Lauren Zallis has been named Oak Park and River Forest High School’s new head varsity girls soccer coach.
Zallis takes the reins from Christie Johnston, who stepped down from the Huskies over the summer after six seasons, compiling a 32-51-2 record and an IHSA Class 3A regional title in 2021.
Zallis, who played collegiately at Northern Arizona University and received her bachelor’s degree in physical education and health, has vast coaching experience on both the high school and college levels with stops at Beacon Academy, Dominican University, Elk Grove High School and Roosevelt University.
Zallis holds a master’s degree in counseling, specializing in sport and health psychology. She helped create a sport psychology program at Loyola University Chicago, is the co-founder of a sport psychology consulting practice, and has worked with former Chicago White Sox psychologist Jeffrey Fishbein as a lead consultant for his private practice.
OPRF athletic director Nicole Ebsen said that Zallis’s background will help the Huskies’ program improve.
“Social-emotional learning isn’t something we work on developing only in an academic setting,” she said in a statement. “We also have a strong focus on incorporating social-emotional learning into our coaching, and Lauren’s experience with sport psychology will be a huge asset in that regard. We’re looking forward to a great season.”
