By Loyd McIntosh
David DiPiazza wins. Google him. And now, Vestavia Hills has him.
One of the most successful soccer coaches in Alabama history, DiPiazza was named head coach of the Vestavia Hills Rebels boys soccer team last summer. His arrival comes after spending six seasons at Oak Mountain High School, where he won a state title in 2024—his sixth overall—and led the Eagles to a No. 1 national ranking on MaxPreps.
While the Rebels soccer program has had its fair share of success over the years, with seven state titles since the sport was officially sanctioned in 1991, Vestavia Hills last won a state championship a decade ago in 2016, and only managed nine wins in 2025. Now, as he prepares to begin his first season on the sidelines as the boys head coach at Vestavia Hills, the question is, why leave Oak Mountain?
DiPiazza’s answer is simple—and complex. The simple version is it was just time for a change. The more complex version is this: a Birmingham-area native, Vestavia Hills has always been an attractive destination for a coach and a teacher, and an opportunity DiPiazza couldn’t resist. “I just thought, as a coach, it was a perfect time to try a new challenge, and I’m glad I did. Teaching here has been amazing. I love it,” says DiPiazza. “I mean, it’s Vestavia. I think I guessed right in terms of how awesome it would be to work here.”
DiPiazza comes to Vestavia Hills with one of the most accomplished résumés in Alabama high school soccer. With more than two decades of coaching experience with boys and girls teams, he has compiled a record of 547-142-55, with a winning percentage above 77 percent, while building winning traditions at John Carroll Catholic High School and Oak Mountain.
At John Carroll, DiPiazza posted a record of 310-83-34 as the boys coach from 2002 through 2014, winning four state championships along the way, while also leading the girls team to a state title in 2014.
DiPiazza later guided Oak Mountain’s boys to a 134-29-17 mark, including a remarkable 59-1-1 run over his final two seasons, capped by a state championship and a record-setting unbeaten streak. Additionally, he coached Oak Mountain’s girls to a 47-7-2 record and a state title in 2015, reinforcing his reputation for building championship-level programs across both sides of the sport.
He also has experience in the college ranks, having served as the head women’s coach at Birmingham-Southern College, head men’s coach at Wallace State Community College, in addition to assistant coaching stints at Samford and Birmingham-Southern.
Now he is bringing his vast experience to Vestavia Hills with a focus on returning the Rebels to the mountaintop. With plenty of excellent soccer talent in the area, DiPiazza says the program has the potential to get there quickly if he and the coaching staff can tap into that talent pool.
DiPiazza points to a strong local club soccer presence in the area that, in recent years, has pulled some athletes away from high school soccer altogether. DiPiazza said attracting players for school soccer is a hurdle for all high school coaches but is especially challenging in Vestavia Hills with the prevalence of high-level clubs in the community that typically play year-round.
One of his goals is to change that by creating an environment where players want to represent their school in the spring, even if they play club ball the rest of the year. So far, his efforts seem successful.
“We’re a much different team than we were last year. We brought guys back into the program that had been playing club, and that’s made a big difference,” says DiPiazza. “We’ve added some really good freshmen, and some of the guys who were already in the program have really stepped up their game and become leaders. My goal is to make this a place where kids want to play high school soccer. To play an exciting brand of soccer, get good crowds at games and make this something the community is proud of.”
DiPiazza also cites the high school, parents, boosters and system leadership for their support of the soccer program. He specifically mentioned a fundraising project for a locker room—a rarity in high school soccer—that was completed in seven weeks, an example of the unprecedented backing the entire community gives to all of the school’s teams, not just the high-profile sports.
“It’s fun when you go somewhere, and kids buy into what you’re doing, the community buys into it,” DiPiazza says. “The school has given us what we need, and that’s an attractive thing about coming here. The community is buying into it, the parents are buying into it, and the kids are working their tails off.
DiPiazza continues, “The support system here from the parents, the (soccer) booster club, the principals and even the coaches supporting each other is incredible. That’s what makes my job enjoyable as a guy who’s been doing this for 26 years. It feels like it’s brand new because this new group of people, and it’s fun!”
Vestavia Hills Boys Soccer played Florence in the Lakeshore Shootout to open the 2026 season on Friday, February 6, losing the game 0-2.
