How New Bedford High's new girls soccer coach plans to build back up the program

When Kristen Scotti stepped away from coaching to start a family, she vowed she would return to the field one day.

That day is now.

“I coached three seasons for the New London girls soccer team in Connecticut,” she said. “I was an assistant for two years and head coach for 2017-18. I resigned after that. I did it with a heavy heart. I loved coaching and I always intended on going back.”

Taking a job opportunity at New Bedford High as an English teacher opened the door for Scotti to return to coaching when Andrea Nogueira stepped down after six years at the helm of the Whalers’ girls soccer team.

“I am excited that coach Scotti is taking over as the head girls soccer coach as she brings varsity coaching experience and an unmatched enthusiasm for the game,” said New Bedford High athletic director Tom Tarpey. “She is in the building and will be able to develop relationships with our girls beyond the field. We are very lucky to have her.”

After playing soccer for four years at Ponaganset High School in Rhode Island, Scotti played intramural and co-ed soccer at the University of Rhode Island and even continued to play in adult leagues after graduating in 2008.

“I love the sport,” the 36-year-old said. “For me the biggest selling point was how amazing it is to be able to coach and how much it affirms how amazing teaching can be. It’s so transferable. That was my big motivation to have that opportunity.

“I embrace this kind of challenge. I look forward to being a part of something that needs to be built up. I want to see the team grow and be a part of it.”

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Scotti is joined by a trio of assistant coaches, Craig Wiley, Amanda Leite and Chad Sprague, who are also based in the building and have vast soccer experience.

Wiley, a data assessment manager at the high school, played soccer at Dartmouth High and UMass Lowell. He’ll work with New Bedford’s goalies. Leite, a health science teacher at New Bedford High, played soccer at GNB Voc-Tech and Bridgewater State University and has coached various club teams and summer youth camps and clinics in the area. Sprague, a special education teacher at NBH, played soccer at Bishop Hendricken and has coached varsity soccer for a combined five years in Tennessee and Texas.

“I’m really happy with the assistant coaches,” Scotti said. “We are working as a real network of dedicated coaches. The four of us have been working incredibly hard to build that momentum for the future.”

Scotti said a lot of her focus in the first year is changing the team’s mindset after an 0-17-1 campaign in 2021.

“A huge part of coaching is character building,” she said. “You have to spend time on conditioning and skill building, but there’s more to it like how to be a part of the team. A lot of it is teaching kids that they’re valuable members of the team.

“We want to capitalize on our opportunities to build the team, but also promote the team within and do recruiting as part of that. If we can get the word out, we want the girls to feel they’re valuable members of the team and New Bedford girls soccer is valuable to the school.”

Scotti’s long-term goal is to have the Whalers be a competitive team within the next five years.

“There's no shortage of talent amongst the athletes. It's a matter of creating a culture and helping the girls come together and gain some confidence to see small successes on the field,” she said. “As a team we’re coming off three seasons with almost no wins. My goal for this season is not necessarily to make a drastic change to our overall scoreboard, but I would love to win a game and see the girls feel confident and happy with their hard work.

“It's not going to happen overnight, but we have a pretty awesome coaching staff and hopefully we will give this team the boost that they need so in five years we will be a much stronger successful program.”

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Kristen Scotti named New Bedford High girls soccer coach