Jeff Soares wins Coach of the Year for his work with RFH Bulldogs soccer
RUMSON, N.J. — Jeff Soares, coach of the Rumson-Fair Haven High School boys’ soccer team, won Class A Central Coach of the Year in the 2021 Shore Conference Soccer Coaches’ All-Division. In just three seasons, he got the Bulldogs through every situation that came together.
He helped the Bulldogs win the Shore Conference A Central Division championship after six years. Also, he knew how to get the boys in shape, managing to place five of his players on the 2021 Shore Conference Soccer Coaches’ All-Division teams in boys’ soccer rankings. Among them, the Pentikis brothers, junior Alec Pentikis, who ranks 2nd in Class A Central, and his brother Luke Pentikis, who is the team captain and ranks third.
“I’ve been coaching 14 years, and I’ve never seen a duo do what they do together,” Soares said about them. “These two always know where each other are on the field. They have an instinct on the field that you can’t teach as a coach. It’s really special.”
Soares studied Sports and Exercise at North Carolina Wesleyan College from 2006 to 2007. A year later, he began a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education/fitness at Kean University until 2011, and then in 2015 resumed his studies for a year by pursuing a Master’s Degree in educational leadership and administration, general at the American College of Education.
Jeff Soares began working with the Rumson-Fair Haven High School boys’ soccer team in 2019. “I always wanted to be a head coach,” he said. “I was waiting for the right situation.”
Soares said he chose the Bulldogs because despite lacking confidence, they were in every game. The boys needed a culture change, they needed to know they could win, they just needed a little boost and he knew he could give it to them.
In fact, he got Rumson-Fair Haven to win the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Central Jersey Group 2 boys soccer final on Nov. 11. Alec Pentikis, in the second overtime, scored the game-winning goal for the Bulldogs, who won 2-1 against Holmdel.
“This has been a rivalry for years,” Soares said. “And we’ve been the little brother for the past God-knows-how-long. We wanted to make a statement, get that statement win, and show that we’re no longer the little brother.”
The Bulldogs posted on their Twitter account their greetings after Shore Sports Network announced the results of the 2021 Shore Conference Soccer Coaches’ All-Division.
Congratulations to the RFH Boys Soccer coaching staff, AD, trainer, and everyone else that supported this program this season. It’s never one person. #dawgsoccer #thankyou https://t.co/iX60VUwxjH
— RFH Soccer (@RFHMensSoccer) December 3, 2021
Although they lost 21 seniors in 2020, Soares this year put the Bulldogs in many important games so they could gain experience.
“We have a good group coming back,” he said. “We’re going to be a force to be reckoned with for the next couple of years.”
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