Coaches hold the key to growing Mendocino County Soccer Academy. High-quality coaches create high-quality experiences for kids and families. The more of those we have, the better our culture, and the better we enroll the community in the MCSA vision. 

Like our player development pathway, the coaching pathway is a roadmap, and it's a way for new and prospective coaches to understand how they fit into the bigger picture and vision.  

We find there are two categories of coaches:

• Parents and grandparents of kids in our program interested in coaching their child. They coach while their youngster is with us and then move on when the child ages out. 

• Current/former players interested in growing their career as a coach and earning a supplemental income. 

Parent coaches want to know the basics of how to run training sessions. They want to learn how to work with parents. They want to feel supported and know they have a place to go with questions and expert advice. And most importantly, they want to have fun spending time with their child. 

Coaches interested in a career path want to learn what it takes to become a professional coach. Along with growing their experience to advance in the profession, earning a part-time, seasonal income is attractive. 

We've developed our Coaches-in-Training (CIT) program to support these coaches. The CIT is designed for busy people. It's very simple, with plenty of opportunities to learn while on the field. The program consists of:

• Training videos to cover basic philosophies

• Field Sessions with MCSA Staff

• Practice Plans

• Private Online Discussion Group

• Ongoing Support from MCSA Leadership and Staff

This training takes place within the context of our three main programs. 

• Grassroots Academy is an introduction to soccer by our professional staff for kids as young as four and up to twelve. We have several six-week sessions throughout the year in Ukiah and Willits. Training only, no games. 

• Developmental Soccer League  (DSL) is a fall league for the under 10 and under 12 age groups from teams from around the county. Volunteer coaches coach their teams with support from MCSA staff. 

• Select teams consist of ten teams ranging from U10 to U19, both boys and girls. These are competitive teams that travel to play other club teams from around the region.

Our CIT is the first step in our coaching pathway. In general, it looks like this: 

• Parent coaches - CIT - > Youth Academy Soccer League 

• Career coaches - CIT -> Grassroots -> DSL ->  Earn Coaching License -> Select Team Assistant Coach -> Select Team Coach 

Just like in our player pathway, there will be exceptions, but this is a general guideline.

Are you looking to become a coach? Tell us a little about yourself, and we'll follow up with more information.