About NUSA

Nashville United Soccer Academy is a non-profit, competitive youth soccer organization committed to developing players for life and building champions of character. With a player-first philosophy, NUSA provides a fun, positive, and challenging environment focused on individual growth, skill mastery, and long-term development in an academy-style model.

This position will lead various aspects of NUSA's soccer programming with a strong emphasis on holistic player development and creating / maintaining a truly player-centric environment and culture. This leadership role oversees the technical and operational delivery of curriculum and competitive programming, ensuring every player receives high-quality training while prioritizing personal growth, building confidence, and enjoyment of the game.

Key Responsibilities

• Champion and implement a player-centric environment where individual progress, well-being, and love for soccer come first—aligning with NUSA’s mission to provide opportunities for every player to thrive regardless of socioeconomic background.
• Oversee the implementation of comprehensive player development curriculum focused on technical skills, tactical understanding, and character building across multiple age groups and ability levels.
• Recruit, mentor, develop, and evaluate coaching staff; provide ongoing feedback and support to help coaches grow professionally, implement and follow NUSA standards and embody strong character, integrity, and positive role modeling for players.
• Foster a culture of excellence in coaching through regular observations while providing consistent feedback and mentorship to elevate the quality and consistency of training sessions.
• Collaborate with technical staff and club leadership to ensure program alignment with best practices in long-term athlete development, inclusiveness, and accessibility.
• Monitor player progression, retention, and feedback to continuously improve the academy experience while maintaining a supportive, fun, and challenging environment.
• Support program operations including scheduling, tryouts, field usage, internal leagues, summer camps & clinics, player placement, and compliance with league/safety standards.
• Coaching a team or teams as needed to support NUSA and club programming.
• Additional responsibilities as determined by the Director of Coaching and Executive Director.

Qualifications

• USSF B License or equivalent international licenses preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in youth soccer coaching and program leadership, preferably in competitive academy or club settings.
• Proven passion for player-centered development, character education, and coach mentorship.
• Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills with the ability to inspire players, coaches, parents, and stakeholders.
• Commitment to creating positive environments that prioritize fun, growth, and lifelong engagement in soccer.
• Current SafeSport, CPR/First Aid certifications (or ability to obtain immediately).
• Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends during the season.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary (commensurate with experience).
• Opportunity to shape the future of youth soccer in the Nashville area within a mission-driven organization.
• Support for professional development and advanced licensing.
• A collaborative, values-driven environment focused on developing players and coaches who embody leadership and integrity.

To apply, please submit your resume, cover letter outlining your vision for player-centric development and coach mentorship, coaching licenses, and references to:

chad.hagerty@nashusa.org

About Nashville United Soccer Academy

NUSA's academy structure is unlike 'academy' models at most other clubs in the US which are specifically age-based. Most clubs, even at U12 and below, separate their players into A, B, and C teams based on their current age during training where they experience limited player movement and often train at different locations under the guidance of different coaches. Our Academy structure more closely resembles that of professional academies from Europe and South America which are ability based, not strictly age-based. Lower Academies train at the same place and time and the Academies are overseen by an Academy Director. In the lower academies there are no "set" teams, rather teams are formed for competitive games based on on-going coaching assessments, player's current abilities and/or the level of competition. At these ages, the specific team a player is on for a weekend game is far less important than the emphasis on engaging, challenging and FUN training sessions and playing games in a positive learning environment for player growth. Due to the varying rates at which young players develop physically, psychologically, and socially, players will often move up or down within an academ...y or academies. NUSA's focus is on the long term individual development of each and every player. The goal is for players to train and play in a learning environment which both allows them to achieve success while also challenging them. A learning environment with too much of one or the other is not conducive for long term player development.“ True player development focuses on the development of the player, not the development of the team! Up to age 12, this should be the only criteria used in designing and running youth soccer programs.” Ron Quinn, US Youth Soccer. In the Upper Academies (U13-19) player movement still occurs during the season or year. whether it’s weekly at training, guest playing or a permanent move between teams or age groups. NUSA would like to have more fluid movement of players between teams (like most professional youth academies around the world) however due to TSSA rules movement between team rosters (not guest playing) during the season is often permanent for the remainder of that season. NUSA players are being evaluated every week and discussions with age group directors are happening often to insure what is best for the players. Part of our process is to validate roster selections early in the fall season and make necessary changes before we get into competitive events. We’ll re-evaluate our rosters again over the winter and obviously again during summer tryouts. Moving players to the appropriate environment can improve confidence and increase playing time and often influence their commitment to the new team in a positive way! The goal for every player in the club is to place them in an environment where they are both challenged yet also achieve success. At NUSA our focus is on developing Players for Life and Champions of Character!www.nusasoccer.org

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