Youth Coach Academy Launches in Fall 2020

Youth Coach Academy Leaders Elodie Griffin-Schmidt, VV Volpi, and Daniela Hernandez joined by SCORES Program Director Roberto Gil.

America SCORES has launched an ambitious new program to train students between the ages of 14 and 24 to serve as assistant and co-coaches for America SCORES school-based programs and the club pathway program Independent Football Club (IFC). 

The Youth Coach Academy is the brainchild of SCORES Middle School Program Director Roberto Gil.

“The idea of training youth coaches has been an interest for SCORES and IFC for several years, but this year Roberto led a concerted effort to formalize a program to recruit, train, and support a cohort of trainers,” says Colin Schmidt, SCORES Executive Director.  

SCORES runs two types of programs: a school-based program traditionally called America SCORES and a new pathway program, IFC, for community-based or club teams. “Kids who can’t get on a SCORES team at their school who graduate from SCORES, or who can't afford a pay-to-play club, now have an option to play on a team and be part of a club," Colin explains. Like SCORES, IFC is free for participants with costs covered by donations. “SCORES and IFC as like the public school or public libraries of soccer. Anyone is welcome no matter their family’s capacity to pay.”

“We created the Youth Coaching Academy to build the pool of people who can run successful, meaningful SCORES soccer practices and enrichment activities. The more caring, competent, coaches we have, the more children we’ll be able to serve in the seasons ahead. At the same time, we want to help older students—especially alumni of the SCORES program— learn new skills to help them succeed in their paths forward.” The Academy has expanded to include students from outside the SCORES community as well, bringing a rich diversity to the coaching pool.  

The current trainee class of 21 is now taking part in a 12-week series of online and in-person training sessions. As part of their training, participants lead or co-lead virtual soccer practices for younger IFC teams. Instruction includes training in cultural competencies around diversity, inclusion, and cultural humility. Coaches learn how to create engaging online and in-person practices designed to develop players’ critical thinking, understanding, and performance through the US GrassRoots Curriculum. 

And they’re learning the big hook: Fun. It’s all about creating a positive team environment, actively involving players in the learning process to enhance their task mastery and conceptual understanding.  “We want to make sure that Youth Coaches have a positive experience at every step of the process and gain the confidence and competence to run high-quality soccer practices and enrichment activities,” says Roberto.

The trainees receive a motivational stipend or community service hours they may need to fulfill graduation requirements. They’re also expected to earn their US National F-soccer licenses as part of the process.  

High school students Daniela Hernandez, Vittoria Volpi, and Elodie Griffin-Schmidt are the student leaders or "captains" for this year's cohort of youth coaches.  They help Roberto and SCORES program coordinator Amber Calderon run the training sessions. Amber supports the three juniors in their own progress as coach leaders. The three high school juniors are old pros: they began coaching IFC teams as ninth graders, before the formalization of the Youth Coaching Academy. Now they’re in charge and leading practices and training both online and (socially distanced) in-person. 

The decision to include high-school coaches in the Coaching Academy was deliberate, designed to leverage energetic youth gaining job skills and experience with adult professionals or parent volunteers providing an extra layer of support and program and team management. And it’s proven to be very successful. “The younger players respond really well to high schoolers—in many cases better than they respond to an older coach or parent coach,” says Colin.  

Stefano Alberti is a parent coach for an IFC team of fifth-grade boys. Elodie Griffin-Schmidt has been their youth coach since the boys were third graders. “The team loves Coach Elodie! She brings the perfect mix of soccer seriousness and fun attitude that gets the kids to enjoy themselves and not even realize how hard they’re working. And she has super-human patience. And last but not least, she led the team to win the SFYS championship in Fall 2019,” Stefano says. 

Daniela Hernandez is a SCORES alum and now lead youth trainer. She first joined SCORES in elementary school at E.R. Taylor and has since helped coach teams at E.R. Taylor and Moscone Elementary. She’s discovered that the skills she’s learning through the Coaching Academy are transferable to her studies in the Teacher Academy at Lincoln High School. “I’ve learned a lot about time management and I’ve become much more comfortable working with younger children,” Daniela says. “Being comfortable and confident in yourself is one of the most important things to have as a coach, especially when working with students. I want to show them it’s OK to make mistakes—I still make them too—and you can still be learning and growing.”

For Elodie Griffin-Schmidt, training new coaches allows her to exponentially expand access to a game she loves. “The culture of pay-to-play soccer is very exclusive, and it only allows for a certain kind of player to secure the highest level of training experience. IFC competes at the same level as the other clubs do, but has a much broader outreach to players who normally would be shut out because of financial limitations. It’s something I think is really important, and being able to make a positive impact on someone else’s life is powerful in my own life.” 

Vittoria (VV) Volpi, also at Lick Wilmerding, has thrived coaching young players and training youth coaches through the Coaching Academy. “The idea of mixing leadership with the opportunity to play soccer was super interesting to me, and I wanted to learn as much as I could. Coaching has opened up so much for me. It’s taught me different forms of communication, professionalism, persistence, organization skills, and real practical information on how to properly coach.”

Keeping sessions fun and uplifting has been a priority, especially during the pandemic. “We do everything possible to make our sessions engaging, but also fun, because at the end of the day soccer is something you should be passionate about, and we don’t want to get in the way of that,” VV says. 

New trainee Luca Ortona, a ninth-grader at International High School concurs. “It’s fantastic!” he enthuses.“I like looking at things from different perspectives and points of view. Growing up in multiple places—Rome, Brussels, Tel Aviv, and San Francisco—my eyes have been opened to different cultures and ways of thinking, and the Coaching Academy extends that.” A goalie, Luca appreciates the insights the experience is revealing. “It’s offering me another way to look at and understand how I’m being coached as a player. I’m usually skeptical when a new coach comes on board, but now I’m in that position, and I’m thinking about how my players might be receiving and interpreting what I’m sharing with them,” he says. In short, it’s a lesson in empathy. 

The need for SCORES and IFC programs is anticipated to grow as more families struggle economically in the wake of the pandemic.  Colin, Roberto, and the staff are committed to growing the YCA in the seasons ahead. Colin: "These coaches allow our players to get an amazing and fun soccer experience. They are an important resource that will help us extend the reach of volunteers and staff, and in turn, allow more kids to access the beautiful game."

The Werewolves and their youth coach Elodie Griffin-Schmidt

Youth Coaches in action at Kimbell Field in San Francisco.