Born in the Dominican Republic, William is the oldest of 4 siblings, with two younger brothers and a twin sister. He started playing soccer at age 11 for the first Beyond Soccer boys team and wanted to make sure we mentioned that team took 1st place in its inaugural season. At age 17, Will began work as a Summer Coach Mentor and continues to maintain that role while pursuing his nursing degree. He enjoys “learning the personality of each kid and seeing them grow up as the year’s pass.”
Fun Fact: “Originally I did not want to go to play soccer when I was 11, but thanks to my mom who had to drag me out of my house to do so, I have never regretted that day!”
Adam is the middle child with two sisters. He is half Vietnamese and half Puerto Rican with dreams of traveling around the world to either start or partner with a nonprofit that works with children. Adam has played soccer since age 4 and even played for the Boston Bolts U.S. Soccer Development Academy team. That means he is really, really good.
As a youth leader at his church, he has always loved seeing kids grow up and develop. He said God has led him to these opportunities to connect with kids, which includes 2 years with Beyond Soccer, and most recently as Co-Coach of the Grade 6 Rebels Team.
Fun fact about Adam: Adam loves playing guitar and singing for his church every Sunday.
Cesar joined our coaching staff as an assistant Coach-Mentor in Spring 2017. Cesar, a native of Colombia and a huge soccer fan, was always stepping up to help from the sidelines as a dedicated parent of then 5th grader, Melanie. Beyond Soccer staff knew, right away, that he would be an awesome asset on the "other" sideline! And we were right- Cesar, who now coaches the grade 8 Wolverines, has proven that commitment, dedication and hard work are a great recipe for success-both on and off the field! Cesar’s youngest daughter, Shantel, also plays on our Grade 4 Jaguars team!
Fun fact: "I love the water, even though I don’t know how to swim!"
With a playing career that spans from U12 town soccer all the way to college and the W-League, it was only natural that one of the first things Marcy did when she moved to Lawrence was seek out a city youth program. She came to us with extensive experience coaching U14 travel teams, training high school goalkeepers, and working at soccer clinics and camps. Now 6 years later, she has helped Beyond Soccer with its spring and fall city-wide rec program, has coached the U12 team, the high school age team and currently the new girls grade 4 team- the Jaguars. She has also recently welcomed two additional Ansleys to Beyond Soccer–her children! She has a son and daughter who play in the rec league.
Fun fact: Before becoming a Mom, Marcy rode a motorcycle - she even took a wedding photo while sitting on the bike.
Giovanni graduated from the Greater Lawrence Technical High School and has lived in Lawrence all his life. Giovanni started boxing at the age of 10 and has amassed over 60 amateur fights, totaling 42 wins and 19 losses. He has been ranked in the U.S. as a 3x state champ and 2x regional champ! In addition to boxing, Giovanni has a love of soccer, which lead him to his position as youth soccer coach in Methuen for 7 years before joining Beyond Soccer as part of the coaching staff in 2018.
Gio enjoys "seeing the players enjoy the game and watch them improve as young adults and see them achieve goals, whether it be in soccer or something else." He believes the best thing in life is bringing joy and helping the youths to stay off the streets.
Patricia ("Esme") attended high school at Fryeburg Academy and is now attending UMass Lowell pursuing a doctorate in Physical Therapy. Her experience with sports first began when she played on the Bulldogs team for Beyond Soccer. "The community that Stephanie McArdle built around sports really opened my eyes to the advantages of being an athlete and ever since then I’ve been involved." She was a three-season athlete in high school playing soccer, basketball, and lacrosse and is now Head Coach of Beyond Soccer’s U10 Girls Bulldogs- the same team she first started on! That makes a total of 10 years being part of Beyond Soccer!
Why you enjoy coaching: "I love to see how much the girls improve after every game and their love for the sport grows bigger and bigger." FUN FACT: Patricia has a ferret named Coco!
Sadie began working at Beyond Soccer through our partnership with the Forest Foundation. She is a student at Bucknell University, studying Psychology, Spanish, and Education with a concentration in Childhood Support Services where she also plays club soccer, volleyball, and field hockey. When she first came to us, Sadie was not extremely experienced in soccer, besides making her no-cut college club team. However, being a part of the Beyond Soccer family has allowed her to grow her skill set and she’s now a self-proclaimed fan of the sport! She still would not call herself a soccer star per se, but she brings her passion for health, fitness, and cardio to our camps, clinics, and summer programs. Fun fact: She’s an avid runner and has completed two marathons!
