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Head Soccer Coach Basks In World Cup Fever
With soccer fans’ attention fixed on the World Cup, few are more invested in the outcome for Brazil than Raphael Da Costa Alves.
A native of Santos, São Paulo, and Brazilian professional league veteran, Alves inherited a birthright where soccer is closer to a national religion than sport.
It’s been heartening to watch Americans be uniquely invested and raucously cheer on Team USA as the World Cup host nation, Alves said.
“I think it's beautiful. For me, I’ll have moved here 12 years ago in October, and it has changed a lot in terms of how Americans are connected with the sport,” Alves said. “It's beautiful to see how passionate they are about it, how much they want Team USA to succeed.”
As Boys’ Soccer Head Coach for Sage Hill, Alves has built a program over the last four years defined not only by excellence on the field, but by character, confidence and lasting relationships.
His methodology in building well-rounded athletes from the ground up is rooted in his own childhood kicking a ball through the streets.
“Brazil is much closer to Africa in some places than it is to any poverty level we have in the United States,” Alves said. “Maybe 20% of the country is still without clean water. We still have a lot of people in poverty. Most of the football players in Brazil come from very tough realities. I was one of those.”
At nine years old, Alves got a break when he was invited to train with the Santos Youth Level Academy, among the top youth football organizations in Brazil. Among the team’s benefits was free bus fare for transportation to and from matches. But to help financially support his family, he sold his bus tickets and walked the 12-mile round-trip to and from the academy’s training grounds.
Alves was offered his first professional contract with a second division team when he was just 15 years old. Two years later, his childhood dream came true when he was recruited by Santos FC, which competes in the Brazil first division.
“I went through a lot over there, dealing with directors and agents,” Alves said. “I would say that I wasn't prepared to make that big of a move at that time.”
At 24 years old, Alves retired from his professional career and decided to move abroad and explore new opportunities with his future wife. Alves saw a photo of the sand volleyball nets in Huntington Beach and was instantly sold on moving.
As an Orange County resident, he started coaching club soccer but noticed a lot of the administrative focus was on recruiting more families and how much money they could charge, rather than on building character and sportsmanship.
Dissatisfaction with the status quo led Alves to co-found Culture FC with Adriano De Lima in 2015. Two players he’s coached for the past 12 years are finishing their immigration process to sign contracts with Brazilian pro teams. Overall, Alves has overseen coaching for thousands of players across several countries including the U.S., Brazil, United Kingdom and Denmark.
Throughout his coaching career, Alves has consistently imparted a mindset of gratitude and resilience in his athletes.
“I would say the biggest and the most important thing for me working with kids at Sage is that I come with a perspective that is extremely different,” he said. “It’s challenging to come from a culture where the game is in their veins to where some kids have no connection to the sport.”
Regardless of their personal background, athletes under Alves’ mentorship learn how to train and compete with maturity, respect and honor.
“The greatest measure of a coach is not found in wins and championships, but in the lives they shape and the community they help build,” Director of Athletics Megan Cid said. “Coach Raphael Alves has not just transformed the trajectory of Sage Hill Boys' Soccer, he has created a culture rooted in respect, belief, and belonging.”
Sage Hill School
A college preparatory independent day school for grades 7-12.
20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657
Phone: 949.219.0100 | Fax: 949.219.1399
20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657
Phone: 949.219.0100 | Fax: 949.219.1399
Sage Hill School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other School administered programs.