Jan 2010

Thirteen year old James Soesbee arrived in Oklahoma in 1978 from Schweinfurt, Germany.  Growing up in Germany meant playing soccer every day after school and James soon entered the town’s youth academy program at the age of 12.  The Soesbee’s came to Lawton and James found his soccer skills were useful to the club and his Lawton MacArthur High School team.  Graduating from Lawton Mac in 1984, Soesbee attended Cameron University on an academic scholarship for one year before transferring to Southern Nazarene University to play soccer.

While at SNU, James would assist in coaching at the summer camps and that led him to start training teams and working with young players.  After graduating from SNU, he began working for UPS in their management program but "I felt the need to do something with my life where I felt I was making a difference."  It was shortly thereafter that James decided to work full time as a coach.

Influencing that decision was Helen Pack, James ex-grandmother-in-law.  "She encouraged me to follow my dreams and the rest would take care of itself.  Without her influence, I may not have taken the direction into coaching."  He also credits his parents who instilled a work ethic and sense of integrity in him that has served him well. 

The Soesbee family includes wife Traci Cooper-Soesbee, Code Cooper (now at OU law school) who played for ESC 86, Christian Cooper (now at OU) who played for ESC 89, Calli Cooper (now at USAO) who played for ESC 91, Nicole Soesbee who began gymnastics and now does dance, Britani Soesbee who play for OFC 93 and attends Edmond North, and Zac Soesbee who is confined to a wheel chair due to Cerebral Palsey.

"I love what I do and I plan to stay at it," says James.  "I am working on coaching fewer teams and working with our younger coaches within the club."  Soesbee is the Edmond Soccer Club Technical Director of Development and ESC’s Tournament Director.  He holds a United States Soccer Federation "A" license and a National Youth License.  Currently, James is coaching two teams:  OFC 99 East and OFC 96.

Working with other coaches such as Jimmy Hampton has given Soesbee valuable experience.  "I tell young coaches to work with as many good coaches as you can.  Spend time with successful ones and learn from them.  Many young coaches starting out get placed on teams and they look to earn some from that position; however, they need to spend a couple of hours a week watching a top level coach run a training session or coach a game to pick up the things to like and make them their own."  Soesbee also promotes the concept of getting licensed.  The USSF and US Youth programs will provide training for the new coach.  He also reminds new coaches to take the time to teach the kids as well as their parents.  "We have to share the passion for the game," he says.

As for challenges that the players and coaches must face, Soesbee sees burnout as the primary challenge.  "I think the programs and the clubs are providing more opportunities than ever for players to develop their abilities; but we should be playeing meaningful games rather than large numbers of games.

Soesbee is no stranger to challenges.  He took the ESC 91 Black girls team to the US Youth National Championships in the summer of 2009 after beating the defending national champions in the regional finals.  "He took a team and made them a cohesive unit and developed the chemistry needed for a winning team.  While doing that, he earned the respect of every member of the team, " said Bradley Grow.

With six state championships, one regional championship, and one national final in his record, James Soesbee understands challenges and how to meet them.

Congratulations, James Soesbee, OSA Coach of the Year.