I began coaching soccer when I was 15 years old after having played since I was very young. My father (Strathmore boys’ soccer coach Kish Patel) has been my coach for the majority of my playing career.

As a player I did not realize the difficulties associated with coaching. I once told my dad after winning a championship, “Players win games and coaches lose them.”

When I began playing soccer in high school, our team started to lose players and we eventually broke apart.

I believed that it would be quite simple to coach a youth team; all I had to do was teach them everything I know about soccer. I was completely unaware of the complexities involved in coaching.

My friend, Shakti Sampath, and I coached an U-8 soccer team — a non-competitive age group — during the fall of our sophomore year. Before the season started, I couldn’t help but imagine the endless possibilities of the knowledge I’d be able to impart on my team.

The first season did not adhere to my plans; there were many aspects of coaching that I had not foreseen. After each game my dad would remind me of the adage, “You can take a horse to the water, but you can’t make it drink.”

I spent most of my time trying to get the children to pay attention. That year my team lost every single game—scoring only three times.

Discouraged but still determined, I began another season my junior year with a different U-8 team. For my second attempt, I had the help of three assistants: Shakti Sampath, Sunny Basra, and Karanveer Ahluwalia.

I toned down my desire to mold them into professionals. Instead, I focused more on the basics of the sport. That year, with the help of regular consultations from my dad, my team lost just one game.

I was beginning to find the balance in coaching.

For the third season I decided to take up the challenge of coaching the competitive U-10 age division with the assistance of my friends.

As a coach I was becoming more lax during preseason practice and allowing the players to take things easy because I believed that they would be unwilling to learn if they were not having fun. We lost the first game in a manner that reminded me of my first season.

I reverted to my disciplinary practices of the prior season, and the season turned into a winning one. My team had earned the honor of representing Porterville at the area playoffs.

I was clearly the youngest coach there, making me even more determined to show how far my team had come. We did not do as well as I hoped, but I was pleased with how my team played.

The first two seasons began in August — just before school started — and ended around November. But by the third season, I was given the opportunity of coaching an All-Star team.

My desire to mold the players into professionals rekindled as I was finally given the chance to pick my own team.

I held a particular mind set when picking the players for my team; it is impossible to simply teach just one player. It has to be all or nothing.

In order to achieve my longstanding goal of teaching young players everything I had learned, I had to build a team that was willing to learn. I received several suggestions for players to pick up, but it was not about having the best players; it was about having the right players. I was fortunate to have both.

I gave the players more freedom during practice to enjoy themselves—treating them as my friends. I focused more on my philosophy of the game: the only thing worse than losing is giving up.

One month into the All-Star season, we entered the Mighty Oak Tournament in Visalia on the first weekend January. It was a chance for me to see if my new coaching style was effective.

We easily won our first game, 6-0. In our second game, we played against a coach that I had met early during league play. That day, he had dismantled my team, 4-0. Some of my players remembered that loss and their game showed it.

At halftime we were losing and my team was discouraged. I reminded the boys there was no greater shame than giving up, and they upheld our undefeated streak. We proceeded with confidence to win first place.

We have shown great improvement since winning the first championship. Our undefeated streak has led toward two championships. In our last two games, we have outscored our opponents 16-1.

The season is going better than I could have ever realistically hoped. Everybody dreams of having an undefeated season, and I know we have the potential to do so.

The boys, however, have not allowed the success to make them complacent or arrogant. After every game we make a tunnel for the other team and encourage them to play hard. We do this because we are representing Porterville when we play.

I want other cities to not only fear playing us, but to also remember how gracious we were in victory.