Floyd Burnsed, Head Coach
Kevin Marks, Defensive Coordinator
Vince Dell'Aquila, Assistant Head Coach, Offensive Line, Special Teams
James Burns, Offensive Line Coach
Ted Tellian, Quarterback Coach
Kenneth Saunders, Running Back Coach
Paul Ryan, Defensive Line Coach
Bryan Coughlan, Defensive Line Coach
Josh Ramos, Linebacker Coach
John Coover, Safety Coach
Alison Aubert, Head Athletic Trainer
Andy Bloom, Strength and Conditioning Coach
Sandi Nygard, Academic Coordinator

Floyd Burnsed, Head Coach

Kevin Marks, Defensive Coordinator

Kevin Marks enters his second year at Solano as the Defensive Coordinator and seventh year coaching football. Coach Marks comes from Modesto Jr. College where he has coached and taught for the past five years. Marks began coaching the Defensive line his first year then coached in the secondary. Marks coached the linebackers his last three years in Modesto. In addition to his coaching duties, Marks taught sport psychology and exercise science at Modesto Jr. College.

Coach Marks was born in Modesto, CA where he was a stand out strong-safety for Modesto Jr. College before transferring to Washington (Spokane) and then to Minot State University where he finished up. Marks’ credits the many great teachers and coaches he has worked with who have inspired him to teach and coach. Coach Marks’s teaching/coaching philosophy is centered around “The Power of the Human Spirit”, which he believes anything is possible to attain with: ATTITUDE, COMMITMENT AND DISCIPLINE.

Coach Marks holds a Bachelors Degree in Physical Education and Masters Degree in Exercise Science. Kevin enjoys spending time with his wife, reading books in history, philosophy and biographies, exercising, water sports and snow skiing. He resides in Benicia with his beautiful wife Jamie and their cat Howie.

Vince Dell'Aquila, Assistant Head Coach, Offensive Line, Special Teams

Vince Dell'Aquila begins his 16th year as an assistant to Floyd Burnsed and his fifth working with Solano's offensive line and special teams. He was also promoted to assistant head coach in the offseason and will split administrative duties with Burnsed. Burnsed says that Dell’Aquila is a great teacher who deals with players extremely well. Dell'Aquila is a graduate of Cal Poly, Pomona, where he played football and baseball.

James Burns, Offensive Line Coach

James Burns enters his first year at Solano. He will assist Coach Dell'Aquila with coaching the offensive line. James Burns graduated from Colleyville Heritage High School, Grapevine, Texas in 2002 where he started at Left Tackle for two years. He then attended Kansas Wesleyan University where he also played Left Tackle. He joined the United States Air Force where he earned his Associates Degree in Aviation Technology from the Community College of the Air Force. Last year he assumed Offensive Coordinator duties at Vanden High School Junior Varsity, in an undefeated season. James Burns currently lives in Vacaville with wife Amanda and two year old daughter Destiny.

Ted Tellian, Quarterback Coach

I have been a high school teacher for 33 years in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District teaching both advanced AX biology and physical education classes at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek, Ca. I had been the Head Football Coach there for the past twenty years. Prior to that, I was the offensive coordinator for the high school. I received my advanced degree and teaching credential from Fresno State University in 1973. Coach Burnsed and I have been friends, rivals, and colleagues in the coaching and teaching profession for most of our careers. We have always talked about me coaching with him someday. Finally an opportunity came to join him and his staff. I want to thank everyone involved in helping make this happen. Go Falcons.

Kenneth Saunders, Running Back Coach

This is Coach Saunders second year with the Falcons; he has eighteen seasons of coaching experience. Some of which includes Monterey Peninsula and De Anza Community Colleges, along with Fremont (Sunnyvale), Mountain View and Los Altos High Schools. Ken started coaching after a short stint as a running back and special team’s player in the now defunct (CPL) Continental Pro League.

Aside from Coaching, Ken is an accomplished artist and exhibits his works in the greater Bay Area. Ken and his wife, Mary Ann, reside in Brentwood.

Paul Ryan, Defensive Line Coach

Coach Ryan enters his first year at Solano. He will assist coach Coughlan with the defensive line duties. Coach Ryan comes from Vanden High school where he coached football the past few years. He is currently the assistant wrestling coach at Vanden. Coach Ryan; a graduate of Solano Community College will bring a passions and fervor to the Falcon family this fall. Coach Ryan has a Bachelors degree in Business and lives in Vacaville with his wife: Carmen of 26 years, and two children: his son Pablo and daughter Evan.

Bryan Coughlan, Defensive Line Coach

Bryan Coughlan begins his third year under coach Floyd Burnsed after serving as the head coach at Hogan High in Vallejo for eight years. Coughlan will work with the defensive linemen and play a large role in the recruiting process given his large local ties. Burnsed is impressed with Coughlan’s teaching technique. Coughlan graduated from Hogan High in 1990 where he played two years varsity football. He continued his education at Solano College before transferring to Sonoma State University where he earned his bachelors degree in 1993.

