Bio

Htut Zar was named the 10th head coach of men's soccer at Defiance College in March 2024. As he guides the program's transition to the NAIA, Zar brings a wealth of experience with over 10 years of coaching experience at the college level in Division I, Division III, and NAIA in addition to high school and club soccer.

Before joining the staff at Defiance, Zar coached at Mount Vernon Nazarene where he served as an assistant coach and the Cougars’ JV head coach for the last five seasons. The Cougars achieved four winning seasons since Zar joined the staff prior to the 2019 season in addition to five berths to the Crossroads League tournament.

His coaching career started as an assistant men’s soccer and head men’s tennis coach at NCAA Division III Minnesota-Morris during the 2015-16 academic year. He then moved on to Division I Arkansas-Little Rock for the next three years to assist the Trojans’ women’s soccer program. While focusing on defensive coaching, Zar was also the team’s director of operations during two of the most successful seasons in program history. In 2016, Little Rock set a program record with a 12-8-1 ledger on the season.

Zar also holds coaching experience at the high school and club levels from his time in Mount Vernon. He coached the soccer team and was a physical education teacher at Mount Vernon High School in addition to coaching the Stings Soccer Club U-14/15 travel team for three years.

Htuz is a native of Burma and earned his Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Rangoon. Zar also earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and sport management from MVNU in 2013. Additionally, he holds a Master’s degree in coaching education/recreation and sport science from Ohio University, which he completed in 2016.