Work after Work By Irving Casaca and Aubree Jones Soccer is the world's most popular sport, with fans worldwide. From the biggest teams in the world to Sunday league in your hometown, the one thing that is required to have a great team is a great coach. A leader who stays composed in the most heated moments of the match. Someone who makes the difficult decisions. Santiago Correa is the Lenoir City High School boy’s soccer coach. His passion and love for the game led him to transition from player to coach. “I realized that I cannot play soccer anymore, so I decided to do something that I like, which is coaching, and that's how I started,” Correa said. Learning as time goes on, Correa improves in his coaching career, using both his losses and wins as lessons. He has set his goal to improve every season. Correa has been coaching for eighteen years, and in that time, he has built a reputation for his dedication, discipline, and deep understanding of the game. Each season brings new challenges, new players to develop, and new strategies to refine, but Correa embraces every opportunity to grow alongside his team. "Every day is a challenge,” said Correa. For Correa, coaching isn’t just about teaching formations or perfecting set pieces; it’s about building a relationship with his team and teaching them how to be better people on and off the field. He believes the first step to being a great player is to be an even better person. Under his leadership, players are challenged to give their best effort every day, both in training and in the classroom. Correa emphasizes that success isn’t measured only by victories, but by personal improvement and unity as a team. His athletes know that when they play for Coach Correa, they’re expected to bring heart, humility, and hard work. “Especially in the world today, relationships are the most important. Having a relationship as a team is what makes a team great. A team with talent will never be as good as a team with good relationships,” Correa said. Training is what builds a team and makes it stronger. Having a good week of training makes a team great. Preparing for some big games this season, the soccer team is set to face Bearden, which was ranked 28th in the nation according to MaxPreps. They also play Hardin Valley, which is the defending state champion in Tennessee, and is ranked 24th in the country according to MaxPreps. Correa has started conditioning his Squad and having scrimmages after school, knowing that this season is going to be anything but easy. Through the challenges and victories, Correa is working to prepare his team to persevere no matter what. He is known locally for his dedication to hard work, on or off the field, with his slogan “work after work”- this emphasises the importance of overcoming adversity and finding the strength to work through difficulties. Correa’s perspective on challenges not only helps strengthen his team on the field, but also teaches them perseverance that they beyond high school soccer. “I like challenges because they make us strong and make us better. There are challenges in life, so we need to know how to face them," Correa said.