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Rachel W., Norwood, MA Soccer Coach

Rachel W.

Summit Soccer Academy

Soccer

SILVER

Background Check Verified

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Professional Player for Boston Breakers, high school All-American, NCAA National Champion, high school varsity coach at Weston High School, USSF "F" coaching license View all coaching experience

This coach is unavailable to take clients at this time.

Training Locations
Training Locations
  1. Dedham, MA
  2. Wellesley, MA
  3. Needham, MA

My training location only

  • University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill (NC)

  • 7 years

  • Qualified Private Coach
    Passed Coach Course

  • Adults, Kids, Teenagers

  • Goalkeeper, Midfield, Forward, Defense

  • Shooting, Penalty Kicks, Passing, One-on-Ones, One-Touch, Heading, First Touch, Dribbling, Crossing, Agility

Credentials

  • University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill (NC)

  • 7 years

  • Qualified Private Coach
    Passed Coach Course

Services

  • Adults, Kids, Teenagers

  • Goalkeeper, Midfield, Forward, Defense

  • Shooting, Penalty Kicks, Passing, One-on-Ones, One-Touch, Heading, First Touch, Dribbling, Crossing, Agility

Introduction Video

More About Coach Rachel

I began my coaching career 2010. I played collegiate soccer at UNC and began to train young athletes down there in my free time. In North Carolina I trained both indivual athletes as well as teams (primarily in skill and technique sessions). Over the years I've trained numerous soccer players varying in ages, skill levels and genders. I've trained youth players as young as 5 and have also trained collegiate athletes. I've trained town players, club players, ODP players and youth national team players. I've coached both male and female players.

In 2014 I began my individual trainings in the Boston area. Since then I've expanded and have coached town teams in Newton, Wellesley and Weston. I have also mentored and help co-coach various age groups at the club Boston FC.

I have been the varsity assistant coach at Weston High School for the past three seasons.

When I was in high school I was a Parade All-American and ranked the #3 collegiate recruit in my class. I played at UNC Chapel Hill where I won an NCAA championship in 2008. I was a member of the U-17 and U-20 national teams.

After college I played one season abroad in Iceland in the top division where was named to the "all-league" team. Upon returning stateside in 2014 I was called into preseason with the Boston Breakers. I was named to the reserve team and didn't make the professional team and the end of preseason. However, I stayed around, played for the reserve team and ended up getting a contract mid way through the year. I am now entering my third season with the Breakers. I am a firm believer in perseverance, hard work and a positive attitude. Those 3 characteristics have helped me to achieve my goal of playing professionally in the NWSL and those are values I strongly promote to the players I coach.

I focus very heavily on technique and skill work. A warm up with me will always include a ball. I think jogging for a warmup is a waste of time for my players. I want them to have as many touches on the ball as they can. We will start every session with ball work to get them comfortable with the ball at their feet and using different surfaces of the feet. Then, depending on the position, we will move into more position specific drills: finishing, long balls, heading etc. Each training session is customized to the individual I am working with.

My coaching style can be described as positive, encouraging yet constructive. I think it is so important for players to have confidence and self belief. I focus just as much on that in sessions as I do on the skill. I believe players respond best and perform best when coaching is encouraging, constructive and full of belief.

Action Photos

Client Reviews

Excellent!

She was awesome

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She was great

Great trainer 👍

Rachel was great to work with and we look forward to our daughter training with her on a regular basis.

We had our first session with Rachel and I thought it went very well. She quickly built rapport with my daughter and took her through sets of foundational drills. My daughter enjoyed the session and we are highly likely to use Rachel again.

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Update to the message below. My daughter has been working weekly over the past month or 2 this summer with Rachel. We just came back from a soccer tournament in Canada, and she got the game ball for the Final game, and even had an assist from a goal kick. Many of the parents that have seen her over the last 3+ years walked up to me after the games and said she was a "beast" and super impressed with how well she was playing. The combination of footwork and tactics that Rachel has been teaching her has made a significant improvement in her game

Coach Rachel is amazing. From the first session, my 13-year-old went from being intimidated to wanting to go back the next week. Not only is Rachel's resume extremely impressive, but it is also bolstered by her desire to make a difference in kids lives. She believes strongly in working on confidence as well and making sure that sessions are fun. We have worked with coaches with far less experience in the past that were not able to blend the fun with the hard core training. Some other things that really help are that Rachel played defender at the professional level, and that she is 6 feet tall. My daughter is also a defender and is quite tall for her age. A great match
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I can't wait to see how my daughter will progress with Team Rachel! We were also joined by her adorable pomeranian :)

Wonderful coach!

