NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Brock Sutherland is one of the best grassroots soccer coaches who has given over 30 years of his life to soccer, both as a player and a coach. He is the head coach of the West Jessamine High School boys varsity soccer team.

As a player, Sutherland played as a right back or a central defender. He played in several tournaments both in the United States and outside the United States. These tournaments provided him with several opportunities to travel to different countries that went a long way in helping him gain more experience that was vital in preparing him for his coaching career.

He played in the Paris Cup, held in France, in the intercollegiate games with Union College for two years, and played in the Nike 3v3 Soccer Tournament in Narita, Japan, with Alderson-Broaddus College in Division II for three years. In addition, he played in the College Soccer Tour in Campinas, Brazil, and the National Indoor Soccer League, where he was part of the team that won the region championship for three consecutive seasons (2003, 2004 and 2005).

Sutherland has coached two competitive club teams for over 15 years. In the 2009-10 season, he was the U13 state semifinalists coach and made the finals in the U18 during the 2012-13 season. He got his first championship at the club level when he led a U14 girls soccer team to the Girls State Championship in the 2012-13 season.

Sutherland joined West Jessamine Middle School as a head coach. He spent five years as the middle school’s boys soccer coach and has been the varsity head coach for the past 11 years.

With West Jessamine, Sutherland has made a name not just for himself as a coach but for the school’s soccer program. As the middle school head coach, he took the team to two consecutive Salt River Conference Championships in 2014 and 2015. As the varsity coach, he was named the 2010-11 Conference Coach of 2011 after helping the team win the district championship and taking them to the region finals.

He was also named the Conference Coach of the Year the following season after another impressive season with West Jessamine High School. In the 2012-13 season, he took the Colts to the District finals and Region finals. Although he didn’t win any of the finals, that season remained one of the most impressive seasons of the Colts.

In the 2013-2014 season, Coach Sutherland led West Jessamine to another district finals, which they didn’t win. However, they got it right in the regional finals. He won his first region championship for the team in 2014.

In the 2014-15 season, he made his fifth district finals, although his team was eliminated in the regional semifinals. In addition, he was nominated as the Coach of the Year for the Kentucky High School Referee Association in the same season.

For Sutherland, every season is a battle, and he doesn’t take any games less seriously because every win builds the players’ mental strength.

“You can get a victory, no matter how you get it,” he said after a game against Lafayette in September 2021. “We found a way to get (the win), so any way that you can get it is a positive thing.”

He led West Jessamine to their sixth district finals at the end of the 2015-16 season and has continued creating many beautiful memories with the team. His pride comes from seeing his players play attractive soccer.

“When you see these guys play as hard as they did, you know, I’m proud of them,” Sutherland said.

When Coach Sutherland is not coaching West Jessamine, he is busy with the Kentucky Kickstart Elite, a soccer academy that he owns and operates. He conducts seasonal camps, groups, individual and team training sessions and tournaments through the academy.

Coach Sutherland lives and breathes soccer, and the state of Kentucky won’t forget his contributions to the game for a very, very long time.

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