, including the 2008 GNAC Women's Cross Country Individual Champion and the 2013 GNAC Men's Cross Country Individual Champion.

DaRocha has coached the Saints Indoor Track & Field programs to twelve All-New England performances and to twelve All-ECAC performances.  The Saints' success outdoors has been even more prolific, with Emmanuel racing to 32 All-England performances and to 14 All-ECAC finishes under DaRoach's direction.

Coach DaRocha led Emmanuel to New England Championships for Indoor Track and Field in the men's 55mH (2009) and for Outdoor Track and Field in the men's 400mH (2013).  With DaRocha's guidance, Nathan Bruno became Emmanuel College's first Track & Field All-American in 2013, when he finished 6th in the 400mH at the NCAA Division III National Championship.

Prior to joining the staff at Emmanuel, Coach DaRocha was an exceptional high school coach at the local, regional and national levels.  Among DaRocha's many accomplishments is his development of the only two-time male Foot Locker National Cross-Country Champion.

Coach DaRocha had a tremendous experience at Boston Latin High School during his eight years at the helm of the Wolfpack program. During his coaching reign at Boston English in men's and women's cross country and Boston Latin in men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, DaRocha developed four All-Americans, nine All-New Englands, 15 All-State, 24 Class, and 74 League Individual Champions. He coached the cross country team to four State Class Championships and one All-State Championship. View the 1997 Sports Illustrated article on some of Coach DaRocha's high school coaching success.

On the high school track, Coach DaRocha has developed two National Champions in the 800-meter run. He expanded the program from its grassroots incarnation of one person to a team of 85 student-athletes during his coaching tenure in the Boston Public School system.

A 10-kilometer specialist himself, DaRocha owns a personal best 10k time of 29:11 and still competes as a memeber of the Boston Athletic Association (BAA).  DaRocha is a 1984 graduate of Boston University, where he earned All-East honors as a student-athlete. DaRocha holds a master's degree in School Administration from Cambridge College.

In addition to serving as the head coach for the six running programs at Emmanuel, DaRocha also works full-time as a physical education teacher and instructor in the Boston Public Schools.

darochat@emmanuel.edu