- February 20, 2026
Seabreeze’s boys and girls soccer teams both advanced to the state playoffs this season. Now they are both starting from scratch.
Seabreeze girls soccer coach Eli Freidus is resigning after leading the team for the past five years. Boys coach Alex Perez has been let go after two seasons, Seabreeze athletic director Anthony Campanella said.
“We appreciate Alex’s dedication and commitment over the past two years, but we decided to go in a different direction,” Campanella said.
Freidus compiled a 58-37-6 record over five seasons, leading the team to the playoffs each year. Before he took over the girls program, he was the Sandcrabs’ head boys coach for three seasons, guiding the team to the state championship game in 2018 and 2019.
“With his accolades and accomplishments, what he’s done here, he’ll be sorely missed, for sure,” Campanella said of Freidus.
Freidus said that after eight years as a head coach, he is ready for a break.
“I felt like we got the (girls) program to a really good place,” he said. “We won the Five Star (Conference) three times. We won three district championships. We got to where we feel we’re one of the powerhouses locally again. But maybe it’s time to bring in some new blood with some new energy and give these girls a chance to take it to the next level.”
The Seabreeze girls lost by one goal in the playoffs in each of the past five years. They advanced to the regional finals — one game short of the final four — in 2023 and 2024.
It was really a tough decision to leave the girls, because it’s a great group of kids. I made it a year-round job. It’s not a job I took lightly.
— ELI FREIDUS
“It was really a tough decision to leave the girls, because it’s a great group of kids,” Freidus said. “I made it a year-round job. It’s not a job I took lightly. Normally, this time I’m already pressing for next year. Now I’m looking at a whole summer off. My wife and I will do some traveling. But it is sad I won’t be on the practice field getting them ready for another season. This particular group is a hard working group. They’ll respond to any coach out there.”
Both Seabreeze soccer teams have a history of success. The boys team won state championships in 1992, 1993 and 2017 and was a state runner-up four times (1990, 1994, 2018 and 2019). The Seabreeze girls haven’t won a state title but advanced to the state championship game under coach Uwe Baldwin in 1994, 1998, 1999 and 2004.
The boys team has finished with a losing record in each of the past three years, but they won the district championship this season to advance to the playoffs despite a 7-9-5 record. Perez compiled a 17-21-6 record in two seasons.
“Seabreeze has a long tradition and legacy with soccer,” Campanella said. “We wanted (the boys team) to go back and be there every year. It’s not easy. It’s very hard. Alex is a great guy, a wonderful human being. But we wanted to see what we can do to move forward.”
Perez said he was surprised that he wasn’t retained for a third season. He was an assistant coach on the 2017 championship team and he had coached an Ormond Beach Soccer Club travel team for years. His son, Franco, played on the 2017 championship team. His daughter Patricia and stepdaughter Kylie Watson also played soccer for the Sandcrabs.
“It wasn’t something I was expecting, especially since we had the banquet the night before,” he said. “When they hired me, they asked me, ‘Why do you want to coach Seabreeze?’ I told them they opened the door to my kids and I wanted to give the school something back. I’m disappointed. It’s painful, because I leave the kids behind. They gave 120% every time they played, and I gave the same.”
Perez said there were some unhappy parents whose kids weren’t getting a lot of playing time, but with only 11 starting spots on the team, not everyone is going to be able to play.
Neither job had been posted as of Thursday, Feb.19. Campanella, who had just been informed by Freidus of his decision, was focused on hiring a new boys coach.
“Obviously, we’re looking for somebody with experience,” he said. “We’re looking for somebody who is a great communicator as well as do right by the student athletes and have a vision for getting the program back to where it used to be.
“We can talk about the past,” Campanella said. “But I want to focus on the future. We want to thrive in the future.”