Lismari grew up with an interest in modeling and very little interest in sports, but after her father opened Merrimackvolley when she was in 8th grade, her interest in the sport grew. Lismari started to play more competitively and because of her hard work with Merrimackvolley, she made the high school varsity team as a starting freshman. She was also named Senior Captain, Player of the Year in a nationwide tournament and Boston Globe Player of the Week.
Fun(ny) fact about Lismari: "For the past two years, I had gotten injured during the state semifinals right before the game and still played. Those are also my two highest scoring games for the season"
Bruce, a UMass Lowell student, is studying Biomedical Engineering. Before UML, he played soccer at Methuen High School for four years. After graduation, 1/ ½ years ago, he started coaching with Beyond Soccer because he has a deep love for the sport and working with kids. "I love helping people learn and improve on things that they once thought to be impossible. Self-doubt leads to negative things down the road so I try my best to make sure the kids have the correct mindset moving forward. The majority of sports boil down to a mental battle of who gives in first and you can bet it won’t be my kids!"
Fun fact: "I love teaching and talking to people about stocks and the economy!"
Dominic, a native of St. Vincent, with strong community ties near and far, has stepped into a leadership role at Beyond Soccer. His passion for the game plus his knowledge and soccer experience, including professional play, make him an incredible fit. In addition to coordinating practices, games and off-the-field events of the 4 boys teams, Dominic also leads the Grade 6 Thunder. Apart from being with his family, he says "I’ve found another family which is beyond soccer." Dominic also attends Middlesex Community College where he is pursuing his nursing degree.
Fun Fact: Dominic‘s two young daughters participate in Beyond Soccer’s Rec League and summer camps!
Anne started playing soccer at age 9 and continued playing after college in the Eastern Mass Women’s League. Most of her friendships have been made through soccer. Every time she moved she sought out a team and instantly found herself surrounded by like-minded people. It’s obvious she wants to create those same connections for her Grade 6 Bulldogs, a team she’s coached 3 seasons. Her involvement with us came after a social media share by a student in the I Have a Dream Program, a program she worked that helped 63 Arlington Middle School students pursue their dream of higher education. She feels like that program, sponsored by Dee and Kingman Webster, has come full circle! Now she is showing girls what is possible when they are given more opportunities. FUN FACT: Anne has run 3 Boston Marathons, plus San Diego & Marine Corps marathons!
Kelsey is the middle child & has an older sister & younger brother. She loves her job as a middle school nurse in Haverhill. She also coaches girls soccer @Greater Lawrence Tech’s. "I am a firm believer that you can do anything if you work hard for it. I started playing soccer at 3 b/c my dad loved soccer, & further his dad loved soccer. They instilled, in me, that love of soccer." Kelsey continued to play at Worcester State U. where she earned her Nursing degree. Kelsey shares that there aren’t many things in life that make her happier than playing soccer. "Being able to share that passion as a coach & watch children foster that same love, is why I coach."
Fun fact: "My mom & aunts were Patriots cheerleaders in the 80’s but I never did cheerleading. Soccer all the way!"
Over the summer, we hire 8 full-time Beyond Soccer youth who have grown up in our programs to be part of our Youth Jobs Program. This summer we distributed $28,000 in youth employment stipends, bringing our summer jobs program total to more than $55,000 since 2013, with 100% of our Summer Youth Jobs participants reporting their experience “as overwhelmingly positive,” with most gaining a stronger sense of self-worth and accomplishment after their 8-week experience. Oriagna Inirio, 8-yr Beyond Soccer participant and the twin sister of Will Inirio said, “It’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. I get to teach kids the sport that has taught and influenced me so much.” The group pictured above led our most successful summer with more than 600 hours of sponsored activities!
Our Summer Coach Mentors
An exciting and important part of our coaching model is connecting youth who have grown up in our programs to leadership roles as Coach-Mentors. In Summer 2019, 17 Summer Hires, including 10 Beyond Soccer high school graduates and college students, who grew up in our programs, worked as Coach-Mentors running our busy summer camps that reached 509 kids between June and August 2019. Summer 2020 was difficult with COVID-19, cutting our summer staff in half, but they still persevered and 8 Summer Coach Mentors engaged 245 youth and teens.
