Coaching good times

For a photo gallery, click here.

At halftime, Ryan Kontra and Paul Zubatov reminded their young soccer players what they needed to do in the second half.

It hardly mattered that their team, the Harbor View boys’ third- and fourth-graders, were down, 5-0, in a Daily Pilot Cup gold division game against Lincoln. Kontra and Zubatov, both juniors at Corona del Mar High, told the boys about their assignments and to continue playing as a team.

The Daily Pilot Cup coaches can speak from experience. Not only do they play soccer now, but they also played soccer when they were younger competing for Harbor View in the Daily Pilot Cup, which is in its 10th year.

Kontra and Zubatov were two of many high-school-aged coaches working at the tournament, the majority of them gaining community hours required to graduate.

But coaches like Kontra and Zubatov aren’t all about getting school credit. They’re not even totally consumed by winning. They want their players to learn and they want to make an impact.

Harbor View lost, 5-0, but it was an opportunity for the players to learn.

“Good job coaches,” a parent shouted after the loss, as the children walked to the sideline. “We’ll get them tomorrow.”

The parents continued to cheer for the players, as Kontra and Zubatov encouraged them.

It’s been a great experience to coach the children, Kontra said.

“I like hearing them talk and remembering what it was like to be them at that age,” Kontra said. “It’s just nice to see them smile. I had one of the dads come up to me and said his son talked about me at dinner. They all say funny stuff sometimes. It’s nice to hear that. I love talking to them.”

In addition to the colorful interaction, the coaches also enjoy practicing with the kids. They lace up their cleats, too and play on different teams. And, they laugh when the players argue about which coach they’ll play with.

“I like [coaching], especially when the kids are running around with a smile on their face,” Zubatov said. “They love to scrimmage when we play with them.”

Zubatov said he had been wanting to coach in the Daily Pilot Cup for the past few years after hearing about some of his CdM teammates do it. He also wanted to coach because he had such great memories while playing in the tournament.

Both Zubatov and Kontra remembered reaching the semifinals when they played for the Harbor View boys’ fifth- and sixth-grade team. They also remember how they lost, by one goal, an own goal.

“I love this tournament,” Zubatov said. “It’s so fun. I remember looking forward to this every year. I got to play with all my friends at school.”

Elliot Waniek also remembers playing in the Daily Pilot Cup. The CdM junior, who also plays for the Sea Kings’ soccer team and is a Cup coach, played in the inaugural Daily Pilot Cup. He was a second-grader and played up a grade to be a part of Lincoln’s championship team in 2000.

Now he’s coaching two Pilot Cup teams at Lincoln, along with his CdM teammate Reed Williams, a junior who has verbally committed to play soccer at UCLA.

“[The Daily Pilot Cup] brings back memories,” Williams said. “I just want to go out and play more. It’s really fun. It’s not too serious. I like it.”

Williams wants his teams to win, but, like the rest of the coaches, he wants the players to learn. He loves the game, and he’s happy to be around others who enjoy the game too.

“I just want them to have fun,” Williams said. “I want them to become better soccer players, to learn how to work with teammates more, to not put others down and just to work as a team.”

The CdM players aren’t the only high-school-aged coaches working at the Daily Pilot Cup.

Estancia has Jillian Beck, a captain for the Eagles’ girls’ soccer team, is a coach at California, while teammates Abby and Alisa Scheafer, along with Kendy Garcia, Maria Gomez and Fernie Perez are coaching at Rea, Estancia girls’ coach Jessica Gatica said.

Natalie Argueta, as well as a handful of other Costa Mesa girls’ soccer players are coaching at the Daily Pilot Cup, too, Mustangs’ Coach Dan Johnston said.

Newport Harbor High junior Elizabeth Eddy, who has verbally committed to play soccer at USC, is coaching, along with Sailors freshman Courtney McIntosh at Pomona.