Let’s face it: when Kickin’ It 615 needed a coach for their youngest athletes, Angelo Todaro wasn’t exactly the obvious choice.
Sure, he’d broken tradition in his baseball-loving family to play in high school. He played seven hours a week if you count travel soccer and continued with rec play in college.
But in 2021, K615 needed a coach for its youngest athletes.
“Two years ago, the thought of Angelo coaching three- and four-year-olds wasn’t just foreign,” said Valair Shabilla, K615 founder and president. “It was unthinkable.”
Even Angelo admits: that first season was intimidating.
After all, three- and four-year-olds who are new to the game can be a lot to manage.
They trip and stumble a lot. If someone steals the ball away, they cry.
They tend to run on concrete with their cleats on, which never ends well.
And they take a while to grasp the basics.
For example, some players aren’t as interested in pacing themselves as much as kicking the ball as hard as possible. Other kiddos are so polite and kind that they share the ball with the opposing team.
Despite these challenges, Coach Todaro has come a long way in four K615 seasons.
He and co-coach Kate Durst (Angelo says he’ll never coach without her) have five soccer rules:
First is the Pencil Rule: When coach blows the whistle, you must jump up, arms pinned to your side, and pay attention (a rule is so effective that one parent uses it at home).
Second is the Listening Ears Rule, which is just what it sounds like.
Then there’s the Hands-To-Yourself Rule.
The Stay-On-The-Grass Rule.
The Yes-We-Have-To-Share-The-Ball-With-Our-Own-Teammates Rule.
Whatever Angelo and Kate are doing, it’s working.
As they arrived at Frederick Douglass Park for their last match on May 21, each player ran to Kate for hugs; help with socks, cleats, and shin guards; and warmups.
Kate is so proud of her players that she gives out high fives just for stretching. Then, from her post on the sidelines, she spends the match tending to the tired, the discouraged, and the timid.
An estimated one in three families have more than one child in the league, and 30 to 40 percent of K615 siblings return for the next season.
“The whole organization, it’s like a family,” said Ray Campbell. Her three children – Kairo, age 4; Hendrix, age 6; and Phoenix, age 7 – all play.
“They are so excited for soccer,” she said. Kairo hasn’t even started school, but Ray can tell he’s already more socially comfortable after only two seasons.
The coaches “actually let them enjoy themselves,” she said. “They’re babies. They have a long time to compete.”
Lottie Battle, Kario’s grandma, cheered him on from underneath her umbrella.
“Go, Kairo! Good job, baby. We’re scoring a goal today if I have to run it up in there!”
Four seasons ago, the idea of Angelo coaching K615’s youngest athletes was “unthinkable.” Now, he and Kate have pledged that neither will quit coaching this age group unless the other quits first.
As a player, Todaro saw the pitch in a single direction. As a coach, he sees matches multi-directionally.
As a player, Todaro was less patient. These days, he’s taking tips from his mom – a former kindergarten teacher – and incorporating them into his coaching.
And, these days, Todaro leans into Rule No. 6 on a level he didn’t as a player: Have Fun. Always.
“That’s what I like a lot about K615; the bar to entry is literally zero,” he said. “These kids, they never don’t have fun. We find a way to get every kid in.”