May 2024’s Virtual Football Coaching Certification an Incredible Success for STS Soldier Coaches. More than 140 current and prospective Soldier Coaches took part in the Soldiers To Sidelines Virtual Football Coaching Certification Seminar 20 – 23 May 2024. STS football director Jerod Kruse noted, ‘STS attracted presenters from the highest levels of football, with eight current or former NFL coaches and seven current or former college coaches (with five of the presenters being military veterans) adding their wisdom to the event.’ On the first day, Soldier Coach Curt Kline shared an inspiring st ..read more

Soldiers To Sidelines Honors William Agostini Jr. as May 2024 Soldier Coach of the Month William Agostini Jr. was born and raised in a military household and eventually married into a military family.  Will’s father and grandfather each served over 20 years in the U.S. Army Special Forces Command. His wife served in the U.S. Army for five years as a Staff Sergeant and they eventually named their son Sergeant. Coach Agostini learned about Soldiers To Sidelines and attended an in-person STS Basketball Coaching Workshop at Ft. Liberty in Fayetteville, NC. Dustin Kerns and the Appalachia Stat ..read more

The Power Sports Performance Coaching Certification Seminar took place April 22–25, 2024. Sponsored by the Wounded Warrior Project, the seminar’s keynote speaker was Martin Rooney, founder of Training for Warriors. STS Sports Performance Director Johannah Zabal said, “We had one of the largest classes, second only to the Women’s Coaching Certification Seminar.” By the numbers, 120 newly certified Soldier Coaches joined the ranks of Soldiers To Sidelines. One of the most educationally dense seminars that STS offers, the Power Sports Performance Seminar kicked off with coaching education content ..read more

Soldier Coach of the Month April 2024 Master Sergeant (Ret.) Neil Wattier U.S. Air Force Soldiers To Sidelines is proud to honor Master Sergeant (Ret.) Neil Wattier U.S. Air Force as Soldier Coach of the Month April 2024 for his incredible empathy, commitment to coaching mastery, and selfless service. Coach Wattier serves as Mental Performance Coach for Grand Canyon University Men’s Rugby. He has had an incredible coaching journey his entire life exploring the depths of how to motivate people to achieve peace of mind, resilience, and extraordinary performance. Neil certified with STS in 2021 a ..read more

This March, an all-time high of 138 attendees completed the Military Women’s Coaching Certification Seminar, powered by Wounded Warrior Project. This record exceeds not only past Military Women’s seminars but also exceeds all virtual seminars to date. Thank you to Melissa Washington and the Women’s Veteran’s Alliance for driving almost 1,000 total seminar registrants! While the seminar delivered content centered around coaching the whole person by applying interactive high human skills and wellness concepts like sleep, breathing, and nutrition, it prioritized experiential presentations from an ..read more

Jennifer Palin is a military spouse of Sergeant First Class Gordon Palin U.S. Army, mother of two children, business owner, and youth girls soccer coach.  She exhibits tremendous discipline and organization to effectively balance such a demanding schedule while maintaining positive impact in all facets of life.  Her example and personal story are inspiring to all of us who aspire to thrive at home, work and in the community.  Soldiers To Sidelines is proud to honor Coach Jennifer Palin as March 2024 Soldier Coach of the Month. Jen learned of Soldiers To Sidelines through her bro ..read more

Coaching others to be the best version of themselves is one of the most rewarding and noble endeavors.  Coaching adaptive athletes who have recently suffered a damaged or lost limb to actualize their awesome power is an indescribable feeling. Saturday March 16th in Carrollton, TX at the Adaptive Training Foundation Gym, Soldiers To Sidelines conducted its first in-person Adaptive Athlete Coaching Workshop powered by Wounded Warrior Project and in partnership with the Adaptive Training Foundation (ATF). The seven-hour workshop was attended by an intimate group of WWP alumni, Soldier Coache ..read more

On Monday, February 26th, 2024, at the Washington, D.C., Ritz Carlton Soldier To Sidelines hosted their annual Legacy of Leadership dinner honoring NFL NY Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin, Medal of Honor Recipient and Soldier Coach Pat Payne, and RR Donnelley CEO Tom Quinlan. Each of these tremendous leaders received the STS Legacy of Leadership Champion Ring as a trophy for their lifetime of leadership success, signifying the ripple effect they created among the people they led, who consequently paid it forward. Each of their stories inspired the packed audience of over 380 attendees to create ..read more

Soldiers To Sidelines is proud to recognize the incredible work of Thomas “Pat” Payne and his commitment to continue to serve his country as a coach. For the past two years, Coach Payne has been coaching youth football in Lee County and Moore County, North Carolina. Pat received the Medal of Honor in 2020 for his heroic action during a nighttime hostage rescue in Kirkuk Province, Iraq, in 2015 in support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE. The virtues of selfless service, bravery, teamwork, and integrity that make up Coach Payne’s DNA influenced him to make an incredibly heroic impact on people who ..read more

In the spirit of National Black History Month, Soldiers To Sidelines (STS) shares a brief summary of several military veterans with significant legacies through coaching, athletic administration, and sport communications. The seminal reference for black college football is Black College Football (1892–1992), authored by United States Air Force veteran Michael Hurd, to include service in Vietnam.  The compelling book describes the one-hundred-year history of Black College Football to include coaches, players, and key individuals. https://www.amazon.com/Black-College-Football-1892-1992-Educ ..read more