From mentee to mentor: Soccer for Success coaches become the role models they once admired

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The shouts and laughs of children along with the thuds of soccer balls against shoes were prominent Wednesday night around Buffalo’s Roosevelt Park, and two voices with a unique perspective on the fun stood out most as they conducted the session.

As coach-mentors in the Soccer for Success program, Breanna Michaloski and Arrad Tausif teach the beautiful game to children in kindergarten through eighth grade, but their lessons go beyond the pitch. The pair of 21-year-olds also connect with kids on a deeper level, getting to know them and helping provide an educational, fun-filled escape for a few hours each week.

Michaloski and Tausif love what they do, and for a meaningful reason: they were once the same kids they now mentor.

“This is a perfect opportunity,” said Michaloski, who took part in Soccer for Success for multiple years as a child. “(My old coaches) really got me into the game, and I was very competitive. … I still enjoy playing soccer, but I thought coaching would be better for me because I can kind of get more engaged with the kids and have connections. It’s a really good thing for kids to have a mentor.”

Soccer for Success, which is put on by the U.S. Soccer Foundation and Independent Health, launched in 2012 in Buffalo and has continued to grow and attract kids over the past decade. The program is free for elementary and middle school-aged kids and just requires an online registration. Outdoor and indoor seasons at locations around Buffalo and Lackawanna give participants the chance to keep playing year-round under the supervision of nationally trained coach-mentors.

Both Michaloski and Tausif have their own stories on how they got involved with Soccer for Success as kids, with the former saying she lived across the street from a park where the program held sessions, and she decided to go check it out. Soon thereafter, she was signed up and participating.

Tausif heard about the program through his sister in seventh grade, and as someone who wasn’t involved with many sports, decided to give it a shot. It turned out to be not just a solution to boredom, but the perfect environment to learn and meet new friends.

“Typically, other than that program, I had nothing to do all day,” Tausif said. “So for over 60 minutes, three times a week, I had some people to play with. It was awesome, it was a great experience.”

Years after their Soccer for Success playing days, Michaloski and Tausif are following in the footsteps of their past coach-mentors, which they described as key parts of the program both in their own experiences and in general. In addition to the two of them, three other coach-mentors currently in the program also took part in it as kids.

“It’s the people that work it,” said Michaloski on what makes the program so special. “Getting to know (the kids’) personalities and also teaching social skills and soccer skills altogether, and just having a fun time. … The kids especially (make it special), we can’t have a soccer program without them showing up.”

Soccer has continued to grow in America over the past decade, as the U.S. will joint-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Locally, a professional United Soccer League Championship team could be playing in Buffalo that same year. While Soccer for Success is fostering the next generation of players that may one day be on the international stage, it’s also providing safe spaces for children to meet new friends, learn life skills and simply enjoy time outdoors.

For Tausif, that distinction makes a world of difference.

“It comes down to the coaches and the environment that’s created here,” he said.

“For travel soccer, it’s very serious and very intense — not that this isn’t intense, it does get very, very serious at times — but there’s also a sense of ‘I can mentor these kids.’ They’ll come to me for advice. We don’t just talk to them about soccer, we also talk about other topics and day-to-day life. I think that’s what keeps on bringing kids back.”

You can find out more information about Soccer for Success, as well as how to register, here.

Adam Gorski is a Buffalo native who joined the WIVB News 4 team in 2022. You can find more of his work here .