Meet The Coaches

Laura’s love of soccer ignited in Virginia during middle and high school. She captained her school teams five of six years while playing forward or outside defender before settling in at center midfielder.  She continued on to play intramural in college and still plays weekly in the Austin Women’s Soccer League.

Called to impact youth, Coach Laura earned degrees from the University of Virginia and North Carolina Central University. She then taught kindergarten through fifth grades in North Carolina and Texas.  She also brings experience as a curriculum developer and educational consultant.  She began coaching soccer and swimming during college and has coached Austin youth for over ten years. She enjoys mentoring fellow coaches and thrives through the smiles shared with children as they build confidence, friendships and fun!

Justin started out as a coach with Soccer Shots in 2017. He loves making a difference in the lives of children and their families, which is what drove him to take on a larger leadership role with Soccer Shots. He loves soccer, but also firmly believes in Soccer Shots’ mission to make a positive impact on every child we coach.

Arianne started playing soccer when she was just 7 years old! Hailing from the DFW area, she started playing select for FC Dallas Youth, then IM in college, and in Paris, France when she studied abroad. Her favorite position is forward because she loves the challenge of scoring goals! She has lots of experience with children, previously working as a camp counselor, childcare supervisor, and AmeriCorps literacy tutor for AISD. Her favorite part about working with kids is their unfailing ability to find fun and joy in anything. In her spare time, Arianne loves to play tennis, paddleboard, and volunteer!

Fun Fact: Coach Arianne checked off a bucket list item when she saw PSG–her favorite team–play against St. Etienne in their home field and win!

Coach Eliana grew up in San Antonio, TX and began playing soccer in kindergarten and continued until her freshman year of high school. She loves the sport so much and is excited for the opportunity to teach the game she grew up playing with Soccer Shots! In her spare time, she loves to play recreationally with her friends as well as stay active through running and swimming. Her favorite part about working with children is being around their infectious energy!

Fun Fact: Coach Eliana has been playing piano for 15 years!

Coach Richard was born and raised in San Antonio and grew up playing soccer. He started at just four years old at the YMCA, transitioning to club and playing for his high school team. He eventually played semi-professionally as a forward, right-back, and center midfielder! He holds a childcare license and has 2 years of coaching under his belt. Coach Richard loves to bring the fun when working with kids.

Fun Facts: Coach Richard is fluent in Spanish and played against the Liga MX Club América under-20 team!

Coach Isaac has loved the sport of soccer since the age of 4. He has played every position except for goalie, and even played for a soccer academy at 12 years old. He continues to play today with friends on the weekends, while staying active through swimming and running in his free time. He has joined our team at Soccer Shots with 2 years of coaching experience. He enjoys working with children as he sees the joy that a sport brings them or when they learn something new! Isaac moved from Houston to San Antonio in 2014, and loves the diversity of the city. He is fluent in Spanish and holds a certification from United Soccer Coaches.

Fun Fact: Coach Isaac is an awesome mini golfer!

Coach Daniel, aka Coach Matt, started playing soccer at age 8 and has been playing ever since. He started out playing recreational then moved on to play club soccer at the age of 12. In high school, he was named 1st team all-district and continued on to play professionally for 4 years for the Austin Aztex! Coach Matt still enjoys playing recreational soccer and can often be found riding bike trails for fun. His favorite part about working with children is how much energy they can bring to any activity!

Fun Fact: Coach Matt LOVES to be silly!

Coach Mya is a native Texan born and raised in Houston, Texas, but new to Austin. She loves the outdoors and being active in her free time— you can probably find her doing gymnastics, running, or playing soccer with her friends at Pease Park. Coach Mya is so excited to join the team and positively impact the Austin youth soccer community. She is currently working on her Spanish speaking skills and hopes to be more fluent by the end of the year. As a Soccer Shots coach, she hopes to impart a fun and engaging experience for every child she works with and to improve on her soccer skills!

Fun Facts: Coach Mya has two cats that she loves very dearly and is the second oldest of six kids! She is very family-orientated and loves spending as much time with them as she can.

