Joseph Covington is still a goalkeeper at heart.

He may have left his dreams of playing college soccer behind on the field at John Carroll Christian High School in Birmingham, Ala., but the competitive spirit that pushed Covington in varsity soccer still drives this 20-year-old college student’s passion for the game.

He is a coach for the City of Auburn’s Youth Soccer League.

Covington and two other members from his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, coach a U10 soccer team comprised of 8-year-old boys. All three coaches were former high school soccer players.

“Coaching is a great way for us “has-beens” to still be involved with soccer, but it gives us a cool opportunity to work with the next generation,” says Covington.

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He attributes his success on and off the field to the soccer coaches he has had since he began playing at three years old. “It’s a great way I can give back and return the favor,” he says.

Covington is a junior majoring in chemical engineering and is involved in campus activities such as Interfraternal Council (IFC) and Impact community service.

“Coaching soccer is a good change from on-campus involvement because it is about the kids and not about the resume. It is not even about soccer, it is more about seeing kids improve and develop skills,” he says.

Several other college age students have set aside time from class and activities to coach the youngsters.

Brooks Cole, a senior majoring in Finance, coaches a U8 soccer team. U8 stands for “under eight,” meaning all players in that division are under the age of eight years old. Cole says the most challenging part of coaching this age group is trying to retain the kids’ attention. “Sometimes it feels like we are babysitting instead of coaching,” Cole says; “but it is really rewarding when you see kids at practice starting to retain the basic skills.”

Parent response to the coaching staff has been positive. Anna Fenn is a parent of a U8 soccer player and has been really impressed with the maturity and patience of the coaches.

We really enjoy having the college students as coaches. Our kids look up to them because they are young and cool; it’s almost like they are big brothers. It’s not like a dad coaching, they really seem to get through to the kids,” Fenn says.

The Youth Soccer League has eight divisions broken down by gender and age group, ranging from elementary to high school kids. There are six teams with in each division.

Games in younger divisions play with seven players on a half field rather than on a full field with 11 players. All teams have practice once a week on Monday evenings. Soccer games are scheduled on Tuesday nights or Saturday mornings.

For more information on how to become a coach for the Youth Soccer League, visit the City of Auburn's Web site at http://www.auburnalabama.org/soccer/youth.asp.