ECNL Announces 2024-25 Coaches of the Year
The ECNL (Elite Clubs National League) picked four amazing soccer coaches as their Coaches of the Year for helping their teams win big championships.
The Four Winning Coaches
The soccer league chose these four coaches for doing such a great job:
- Leo Maric from XF Academy (Boys division)
- Esteban Sosa from MVLA (Girls division)
- John Kokkoris from East Coast Surf (Regional Boys)
- Collin Scott from Lobos Rush (Regional Girls)
These coaches come from different states and all helped their teams reach the highest levels of soccer.
Leo Maric Sets New Records
Leo Maric works as the main coach at XF Academy, where he coaches the older teenage boys and helps with all the other teams too. His club did something that had never happened before – they won four national championships in one season!
The teams that won were the U13s, U14s, U17s, and U18/19 groups. This made XF Academy the overall champion club for boys soccer. Talk about an incredible season!
“This award means so much because it shows how hard our players, coaches, and families worked together,” Maric said. He explained that coaching is about more than just winning games – it’s about helping young people grow up to be good people.
Esteban Sosa Brings Home First Trophy in Years
Esteban Sosa coached his MVLA U16 girls team to win their first national championship since 2020-21. He also coached another team (U15 girls) that made it to the final tournament and finished in the top eight teams in the country.
Because both his teams did so well, MVLA finished as the 7th best club in the whole country out of hundreds of clubs.
“I’m honored to win this award, but I couldn’t do it without the other great coaches at our club,” Sosa said. He loves coaching in the ECNL because he gets to learn from other talented coaches and compete against the best teams.
Regional League Champions Step Up
The ECNL Regional League is like a smaller version of the main ECNL, and two coaches there also won big awards.
John Kokkoris Earns Promotion
John Kokkoris runs the boys coaching program at East Coast Surf. His teams won the U15 national championship and came in second place for the U13 championship. Because they did so well, his club gets to move up to the main ECNL league next year.
“This award represents all the hard work our players, families, and coaches put in every day,” Kokkoris said.
First-Ever National Title
Collin Scott coached Lobos Rush to their very first national championship ever when his U15 girls team won the Regional League title.
Scott said he feels honored to win the award because there are so many good coaches in the league. He explained that being part of the ECNL has helped him become a better coach through all the training and resources they provide.
Why These Awards Matter
These Coach of the Year awards show how important good coaching is in youth soccer. The winning coaches didn’t just focus on winning games – they also cared about helping their players grow as people.
The ECNL is known as one of the best youth soccer leagues in America, so winning these awards means these coaches are among the very best in the country. Their success also shows that great soccer programs exist all across America, from different states and regions.
All four coaches said the same thing – they couldn’t have won without their players, families, and other coaches working together as a team!
