Kicking It Off With Coach Lisa Perez

During the spring season, you will often find coach Lisa Perez, Lee High School's boys soccer coach, outside running practices or even at games with her team. Coach Perez was born and raised in New York and earned an engineering degree from Rochester Institute of Technology. Her daughter graduated from Lee High School in 2016, and little did she know that almost 10 years later she would join the FamiLee to support ELL students in 9th through 12th grade. Her main goal is to help them understand core subjects. In addition, she also deals with behavior as well as attendance issues. Coach Perez is currently enrolled in Athens State to finish her certification in ESL.

Coach Perez has always had a passion for running and staying active through sports. Growing up, she participated in many running-based sports such as soccer, track, and basketball. Her experience with these sports helped shape her appreciation for teamwork, dedication, and discipline.  

For as long as Coach Perez can remember, she has always enjoyed both playing and watching soccer. Her favorite team for as long as she can remember is América. “My favorite color is yellow, and they were yellow; they were a really good team, and they’re still a good team,” Perez said. Perez’s love for soccer has shown through her coaching in the 25-26 school year, where she helped lead as assistant coach to the girls soccer team at Lee High School.

For Coach Perez, having a positive attitude and mindset are a top priority for her team. “Let’s say somebody has a goal. I look for somebody that’s going to say I got this, I can do this. I look for people that try to be positive and actually want to do that goal. I get really discouraged when I see students say that they can’t make their goal. It’s so hard and upsetting when you’re mentally challenging yourself that way,” Perez said.

Coach Perez states that she avoids making soccer a chore by not making them run miles and miles for mistakes. She instead believes that one-on-one conversations and praise are better forms of correction.

This year, the soccer team has decided to create a program to help their players with fitness and overall mindset. Coach Perez believes this program will help players with the way they overall think about soccer. Coach Perez explained how the program is supposed to let players track both their fitness and their eating habits. So far, the program has shown to be promising.  

When asked what her dream sponsorship is, Coach Perez states, “Bank of America, David Beckham. I don’t know how many letters I’ve written, but it’s a funding program where they sponsor a lot of the program. They help with equipment and things you need, but they also help the players.”

At the end of the interview, Coach Perez was asked to leave our viewers with some encouraging words. She said, “Always try hard even if you don’t know something. Even if you’re scared of it. Even if you fear it,  just try it because you never know how good you could be at something that you don’t know about.”