Revere teacher, students participate in club soccer
A Revere history teacher coaches a club soccer team that gives students an opportunity to improve their skills and hone their soccer intelligence.
Several Revere soccer players play with the Pennine soccer club, coached by Sandor Jakab.
Revere high school history teacher Jakab has been involved with different aspects of soccer for decades. Jakab mentioned his history with the sport.
“I started coaching when I was in high school, as a sophomore. I worked at the Western Reserve YMCA in Stow, working with five, six, seven year old kids. From there, I got further into coaching, but actually continued from there as a referee. I was Ohio referee of the year, and actually was a professional referee, ” Jakab said.
In addition, Jakab talked about how he has also been involved with playing at different levels of the game, including the semi-professional level.
“I played semi-professional soccer for about twelve years out of Cleveland. The way it worked there were lots of very good players, and typically if your team won, you got paid, if your team did not win, then they sent you home. The team I played with was CMAC, The Cleveland Moyhar American Club,” Jakab said.
Revere junior and goalie Charlie Fink mentioned why he plays for Jakab.
“I started playing because I knew guys who played for them and wanted to play in the offseason. We play in MRL and state cup games or tournaments,” Fink said.
Fink talked about how playing for Pennine compares to playing with the high school team.
“On this team, there is a lot more fundamental soccer, whereas on a high school team you know each player’s tendencies and skill level so you can change your game accordingly,” Fink said.
Revere junior and center back Audric Wertz described Jakab’s style as a coach.
“[Jakab is] very hard on everyone and likes to work on a ton of different important aspects during practice,” Wertz said.
The team practices twice a week at the SPIRE training facility. Members include Jack Brockloff, Fink, Sal Milazzo, and Wertz.