Coach Alyssa started playing soccer at just 4 years old in her hometown of Kingsville, Texas. Altogether, she has more than 12 years of soccer experience! While she doesn’t get on the soccer field anymore, she is now a rugby player for her university team and also includes basketball as one of her hobbies. Coach Alyssa loves working and coaching young athletes: she is a former youth swim instructor and middle school basketball coaching assistant. She strives to challenge herself to make any sport she teaches as fun as possible for the kids!

Fun Fact: Coach Alyssa has traveled to 20 different states!

Coach Batts joins the San Antonio team from all over: Growing up a military brat, he moved around often but has been living in our great city since 2006! He started playing soccer in elementary school and continued through his freshman year. He now plays a lot of pick up soccer, and also stays active through basketball, football, and working out. His favorite part about being a kids soccer coach is being goofy and letting loose!

Fun Facts: Coach Batts has 5 dogs and lived in Germany for 3 years!

Coach Carlos joins the Soccer Shots team all the way from Brazil! He started playing soccer when he was just 3 years old and has played at every level of the game including for 3 different professional teams in Brazil! With over 25 years of soccer experience and a little over a year of coaching experience, Coach Carlos is ready to take his talents to Soccer Shots sessions in SA. He loves helping the kids learn and making sure they are happy with the activities that they do.

Fun Facts: Coach Carlos’s favorite snack is cashews, and his favorite sports team is CR Flamengo.

Coach Crow is originally from Dallas and now lives in San Antonio with her family! She’s a big fan of what the city has to offer, like the many nature trails, diverse cultures, and that there’s always something to do. Growing she played soccer recreationally with the kids in her neighborhood; now, she plays soccer with her daughter and loves to support and help build her confidence in the sport. With kids of her own, she has a lot of experience with children, and also worked with kids in summer camps, daycare, and as a teacher. Her favorite part is their enthusiasm and willingness to try something new.

Fun Facts: Coach Crow loves to read and has 2 kids and 3 dogs!

Coach David fell in love with soccer when he started playing in high school. His love for the game turned into a love for coaching. He has now been a soccer coach for 24 years, for teams such as CYO, YMCA, Dragons Soccer Club, ACYSO and Alamo Soccer club. Coach David is one of Soccer Shots’ veteran coaches and is a member of NSCAA.

Fun Fact: Coach David holds a USSF E Certificate, and a Goal Keeper level 1 and level 2 certificate from STYSA.

Coach Elmer was born in Nacogdoches, TX and has been playing soccer since he was 10 years old. He played on club teams growing up, and now currently plays in rec leagues. Coach Elmer is excited to bring energy and enthusiasm to the soccer field, and make an impact on his kids.

Fun Facts: Coach Elmer has traveled to 12 countries and speaks 4 languages!

Coach Felipe comes to us from Austin TX, and he now lives in San Antonio! Coach Felipe has played soccer for 10 years now, and was a part of his high school team. He has been coaching for 2 years with kids ages 6 to 18 years old, and he speaks fluent Spanish.

Fun fact: Coach Felipe has played League of Legends for the past 12 years and is a collector of cards.

Coach Gabi comes to us all the way from Chandler, Arizona where she was a coach for kids of various ages. Now a resident of San Antonio, Coach Gabi has played soccer since she was 8 years old in club leagues, high school, and for a year in college. She currently plays and acts as a referee at Soccer-zone in the Live Oak area.

Fun fact: Coach Gabi has lived in 3 different states!

Coach Josh is a huge force of fun and super passionate about making a positive impact. Originally from the RGV, he came to San Antonio at a young age and has been playing soccer for several years. An avid fitness guru, he worked as a personal trainer and cites soccer as helping him piece together his health and fitness journey. He continues to stay active by cycling about 100 miles a week and playing pick-up with his kid and some friends. Coach Josh previously power-lifted, taught injury preventative workouts through local school districts facilitated both group and 1-on-1 student athlete training. With 10 years of coaching to his name, Coach Josh’s favorite part about working with young athletes is passing on his knowledge and experience.

Fun Facts: Coach Josh’s parents met in a musical and he can do side splits!