My 14 year old daughter had her first session with Rachel. She did a series of foot skills to warm up and then worked on shooting as well as more advanced foot skills. Rachel brings a great positive energy that is infectious. My daughter was happy and challenged. Look forward to more sessions!

Rachel is an amazing coach. Rachel not only helped my daughter to improve her technical skills, but also increased her confidence on the pitch.

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Outstanding in every way

Rachel is a fantastic coach.

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She was very nice and she help me a lot and showed me new skills

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Rachel has been amazing with my daughter and immediately established a rapport at their first meeting. We love Rachel's positive attitude during training sessions and how she keeps them high energy and fun. She is able to incorporate a lot of different skills with each drill and is demanding without pushing too hard, a terrific balance! My daughter really looks forward to working with Rachel, and I appreciate the focus on both the technical and mental aspects of the game.

Outstanding work with my daughter.

Rachel was excellent, my daughter loved her instruction.

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Coach Rachel did a great job working with my daughter, and helped her to develop set of drills that she can work on during the next season. Overall, she had a great experience.

Rachel breaks the game down so that each player is able to work at their level. If a player needs more emphasis on a certain fundamental she’ll spend the time needed. She has a great feel and understands the level of play so that she doesn’t exacerbate a drill. My daughter’s ability has increased as she adds to her skill set thanks to Rachel. I can’t say enough good things about her. She is wonderful!

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Rachel is great! She is very professional and focused. Our daughter learned several new, crucial skills in one hour with Rachel's training.

My daughter loved her first session with coach Rachel! They worked on getting to know each other and some foundation/technical ball work. We will definitely book with Rachel again.

Coach Rachel is absolutely amazing! She has a way to make you feel like you’ve known her all your life! My daughter wants to train with her everyday if she could! Very impressed with her knowledge. Looking forward to more sessions with her!

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I want to share the CoachUp experience from a Dad's perspective. My daughter , Emily, has been working with Rachel Wood for several months now. Emily comes home from her sessions with Rachel energized. Her sessions are fun but tough. She definitely understands my kiddo and pushes her to be the best she can be. As important, if not more important, is the strong female role model Rachel has become for my daughter. Rachel has connected with her on a different level. They have become friends. Now , not only is Emily a better soccer player, she is much more confident on AND off the pitch. As a parent, that's the best benefit thus far working with Rachel We have the best of both worlds. Terrific coach and an outstanding role model and person. Thank you CoachUp . Thank you Rachel!

Rachel was an excellent coach! She worked on a range of skills so my daughter would feel a little more prepared for tryouts! She did a great job positively motivating her and giving her lots of great techniques to work on. She tried different ways to get her to succeed at a skill they were working on. She kept her busy the entire hour. She was very responsive and professional. We would definitely book her again!

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My daughter really enjoyed her time with Coach Rachel and took back key tips to work on during the week. Already seeing the progress and confidence building. During the session Coach Rachel is very in tune with my daughters thought process and "coaches" her to success. Looking forward to more sessions.

We would definitely recommend Rachel to anyone looking for a soccer coach! She is extremely talented at what she does. She can very quickly assess where a player is and what she can do to help get to them where they would like to be. She also happens to have a wonderful personality. She is energetic, upbeat, and encouraging. She makes the lessons fun and helps the kids keep things in perspective. We consider ourselves lucky to have found her and to have been able to have our child work with her and hope we can do so again the future.

So far we have only had two sessions with Rachel but I can see a difference in my daughter already. I like how she pushes her and holds her accountable but is so positive and upbeat when Sarah is able to master a skill that Rachel puts in front of her. We still have three more sessions to go and I fully intend to buy another package of 5. If you are looking for an unbelievable female role model for your daughter this is the coach for you. I cannot believe how lucky we were to find her.

After only a few sessions, Coach Rachel has quickly become a valuable part of our daughter's training routine. Her proactive communication style made scheduling a breeze. Her friendly & upbeat demeanor won our daughter over instantly. She quickly assessed our daughter's skill-level and crafted a routine that was tailored to her strengths & weaknesses; incorporating the things that we asked her to focus on in a way that was both challenging and fun. In a one-hour session, our daughter is getting more touches on the ball and more variety in how those touches are accumulated than she would normally gain during an entire week of team-training. Playing for club teams and attending camps in a somewhat male-dominated coaching landscape has presented our daughter with very few in-sport female role models. This is an area where Rachel's background and the way that she employs it in her coaching adds a lot of value for us. Our daughter has big soccer dreams and working with someone like Rachel affords her a real-world example of how her goals might be achievable through hard work and persistence. Rachel manages to do all of this while keeping the focus on having fun and working hard. We couldn't be happier so far!

Coach Rachel is not only a fantastic, talented, and professional soccer coach, but she is an outstanding role model and positive influence for my 14 year old daughter. My daughter has had multiple 1:1 sessions with Rachel and without a doubt there is improved ball skills and soccer smarts, but maybe even more importantly, my daughters confidence grows after every session. I highly recommend Rachel as a soccer coach.

We wanted some individualized practice for our 11-year-old daughter. Ella had a great time during her session. We communicated with Rachel before, asking her to work on certain aspects of Ella's game and Rachel was really well prepared and her drills really challenged Ella. Each drill was fun, nothing was too repetitive and Ella found the whole session to be rewarding. Rachel is great to work with and offers a wealth of knowledge that is impressive. We look forward to more sessions.

My daughter started training with Rachel about a month ago & has really enjoyed her sessions with Rachel. She is full of energy and a positive role model for female players. We look forward to continuing to work with Rachel! She is extremely responsive and very easy to schedule sessions with for your player. My daughter really looks forward to her training with Rachel!

Coach Rachel has been working with our daughter over the winter months and the experience has been great. We tried it once and the experience was so positive that we have been working with Rachel on a weekly basis since. Their sessions have focused on all aspects of her technical skill on the ball, accuracy, pace, quickness, touch. The sessions have helped build her confidence as well. Rachel gets my strongest recommendation.

My 8 year old daughter had her first session with Coach Rachel today, and it was amazing!! She was supportive, fun, kind, and patient which is not always easy when coaching an 8 year old! Coach Rachel challenged her, explained what she wanted her to do, demonstrated it for her if she needed it, and pushed her to keep trying even if it was difficult! It was amazing to see the rapport she built with our daughter in only 60 minutes! The time flew by, and our daughter did not want to leave when it was over! We can not wait for our next session with Coach Rachel!

We are thrilled to be working with Coach Rachel. She provides a challenging work out just above my daughters skill set with the right balance of direction and encouragement pushing her to reach the next level. My daughter is really enjoying her sessions with Rachel and we are very impressed. Communication, scheduling and feedback is all timely, informative and easy.

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Rachel was great! My daughter can't wait to work with her again!

Rachel coaches my three kids who all have very different needs and personalities. She does a great job individualizing their sessions and making them fun! The kids have really clicked with her.

My daughter and Rachel hit if off immediately. Playing on highly competitive teams - both club and high school, my daughter was looking for someone who could help her up her skills, improve her style, and advance her tactical thinking. Rachel's coaching has exceeding our expectations. Rachel's worked hard to understand "my daugther", she has great incites and the lessons in the session have translated to results on the field. We highly recommend Rachel for the serious player looking to advance their game.

Rachel has an amazing approach to coaching youth soccer. My 9-year-old daughter was able to digest what was being taught and why and translate that into practicing on her own after the lesson. Rachel immediately connected with my daughter and worked with her on soccer fundamentals. My daughter told me later that day that her session with Rachel was the best part of her weekend. We will definitely sign up for more sessions.

I really loved working with Rachel! I can honestly say that I feel like I learned something new every time we meet. I love how she creates the training session based on the individual player and what they need to work on, I found that really helpful! She is super outgoing and I love working with her!

Coach Rachel is amazing! Her knowledge of the sport and ability to guide me through the practice session was great! I can't wait until our next session.

After only one session with Rachel I felt like she was my big sister, I can already tell that the new techniques she showed me have improved my over all game. Rachel quickly saw where my skills needed improvement, and it is so much fun working with her. Thank you Coach Rachel !

