Context / Initial Conditions

The club had no structured pathway for ages 4–7. Players either waited until age 7 to enter competitive teams or joined other local programs where coaching quality was inconsistent.

I had been running a successful program locally through Rodriguez Soccer Academy that addressed this gap. Club leadership recognized the need and invited me to bring that programming in-house — aligning efforts to strengthen the community's soccer ecosystem rather than operate as separate entities.

Objective

Design and lead a new pre-club development program (JDA) that would:

• Build early technical foundations through licensed coaching

• Retain players within the club ecosystem instead of external leagues

• Strengthen the local soccer community through collaboration rather than competition

Constraints

I had previously run this program independently with full operational control. Now I needed to execute within an established organizational structure — board governance, existing volunteer frameworks, and shared resource allocation. Decision cycles were longer, staffing relied on coaches with competing priorities, and I had to work within existing processes rather than building new ones from scratch.

Scope of Work (What I Actually Built and Ran)

• Defined program goals, age-band curriculum, staffing model, and session structure

• Created all communications, parent guidance, expectation setting, and onboarding

• Managed field scheduling, instructor assignments, and weekly session execution

• Designed lesson plans and progression cycles for multiple age bands

• Hired, trained, and directed staff within organizational parameters

• Maintained parent relations and handled expectation management and escalations

• Built financial model and operational rhythm that could scale within the club

Solution-Oriented Execution

• Obstacle: Inconsistent staffing availability due to competing coach commitments → Built contingency staffing model and rotational plans to ensure session delivery continuity

• Obstacle: Slower decision-making cycles in board-governed structure → Front-loaded communication and approvals, built trust through early results before proposing structural changes

• Obstacle: Risk of quality perception matching other recreational programs → Differentiated through licensed coaching, structured curriculum, and professional communication standards

• Obstacle: Navigating organizational dynamics as incoming program lead→ Delivered consistent results and maintained proactive parent communication to build credibility and establish the program as core infrastructure

Outcomes & Impact

• The club now has a formal, repeatable development pipeline for ages 4–7 — the first in its history

• Leadership has endorsed the program as the future feeder for competitive teams

• Parent feedback cites organization and professionalism as differentiators

• Early adoption success has positioned the program to be institutionalized, not experimental

• The program now reduces attrition to other local programs and creates predictable future rosters

• Successfully adapted an independently-proven model to work within institutional constraints — demonstrating ability to execute in environments where I don't control every variable

Supporting Documentation

These materials illustrate how I approach projects holistically — combining stakeholder research, structured planning, and disciplined execution to deliver adoption and long-term impact.

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