Coach Gigi is originally from Houston and likes San Antonio for its smaller size and better traffic situation! She grew up playing soccer at the YMCA and has stayed close to the sport ever since by playing with family and friends and watching matches. While new to coaching,  Coach Gigi was a pre-k teacher for about a year and loved working with kids. She loves that when it comes to working with kids, no two days are ever the same! Coach Gigi hopes to make an impact on the kids she coaches and help them learn to play an incredible sport!

Fun Facts: Coach Gigi is a UTSA student and she loves to travel!

Kyle played soccer competitively for almost 10 years on a club team, where he developed a love for the sport. He now coaches and trains kiddos and has been for 5 years! His favorite part is having fun with them and creating an enjoyable atmosphere. He comes from a military family and loves living here in San Antonio.

Fun Fact: Kyle was born and raised in an Army family!

Coach Pablo was born and raised in Mexico City, but loves living in San Antonio because of how affordable it is. He has been playing soccer since he was 8 years old, and he has played just about everywhere, including at the collegiate level! He has 4 years of experience coaching soccer and loves seeing and helping his players develop on the field.

Fun Facts: Coach Pablo is a huge fan of cinema, and he loves music and teaching!

Coach Rebecca started playing soccer in Boerne, TX at the age of 4 and continues to play still to this day! She played for Champion and Boerne High School as a defender and midfielder. Rebecca has been coaching children personal lessons for over one year and is so excited to be a part of the Soccer Shots team! Her favorite part of coaching the younger generation is seeing how silly their personalities are and their progression throughout each season.

Fun Fact: Coach Rebecca likes learning how to play musical instruments! Be sure to ask her what she is learning at your next session.

Coach Ry is from San Antonio, Texas! He grew up playing soccer, and played for his high school as a defender and midfielder. He fell in love with the game and with the rush of energy that came with each touch of the ball. He has experience working with kids through VBS in previous years, and really enjoys teaching them about sports. While working at Soccer Shots, Coach Ry hopes to gain more experience and learn how to be better with coach and speaking to kids.

Fun Facts: Coach Ry has hiked trails in Colorado and played soccer in Mexico!

Coach Savannah is a Lubbock native whose favorite part about San Antonio is the greenery it has to offer: flora, hiking trails, and rivers. She started playing soccer at age 4 and continued for 10 more years. She now loves to play pick-up with her family and also adds running, tennis, and swimming to stay active. Coach Savannah previously coached with the Skyhawks Sports Academy and enjoyed seeing the skills, lessons, and values she taught put to use by her athletes. She strives to continue that impact as a Soccer Shots coach.

Fun Facts: Coach Savannah has a pup name Duke and she loves sculpting!

Coach Stephanie started playing soccer in 4th grade and continued playing competitively throughout high school, playing forward and later defense. She is a native Texan and spent the majority of her youth in the Corpus Christi area. She has extensive experience teaching music lessons to children including the oboe! Coach Stephanie also has a certification to teach “Insanity Live Group” or HIIT Training and is currently working on earning her personal training certification.

Fun Fact: When she’s not teaching, coaching or working out you can find her testing her culinary skills.

Coach Tristan was born in Corpus Christi and moved to San Antonio when he was 12 years old. He has a TON of soccer experience, beginning at a young age and progressing through club and high school soccer. He later played on the East Texas Baptist University and New Mexico State University teams through the University Degrees Abroad Soccer Academy, culminating in a tenure in the USL2, UPSL, and USL Championship. Whoa! Coach Tristan currently holds his USSF F and E coaching licenses. He most recently coached private lessons out in New Mexico for ages 6 and up and loves to make an impact on children and adults through soccer.

Fun Facts: He got scouted by Watford F.C. and loves shoes!

Coach Victoria is from California, but she moved to San Antonio when she was little. Since then, she’s held several different coaching positions, including one with IDEA public school where she coached middle school basketball and assisted with the high schoolers. At Soccer Shots, Coach V hopes to gain more coaching experience and expand her communication skills to pursue coaching in the future.

Fun Facts: Coach V can play music with her face and her favorite restaurant is Chick-fil-a!