Best Youth Soccer Coaches Ever ⋆ NLS

Who Taught You How to Play?

I’ve been asked several times throughout my life where I played college soccer. This always makes me giggle. While I know it’s a compliment, I also know that they don’t expect my answer. They don’t expect me to say that I didn’t play in college and barely any in high school. This is how it typically plays out:

Them: “Where’d you play college?”

Me: “I didn’t. I didn’t really play for my high school either.”

(For the record, I did go to college. I just didn’t play for my college. And I played varsity high school my freshmen year. I just stopped playing soccer from my sophomore year of high school to my mid-twenties. I went through an angry teen cliché phase where I gave up soccer because I didn’t like the coaches, or the girls, or whatever was bothering me that day.)

Them: “Huh…? You’re pretty good…?” This is said in a confused tone with a pause, as if looking for more information.

Me: “I played a lot of pick-up: my coaches’ other teams, some guys at the park, at the beach on vacations.”

And it’s while this is true, it isn’t the whole story. The real story is that my youth soccer coach was amazing! He was next level amazing. If I think about it, he taught me enough in the few years that I played for his club that it was enough for me to pass as a college player in my adult life. But what he taught me wasn’t just the fundamentals. He taught me that soccer if life.

Calling Up My Youth Soccer Coach

Emoji crying face — Me crying after hearing my coach remembers me.

Shortly after one of these silly conversations, I decided to finally reach out to my old coach, Manny. I wanted to let him know how much he meant to me and that I still play after all these years. Admittedly, I was nervous and, honestly, wasn’t even sure he’d remember me. To my surprise, he responded and let me know that not only did he remember me but that I was one of his favorites. His favorites!!!

It was as if the universe gave me a big, warm hug. He probably coached so many players over the years and yet he still remembered me. It meant the world to me to know that I impacted someone else. I really hope me reaching out to him meant just as much to him.

So, all of this emotion got me thinking about all my youth soccer coaches and how important they were in my development.

Youth Soccer Coaches that Changed My Life

Manny Pereira

Rocky Mountain Soccer Association
Aurora, CO

I don’t where I would be without Manny!

Manny had just started RMSA when I tried out for his team. As he was growing the program, he was my head coach and taught me all about Brazilian-style soccer. A Colombian native, Manny emphasized short, quick passes and possession. He taught me to “feel” the game and the beat; he taught me to sway with the game.

Manny was extremely passionate about soccer. It truly was life for him. He used to yell all sorts of crazy things:

“Angie! Die for me!”
This was his way to tell me to push harder.

“Ladies, you’re eating too many Twinkies!”
He would yell this when he thought we weren’t running enough or fast enough.

“All you need is Bengay and Theraflu.”
Theraflu was pronounced with a ‘T’ like Teraflu. He thought that these two things could fix every problem.

“Don’t come off the field unless you’re jersey is dirty.”
He did like us to play aggressively and leave it all out on the field.

“Feel the rhythm.”
This was something he would yell during our practices, especially passing drills and scrimmages, to remind us of that Brazilian-style soccer.

One of my best memories of Manny was the day that he got kicked out of a kicked out of the game by the referee. This was not uncommon for Manny. But, on this one particular day, he was prepared. After he got kicked out of the game, he handed our assistant coach a walkie-talkie, walked to his van, and then climbed on to the roof of the van. With the other walkie-talkie in his hand, Manny coached the rest of this game by telling our assistant coach what to do.

Rec Coaches

Aurora Soccer Club
Aurora, CO

I had so many wonderful recreational youth soccer coaches that introduced me to soccer. They made a huge impact on my life and I can’t thank them enough. They are:

My parents
Like many that are just starting out, my parents were my first coaches. And like many parents, they didn’t really know much about the game or coaching. They really just wanted me to play and I was too shy to go alone. There were also a lack of youth coaches. So, my parents stepped up. Out of their element, they did their best and it led to many great years of soccer that I never would have experienced had they not stepped up to coach.
Pete Moore
Pete was the only recreational coach that I had that didn’t have a child on the team. He needed some additional volunteer work and coaching experience, so he was assigned to our team. Pete was energetic, goofy, and young. We had so much fun with Pete, and it really got a group of young players excited about soccer. Oh, and he was cute!
Kevin McCormack
Kevin was never the head coach but always the assistant. He didn’t know much about soccer but he was always helping out where he could. Usually this meant being an equipment manager and setting up the cones. But, more importantly, Kevin was like a second dad to many of the girls on the team. Case in point, the day that I tore my ACL Kevin was the first one to run to my side and carried me off the field. I can never thank Kevin enough for being there for all of us.

For the record, I’m not alone in showing respect to my youth coaches. Just ask Tobin Health.

Tobin Heath Impacted by Youth Soccer Coaches Too

Tobin Heath, midfielder for the United States national team since 2008, can tell you a lot about how important youth soccer coaches are to the development and career of a player. She all but says so in a commercial for Continental Tires:

I’m Tobin Heath, midfielder for the US Women’s National Team. It sounds silly but I’ve been coached by the best coaches in the world and my youth coaches, still to this day, I think I consider them to be the best coaches that I’ve ever played for. I just care deeply about the development of youth in our countries because I had people that did that for me and I have to do that for others.
Tobin Health, USWNT, Continental Tires commercial

True to her word, in 2017, Heath did her part giving back. Ultimately, she was named the Assistant Youth Technical Director of the Portland Thorns FC after requesting to get involved.

Influencing the Next Generation

It was important for me, just like Tobin Heath, to give back too. I’ve now volunteered for a handful of seasons at the youth level. It was amazing to coach children and pass on the love of the game. I spent hours planning practices, coming up with game line-ups, and learning as much as I could to become the best coach.

While all the planning and strategizing was all expected, I didn’t expect the other commitments. Things like picking the girls up for practice, dropping them off after practice, tying up their hair, tying their shoes, listening to their days, feeling their pain, sharing their triumphs, disciplining them, goofing off with them, and really becoming a mentor to them.

I can only hope that one day one of these kids will reach out to me to let me know that I am remembered.

Being a mentor to a younger generation is one of the most gratifying experiences that one can imagine. It’s imparting pieces of your life into someone else’s heart.