COACH PROFILE - CESAR RAMIREZ

Coaching in Motion?

Coach Ramirez

Cesar Ramirez has no time for “dinosaur coaching”. While he is one of the newest coaches at the Chicago Edge SC, his style of positive-driven activity is already making an impact. 

Coach Ramirez, a Chicago native, fell in love with soccer at a very young age. He often watched soccer with his father, a huge fan of the Mexican club Chivas, before he understood what was happening. But that love of soccer did not immediately translate to his own athletic pursuits early on in his life. 

“Actually didn’t play soccer in high school. I was all about basketball and Michael Jordan and the Bulls,” Ramirez said. To be fair, it was the nineties in Chicago, and there wasn’t much American soccer that captured the imagination. “Now, anything involved with soccer I’m involved with.”

Once he arrived at Phoenix College, however, Ramirez picked up soccer and has played the sport ever since. However, his path to coaching the Chicago Edge Soccer Club took a few more twists and turns. While working as a yoga instructor and coaching travel soccer in Chicago, he met Director of Coaching Murray Findlay’s wife, Tanya (also a yoga instructor). He then played against Murray in various recreational/club matches around the city.

Ramirez first worked on some summer camps with the club a few years ago. However, the fall of 2016 was his first full-time season with the Chicago Edge. He’s already tried to bring in some of his own philosophies while also adapting to the Edge’s main tenet of enjoyment. 

“It just so happened I was looking for a coach to work at one of our summer camps with the PDOP. I couldn't believe how consistently positive he was and how well he interacted with the young players at the camp,” Coach Findlay said. “I have worked on him ever since then to try to get him to come and coach with the Edge.  Luckily, things fell into place at the start of the Fall and Cesar joined our club.”

As for the static coaching styles he terms as “dinosaur coaching”, Coach Ramirez moves in the opposite direction. 

“I try to stay positive. Other coaches do things a little bit differently but I encourage the team to work hard and make sure everyone is enjoying the game while also challenging them,” Coach Ramirez said. “I try to make my sessions dynamic with a lot of movement instead of standing in line,” Ramirez said. “I would say I also put a big emphasis on ball control and ball skills. It doesn’t really help if you can run all day but you can’t control the ball.”

After coming from a much smaller club, he’s also thrilled to be part of a “larger and better organized club”. The transition from his old club was rather abrupt, but he credits the other Edge coaches and the parents for helping him adapt quickly. 

Ramirez has plied his trade for all of the Edge’s U12 teams. He’s excited to be coming back to coach for next year and is very thankful for the support he’s received from Directors of Coaching Murray Findlay and Gavin Richards and the parents. He is also an avid fan of Liverpool and Steven Gerrard in particular.

“Gerrard’s not the flashiest but he worked hard!” Ramirez said, although one would assume he’s slightly less enthused with Gerrard’s MLS exploits. 

Whatever the case, Ramirez is an exciting new coach for Chicago Edge SC and his presence on the sidelines will be greatly appreciated.