Cutthroat competition, high-tensions and even higher expectations. It is high school soccer, and Mission Hills wants to win. Meaning it’s down to every last player to win the championship—and every last coach.
Coach Jacob English’s love for soccer spawned from his many years as a player. His career began when he was offered an assistant coaching position at San Marcos High School, which created opportunities to coach in many different environments, eventually landing him the spot as boys varsity coach here at MHHS. His stint with those players was cut short when, in 2009, he and his wife had a daughter, Luci. At that point, he knew where his priorities lay, and took a couple years off to spend time with his family. Once he deemed it fit to return, he was offered a teaching position, along with the freshman girls coaching opportunity. Coach English speaks of the group fondly as he reflects on their first games of the season.
“The freshman girls team plays—and thinks—way quicker than the other teams that we’ve played so far,” said English.
The young bunch thinks of him fondly as well, and one of the many stellar athletes on the team explained why.
“He seems to really like soccer, and is really passionate about the game. He gives us great advice on how to become better players,” said freshman Lindsay Miller.
The girls have the potential to go far, and Coach English—being as overqualified as he is—can lead them nowhere but up. He knows from his many years of experience just how important team bonds and connectivity are in relation to game performance.
“When they step on the field, they’re playing for each other and they’re playing for their school, and through that will come all the successes,” said English.
Ultimately, all of their hard work was put to the test against San Marcos. The home game ended with a score of one-to-zero, with MHHS in the lead. Coach English was excited to win, but now he’s focused on beating them in the next away game.
“In all of my years of coaching at Mission Hills, I have never beaten San Marcos at SMHS. So, it’s always a goal to beat them, but even more so to beat them at their own house.”
Watch out Knights, the Grizzlies are on a mission.
A correction was made on January 23, 2024: An earlier version of this article had the wrong birthdate of Coach English’s daughter. It is 2019, not 2009.
