Saratoga News

Photograph by Lea Tauriello

Coach Maureen Caloiaro revs up the Killer Bees during a recent Saturday game.

Power Plays

A second generation of soccer players develops skills that work on the field and in the office

By Natasha Evans Beauchamps

Megan Van Crekan builds efficient, competitive teams at Intel, where she manages international manufacturing, and on the soccer field, where she coaches 9-year-old girls on the finer points of passing and guarding.

Hilary Butler has become a better administrator at her real estate inspection company through the skills she developed coaching 6- and 7-year-old boys in soccer.

These Silicon Valley soccer moms bring years of workplace experience in management and planning to the soccer field; they take back team-building and communications skills to the office from the field.

Soccer Moms used to bring orange slices, the first aid kit and enthusiasm to the game on Saturday. Soccer Dads planned the on-field strategies, chose the forward and ran the team members through their drills. Now, decades after Title IX put schoolgirls on competitive sports teams, women are playing an active role in the sports lives of a new generation of youngsters.

"Ten years ago we hardly had any women coaching AYSO soccer; now it's a common occurrence," Larry Fine, AYSO Soccer regional commissioner, says. Fine attributes the increase in the number of women coaching soccer to the growing popularity of the game. "These days we need more coaches than ever. AYSO had to turn away over 100 kids this season because we didn't have enough teams for them to participate on," so the moms leave the stands and coach from the sidelines to fill this need, he says.

Some 1,200 children play AYSO soccer in Saratoga on 94 different teams, coached by 220 parents. Nationally, 800,000 children play on AYSO teams.

Mothers who work outside the home are constantly engaged in an intricate balancing act between family responsibilities and job requirements. The women who decide to lead their children's soccer teams are parceling out a scarce resource in their lives: time. Many of the mothers decide to coach teams because they believe that through soccer they can have a strong, positive impact on children.

"One of the reasons I decided to coach my son's team this year is that I wanted to show him I could be active and competitive," Butler explains. "I played AYSO Soccer when I was growing up in Saratoga, and I remember what a strong influence the sport had on me. I made lasting friendships, learned not to be intimidated by competition and became adept at working in groups. I want to be a part of teaching these lessons and values to my children now."

Van Crekan, who spends substantial portions of her time traveling between Intel manufacturing operations in the Far East and in the United States, says, "There is a heavy price to pay for all the traveling I do, and I think coaching my daughter's team provides a good counterbalance for some of the time I'm away."

Maureen Caloiaro decided to coach soccer because she likes working with children and finds the opportunity to run around outdoors in the sunshine relaxing and energizing. Professionally, Caloiaro, an insurance broker, thinks coaching has improved her ability to be patient. "There are some pretty tense situations in my work, and my time on the soccer field helps me cope with them better," Caloiaro says.

AYSO provides extensive training for its volunteer coaches. "Many of the folks who become coaches have never seen a soccer ball before they come to us," Fine says. So for weeks before the season, AYSO teaches would-be coaches what they need to know about the game and coaching young athletes.

"We learn everything from how to teach soccer skills to first aid to the importance of respecting and encouraging the kids on the team," Butler says. "AYSO spends a lot of time making sure the coaches know not to verbally abuse the kids. This game is supposed to be fun."

According to Butler, "Winning takes second place to AYSO's greater goals of teaching skills and building self-confidence. AYSO/Saratoga requires each child on the team to play for three quarters of the game, regardless of skill level."

This inclusive approach to teaching soccer and coaching the team for competition is intended to create an environment to allow every member of the team to progress and have the opportunity to meet his or her potential, according to the AYSO philosophy.

One of the most gratifying parts of coaching soccer for the working mothers is watching their teams improve. "It's very rewarding to see the practice during the week become new skills on the field," Van Crekan says. "At first, the 6- and 7-year-old children would just cluster around the field together and chase the ball. Four games later, they know their positions."

Van Crekan explains that the girls on her team are remarkably astute at understanding the game they have just finished playing. At their young age, they see very clearly what might have gone wrong on the field and which of their skills they need to improve.

"My biggest challenge now is teaching them how to think on the field about what they are doing in the middle of all the commotion of the game," Van Crekan says.

The application of soccer skills to off-field situations for both coaches and athletes is a recurring theme for the mothers and the AYSO organization. "AYSO places a premium on making kids into a team and teaching them to fulfill their obligations; these skills translate directly into the workplace," AYSO regional commissioner Fine explains.

All parties involved agree that teaching children to be effective members of the sporting team--attending practice, working in unison, improving their skills and communicating with coaches and teammates--has a direct impact on the children's personal habits at school now and in the workplace later.

For the working mothers there are tangible benefits in their work lives, ranging from soccer's role as an outlet for the desk-bound to learning to be a better team member at work.

For new soccer dads, there are new skills to learn as well. "While Hilary is coaching, I have to coordinate everyone's schedule and keep everything in check," Jeff Butler says. "I appreciate the opportunity I get to spend some unique time with my children."

Teaching her team new skills helps Butler show her employees at work how to approach new situations better: "I have learned to see tasks in their smaller components from the kids at soccer, and this has helped me communicate better how I want things handled at work."

"It's my job as a coach," Van Crekan explains, "to make sure each team member understands why she is important to the game and what is expected of her and to keep her motivated to learn and perform. These soccer coaching responsibilities mirror my management responsibilities at Intel."

For busy Silicon Valley moms, coaching soccer integrates three of their most important priorities: spending time with their children, contributing to their community and having fun while learning and teaching new skills.

[ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ]