Sidney Levitt-Phillips

Head Coach

Girls Varsity Soccer

Coaching Philosophy:

Mindfulness is at the core of my coaching philosophy: paying attention to the present moment with an attitude of curiosity and care. In soccer, this means honestly assessing where we are without judgment, setting intentional goals, and diligently working everyday to meet and exceed our goals. The fields offer us endless opportunities to learn from the emotions of school, practice, competition, success, and failure. Mindful presence also empowers better technique, field awareness & communication, and thus more successful gameplay. We strive for equanimity, so we can be our best selves & our best team. 

As a coach, I always prioritize technique, game awareness, and fitness in my training. I create training that is physically demanding, with dynamic circuits and strategic benchmarks to assess where we are and where we want to be. I create game-like activities that focus on decision making, game awareness, and communication. I prefer to play possession oriented soccer with high pressure defenses to dictate the flow of play on both sides of the ball. I also acknowledge and appreciate that the game of soccer allows a wide range of styles of play, from direct and counter-attacking to possession-oriented combinations and movement. Teams can isolate individual areas or defenders; they can also play quickly into attacking zones to create opportunities. Defensive play can be high pressure at all transitions, prioritize player-to-player, or settle back into zone defenses to highlight strengths and hide weaknesses. So my approach will always center flexibility, to address our teams strengths and weaknesses.

Finally, I am teacher of youth players who are still developing physically or mentally. This means that when I do my job well, players will enjoy growing as people and athletes. They will see our program not as the end, but just a step in their lifelong growth. They will learn, strengthen, and reinforce positive life habits & soccer skills, while building the confidence to take on and compete for what they want and love.