Laura Wagner
Integrator/ Executive Director - San Antonio & Austin
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 Jones
Program Director
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 Alcantara
Director of Sales & Marketing
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
Program Coordinator
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
Director of Coaching
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 Trisha
Coaching Coordinator
Coach Trisha is a native San Antonian who has years of early childhood experience. She worked as a preschool teacher for almost 7 years with children of every age. Her favorite part about working with kids is how fun and honest they can be. She also loves to spend time with her goddaughter by playing soccer with her, and likes to hike and swim to stay healthy and active. Coach Trisha played soccer for five years, beginning in high school, and even played while she spent some time overseas at a summer camp in Beijing! Her favorite position is fullback. Her goal as a Soccer Shots coach is to pass on her love of the game to every child she works with!
Fun facts: Coach Trisha used to live in The Philippines and China and has a degree in sociology.
Coach Isaac
Lead Coach
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 Matt
Lead Coach
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 Alex
Coach Alex is originally from Tamaulipas Mexico but grew up in the Valley and recently moved to San Antonio. We’re excited to welcome him to our city! He started his soccer career in elementary school, later playing on his high school team and while in college. His favorite positions are defender and forward. He continues to play with the San Antonio soccer league. Coach Alex used to work at various soccer summer camps for kids and as a Soccer Shots coach, he wants to bring the fun to the field and show the kids how great the sport is. He is also a fluent Spanish-speaker.
Fun Facts: Coach Alex is a newlywed and just had his first child in May! Felicidades!
Coach Alexis
Coach Alexis has been playing soccer for over 20 years! She has played competitively for 9 years through club, high school and college. Her favorite position is sweeper! She still plays soccer recreationally, and also enjoys playing basketball as well. Coach Alexis has several years experience coaching small children, including raising two of her own! She loves seeing how children develop and grow!
Fun Fact: Coach Alexis loves to sing!
Coach Alyssa
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
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
Bio coming soon!
Coach Christina
Coach Christina moved around a lot growing up and has 6(!) hometowns: North Carolina, Florida, Colorado, Alabama, Texas, and Germany! She started playing soccer at just three years old and continued until she was fifteen. Her preferred position was defender. Now, for exercise she loves to run and swim, having also participated in competitive swimming as a child. Coach Christina has more than eight years of babysitting experience, working with children of all ages, and also spent a lot of time volunteering at various boys and girls clubs around Germany. As a Soccer Shots coach, she hopes to make a powerful impact on those she works with, aspiring to even pursue a career as a coach. Wow!
Fun Facts: Coach Christina can speak German almost fluently, paints, and is a twin!
Coach Crow
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
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
Bio coming soon!
Coach Gabriel
*Pic coming soon!*
Coach Gabriel is a native San Antonian who grew up playing soccer as a goalie, defender, and striker! He played for about 10 years and now focuses more on basketball coaching (and, of course, coaching with Soccer Shots). Coach Gabriel has experience working with a wide range of children, from 2 to 14 years old, and says that his favorite part about coaching is seeing one of his athletes finally perform a skill after all the hard work they put in.
Fun Fact: Like any native San Antonian basketball player, Coach Gabriel is a SPURS FAN!
Coach Garza
Coach Garza is originally from West Texas growing up in and around San Angelo, and starting his soccer career there, too! He started at 9 years old and played through middle and high school, eventually ending up on the team at Sul Ross State University. He still loves to get outside and play for recreation. Coach Garza coached his brother’s youth team for a few years, and now going into this fifth year of coaching. His favorite part about working with kids and youth is building those meaningful relationships with the kids. We’re excited to have him on our San Antonio squad!
Fun Facts: Coach Garza loves to watch movies and play pool!
Coach Hunter
Hailing from San Antonio, Coach Hunter has played soccer for more than 15 years! He started at a young age, later progressing to his high school team where he scored as left forward. Now, he likes to hike, backpack, and hunt to stay active and get outside. Coach Hunter is excited to join the team and gain more experience in learning from and working with children!
Coach Josh C.
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 Kyle
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 Lisa
Bio and image coming soon!
Coach Mary
Coach Mary has joined the Soccer Shots team with a total of 10 years of soccer experience, along with 3 years of coaching experience through her neighborhood team! She haas played every position, but preferred defense. Mary continues to play for fun while getting together with her friends. Her favorite part of coaching is teaching the kiddos new skills and ensuring they are having fun.
Fun Fact: Mary loves music! She enjoys singing and even plays trumpet and guitar!
Coach Rebecca
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 Savannah
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
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 Tori
Coach Tori started playing soccer at the age of 5 and has been playing for 18 years. She played for her high school team as well as on the FC Dallas Soccer Club, continuing on to play with the Baylor Women’s Club Soccer team. She loved playing both forward and goalie! Tori not only enjoyed soccer, but volleyball, basketball, track and cross country. Her favorite part of working with children is how joyful they are to be around and cannot wait to begin her coaching journey with Soccer Shots!
Fun Fact: Tori has a dog named Marley that loves to run 5K’s with her!
Coach Tristan
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!
Employment Opportunities
If you have a passion for positively impacting children through youth sports, we’d love to talk to you.