Omarshan "Rohan" Naraine

“Rohan” Omarshan Naraine (Coach Ro), 60, of Florence, passed on Wednesday, January 4, 2023. Rohan is the son of the late Lakechand “Ronald” Naraine and the late Euwatti “Dora” Ramhendar Lakechand. Rohan Naraine is a native of Guyana, South America, and grew up in London, England. He lived in England for 10 years before moving to the United States at the age of 16. Coach Ro proudly served as a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps during the early 1980s. He is a graduate of North Carolina Wesleyan University, class of 1986. During his college years, he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and a minor in Physical Education. Coach Ro started playing football (soccer) as a young man while growing up in London, England, and later spent a lifetime teaching his beloved sport. He played soccer at Wesleyan as the team captain of their soccer team and helped lead the program to the NCAA Division III National Tournament in 1984. Coach Ro was the team’s captain and was selected to the All-South Region teams in 1983 and 1984. His playing career ended in 1984 due to a knee injury. However, that did not stop him. Coach Ro remained at Wesleyan as an assistant coach of the men’s and women’s programs during the 1985 and 1986 seasons. He served as the Athletic Director and the Head Coach for the boys’ and girls’ soccer programs at Beaufort Academy in 1990. Coach Ro was an inaugural inductee to the Beaufort Academy Athletic Hall of Fame. From 1990-1998 his teams won 8 SCISA 3A State Championships and were State Runners Up an additional 4 times. In addition, he was awarded SCISA Coach of the Year honors. In 1999, he was chosen to join the coaching staff of the Guyana men’s soccer Olympic soccer team for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). He served as a coach for the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), and was a part of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) in US Youth Soccer. Coach Ro held a FIFA License, an Olympic License along with an NSCAA National Coaching License. Coach Ro had a coaching career like no other and loved the game of soccer. He was Southern University’s first-ever head coach, and in the inaugural 2003 season, he led the Jaguars to a third-place finish in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and a 6-7 overall record. Coach Ro then became Head Coach for the women’s soccer program at Coker University prior to becoming the head women’s soccer coach at Coastal Carolina University (CCU), where he compiled a 48-29-7 overall record. In his seasons at CCU, he produced a 23-8-2 league record; captured two Big South Conference championships (2007, 2008); made two Big South Tournament finals appearances; and was named the 2007 Big South Coach of the Year. In 2010, Coach Ro made an impact at St. Andrews University where he was an assistant director Fellowship of Christian Athletes, assistant volleyball coach, assistant director of the athletic study hall, and resident dorm director. In February 2012, Coach Ro found himself at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He was known for the SWAC Conference Tournament in 2012, named SWAC 2012 Conference Coach of the Year, and the Women’s Head Soccer Coach. For the years to come, Coach Ro was the head coach for Women’s Soccer Coach at Mississippi Valley State University, and Denmark Technical College. He ended his coaching career at FSA, the Florence Soccer Association. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his brother, Richard Naraine. He is survived by his wife, Nalini Singh Naraine; daughter, Nikki Jasmin Naraine; brother, Bobby Naraine; and sister, Donna Srivastava. The family will receive friends and family from 5:00 - 7:00 PM Friday, January 13, 2023 at Stoudenmire-Dowling Funeral Home. The funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, January 14, 2023 at the funeral home chapel located at 2402 S. Irby St, Florence, SC 29505. There will be a zoom session of the funeral service on Saturday, January 14, 2023, starting at 1:45 PM using this link - https://tinyurl.com/ZOOM-RohanNaraine The meeting ID is 862 2758 9378.