Ben Soto

Cate School/baseball, football (Santa Barbara, California)

Double-Goal Coach Award Winner

Ben Soto, Baseball and Football Coach at Cate School, has won Positive Coaching Alliance’s coveted Double-Goal Coach Award presented by TeamSnap for his positive impact on youth athletes.

Soto is one of 50 national recipients of the Double-Goal Coach award, named for coaches who strive to win while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports. The award includes a $200 prize, a certificate, and mention within the websites and newsletters of Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), a national non-profit developing Better Athletes, Better People through youth and high school sports.

“Coach Soto helps athletes win in and out of sports,” said Alan Berkes, Executive Director of PCA-Los Angeles, the local Chapter of Positive Coaching Alliance. “By creating a positive, character-building youth sports experience and serving as a Double-Goal Coach, Ben helps youth develop into better athletes and better people.”

Cate School is a coeducational, independent school for boarding and day students in the 9th through 12th grade, so being a coach there also means that you might need to be a counselor, parent-figure, friend and confidante.  Most students are at the school full time, living away from family and friends for the first time and navigating that new normal often requires the employees to be there for more than just teaching or coaching.  After 30+ years of experience, Soto expertly fills these extra roles with a blend of compassion and kindness, and a genuine interest in each student who he knows by name. Soto has an open door policy with all students, not just his players. His nominator shared, “Given that my office is next to his, I often have to move past students lined up to get one of his inspiring “coachisms" before heading out to practice or their next class.

Because players know his genuine concern for them on and off the field, they are comfortable to take risks and push themselves, not fearing mistakes or a coach who might lose it on them.  Soto has a naturally calm, supportive demeanor and always ensures that both he and his staff take the right approach. He knows how vulnerable a player can be when he has made a mistake, so he calmly asks them to refocus by reminding them of the time and effort they have put into practice and encourages them to get back to the “ABC’s”, the basics. After games, he is always ready with a token of appreciation - perhaps a water bottle or piece of candy to ensure the players know he appreciates their efforts.

“At the beginning when I was coaching I really wanted to win,win,win,...but then I coached a player, Eric Pintard, who ended up coaching with me for three years and he started the Hugs for Cubs program which is an organization that works with kids with cancer.  He passed away from cancer unfortunately, but he taught me alot about what is important and not important in life. I use a lot of what he taught me; that the wins and losses come and go, but we can teach these kids to do things right, play hard and enjoy each day.  This is the way I run my life and program”, Soto said.