Josh Ramos, Linebacker Coach

Josh Ramos enters his first year at Solano as the Linebackers Coach. Coach Ramos will work with the linebackers as well as serving a large role in the recruiting process. Ramos worked the 2007 season as the Video Coordinator at Solano. Ramos graduated from Winters High School in 2003 where he was a stand out football player. Ramos continued his education and his football career at Solano where he was a 1st Team All-Conference Linebacker. Ramos then transferred to Sacramento State University where he continued his education and his football career. Ramos graduated from Sacramento State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies in 2008.

John Coover, Safety Coach

Coach Coover began his football career playing for 6 years. Soon after high school he began his coaching career at the high school level in 1988 in the Eastbay. He coached at several different high schools and spent last year as the Defensive Coordinator at Liberty High School. He also coaches high school baseball and softball. He is currently employed at Liberty High School in Brentwood, Ca. and works in the Special Education Department. He lives in Antioch, Ca. with his wife and two boys.

Alison Aubert, Head Athletic Trainer

Alison has been the head certified athletic trainer at Solano Community College since 1993, and has been a college athletic trainer since 1987. Alison attended Chapman University in Orange California as a division 2 student athlete, and athletic training major. Alison graduated with honors in Movement and Exercise Science, and then received her Masters degree in Sports Medicine. Alison worked as a graduate assistant at Chapman University for 3 years, then took a full time position at Santa Ana College.

Alison has also worked for USA track and field since 1984. She was an athletic trainer for track and field in the Los Angeles (1984) and Atlanta (1996) Olympic games. Alison was also assigned, as an athletic training site coordinator for the Olympic Trials in 2000 and 2004. Alison was the supervising athletic trainer for the professional baseball team the Steelheads and Thunderbirds (college summer ball). Although she has experienced athletic training at all levels, Alison enjoys working with Community College athletes most.

Alison has a staff of volunteer student athletic trainers who are working toward their degree in Sports Medicine. These students are a vital to the success of the Solano College Sports Medicine major and program.

Andy Bloom, Strength and Conditioning Coach

Andy Bloom joins the physical education department at Solano College after serving as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at UC Davis for six years. Bloom will teach weight training for Solano. As the first full time strength coach at UC Davis he oversaw the strength and conditioning training for 26 varsity sports during the school’s transition from Division II to Division I. During the transition, the athletic department saw unprecedented success, beating Stanford in football, basketball, and baseball. The women’s water polo and soccer teams qualified for the national championships and both the men’s and women’s water polo program cracked the national top ten rankings. Bloom is CSCS certified through the NSCA, for whom he serves as the Northern California Director, and holds a certification through the National Association of Speed and Explosion. He speaks nationally and internationally at clinics in strength training and track and field as well as speaking locally on supplement and steroid use.

As an athlete, Bloom competed internationally in the shot put and discus. His career peaked with a fourth place finish in the shot put in the 2000 Olympics, matching his fourth place finish in the 1999 World Championships. In 1999 Bloom was ranked fifth in the world in both the shot put and discus, making him only the second person to do so in the previous 40 years, and finished 2000 ranked number 2 in the world in the shot put. He won two USA Indoor Championships in the shot put. Bloom represented the United States on multiple international teams, including three World Championships, the 1999 World Indoor Championships, two Goodwill games, two World University Games, and various other competitions. He won a silver medal at the 1998 Goodwill Games in the discus and won silver medals in the discus at both the 1997 and 1999 World University Games. In 1999 Bloom won the gold medal in the shot put at the World University Games with a championship record performance. He ranks as one of the all-time best dual, shot put and discus, throwers.

A 1996 cum-laude graduate of Wake Forest University, Bloom was a three-time All-American. As a senior, he capped his career by winning both the NCAA shot put and discus titles, becoming only the eighth man in collegiate history to win that double.

Bloom finished his masters degree in education in 1998. He and his wife Terri have three children; Samantha, 5, Cailin, 3, and newborn Nathan.

Sandi Nygard, Academic Coordinator

Sandi Nygard
1973, Bachelor of Arts, Physical Education, CSU, Chico
1974, Teaching Credential, CSU, Chico

1974-2008
I am recently retired from the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District after teaching 34 years as a Middle School Physical Educator at Crystal Middle School, Sullivan Middle School, and most recently (1984-2008) at Grange Middle School. In addition to my role as a teacher, I have served as the Department Head for Physical Education, as well as the Athletic Director for the FSUSD Middle School Sports and Academic Programs. During my career, I coached many teams throughout my tenure, including: Volleyball, Basketball, Softball, Swimming and Cheerleading. I am very excited to bring my experience to a new level by assisting the Football Team at SCC.

This is the official Solano College Athletics Web site. Any other Web site containing information about Solano College Athletics is not sanctioned by Solano College and therefore may not contain accurate information.