Rachel was great with the girls - keeping them engaged and excited about learning. They're thrilled to see her again

Rachel is a top notch instructor, not only because of her obvious know-how and athleticism but because of her enthusiasm for teaching and love of soccer. Her attention for each of her students needs and skill-set is spot on. Her enthusiasm for soccer is positively contagious. She pushes at just the right times and just the right amount. This makes her students want to perform well, do their best, and learn more.

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We are so thankful to be working with Rachel! My daughter immediately felt engaged and comfortable with Rachel which allowed her to absorb, learn and work hard. In just one session, Rachel was able to pin point some of my daughters strengths and weaknesses and Rachel worked on both immediately setting up drills accordingly. Drills that my daughter had never done at her club practices which kept her challenged and motivated. Rachel has incredible passion and knowledge! She is very enthusiastic and encouraging while also being constructive. The one on one time with Rachel is an incredible confidence booster which is a game changer for any athlete wanting to reach their individual goals. My daughter was literally beaming after her first session with Rachel and can't wait for the next one. I would highly recommend Rachel to any athlete wanting to improve any aspect of their game!

Rachel brings professionalism, energy, skill and personality to the session. The session starts with drills and continues at a fast pace that only a seasoned soccer professional can deliver.
My daughter literally floats off the field after a one hour workout with Rachel, skill level improved and personal confidence boosted based on immediate results and improvement.

My 10 year old daughter connected immediately with Rachel. All drills are purposeful, engaging but still fun and she always wants to know when the next "practice with Rachel" is going to happen.

First time meeting Rachel and my 11year old daughter felt very comfortable working with her. Rachel was great with her and put her to work! My daughter is looking forward to booking more sessions with her.

Really good job. My daughter had fun and we are looking forward to working with her on a weekly basis to get my daughter's skills better

Rachel is awesome! She is super positive, patient and incredibly knowledgable and helpful in supporting your soccer goals. We were so grateful to meet her and we look forward to doing more sessions with her! I can't recommend her enough.

I would definitely recommend Rachel. She is the right mix for younger players, challenging yet very encouraging.

Rachel is fantastic! I would highly recommend her!

As my daughter was moving to a more competitive club, we felt that her technical skills could be fine tuned during the off-season. Rachel proved to be an excellent fit and a great role model for a young student athlete (U12) who’s passionate about soccer. Rachel focuses on quality touches with the ball. Drills were perfectly geared towards seeing results. Hard work was expected and celebrated which any parent can appreciate. My daughter's improved footwork and 1v1 moves have carried over to the training field with her new team. And best of all, she plays with a new found boost of confidence. We highly recommend Rachel as a coach. She is a true professional. We plan to stay in touch throughout the season.

I am going to be a freshman in the fall. I wanted to restore my confidence and work on a few aspects of my game that needed improvement i.e.. heading, left foot etc... After just one session with Rachel I felt as if my confidence had been restored and I was on my way to perfecting all aspects of my game. Rachel developed a great one-on-one relationship with me that made me feel comfortable and made it easy for me to explain any weaknesses and fears I had about my upcoming season. Rachel went out of her way to help me improve and really worked with me to understand why I had certain weaknesses and how we could work to fix them. After working with Rachel for just three sessions I feel as confident as ever going into my fall season. I would recommend Rachel to anyone!

Rachel is an excellent coach with a knack for knowing exactly how to improve important aspects of a player's game. After telling her a few of the things that I wanted to work on, Rachel went to work setting up drills and exercises that pinpointed my weaknesses. I saw significant improvement in my technical skills immediately! Going into my freshman year of college soccer, Rachel helped me prepare, getting me to the level I needed and restoring my confidence. She is positive, enthusiastic, constructive, and encouraging, and I highly recommend training with her!
My daughter trained with Rachel Wood after returning to play from an ACL repair. Rachel’s knowledge of the game, work ethic and ability to relate to my daughter were invaluable. Rachel not only raised the level of physical and skill play for my daughter in a way that far surpassed coaching from her club team she also raised her level of confidence and awareness of the game. My daughter looks forward to every meeting with Rachel and is excited before and after each training session. The one on one time is a great confidence builder and allows Rachel to work directly on areas to improve with each player individually. Rachel came up with personalized training plans each week suited to my daughter’s personal goals. I would strongly recommend Rachel to anyone looking to improve or fine-tune his or her game, regardless of level. Rachel is a great coach with a strong knowledge of the game and an outstanding capacity to relate to players.
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