From Unexpected Opportunity to Lasting Impact
- Shield Editor
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
By Ella Weathers, Shield Editor, and Shield Staff
Sally Pinon’s Journey as NRCA Middle School Soccer Coach
After more than two decades of coaching at NRCA, middle school soccer Head Coach Sally Pinon retired from leading both the boys and girls teams. She leaves the position treasuring memories of teaching moments and relationships as she moves into her next stage of life.
What started as an unexpected opportunity from the Lord turned into a blessing to coach students for 26 years. As she enters a new era, Coach Pinon is excited to spend time with family but also grateful for all of the time spent on the field and the chance she had to impact NRCA athletics in her time as a coach.
Sally Pinon’s NRCA story began when the Lord brought a connection through a friend at Crossroads Fellowship Church in Raleigh that led her to campus.
“A friend of ours, Floyd Green, knew there was a job opening. My husband, Ed Pinon, was looking for a job and ended up interviewing for a teaching and coaching position. He came home excited about it and told me they wanted to know if I would coach middle school soccer. We prayed about it for a while, and eventually both my husband and I started coaching.”
Originally from the Midwest, the Pinons grew up in a soccer environment and gained lots of experience in the sport. Sally Pinon played club soccer through high school. “We’re both from St. Louis, and there are big soccer clubs in that area, and so I did that all through high school. I was one of the only freshmen on the varsity team,” she said. That team went on to win the state championship.
After high school, Pinon had the chance to continue to play both soccer and field hockey at Saint Louis University. “I actually chose to play field hockey over soccer,” she said, “so I played D1 field hockey.” When she agreed to lead the middle school soccer program, Pinon’s return to soccer began an adventure for her young family, and she shared the adventure with full support from her husband.
“At the beginning, I talked her into coaching the middle school boys team. She was hesitant at first but really enjoyed her time,” Ed Pinon said. Their teamwork at home transferred to the pitch. “To have her coaching the boys and the girls middle school programs brought stability for so many years. I knew exactly what she was teaching them, which was foundational to what we were trying to do in the high school. Her coaching developed these young athletes to become varsity soccer players, who competed, won state championships, and went on to play in college.”
The opportunity to step into coaching at NRCA became 26 years of excellence and mentoring on and off the field. Coaching middle school boys and girls soccer, Pinon saw that her role opened a way to pour into the players’ lives and to encourage them to grow. Reminiscing about her time with the program, she said, “There are so many different memories. I think the relationships that I still have with families and that were created back then are some of the best.”
In a letter to NRCA soccer families following the announcement of her retirement, Pinon wrote: “I started coaching for the love of the game and to inspire players. I didn’t have a player on the team—I was pushing Eddie in a stroller! ... There has been a lot that our soccer families have gone through together, and I will forever be grateful for their love and support for our family, as well as the other families, during hard times. Ed and I could not have made it through Gabe’s cancer treatments without their love and support. I was only able to continue to coach during that time and after the birth of Ellie and Keegan with the support from our soccer families. Thank you to all the families that came alongside us and supported us. You have made a lasting impact on our lives.”
Ed and Sally Pinon’s children were raised as part of the NRCA soccer program. Eddie (Class of 2015) and Gabe (Class of 2018) went on to play soccer in college. Ellie (Class of 2029) and Keegan (Class of 2032) are current students.
In the early days of the middle school soccer program, NRCA practiced on the fields at Bay Leaf Baptist Church. “When it would rain, I would bring the baby jogger, and I would push Eddie on Falls of Neuse, and we would just run Falls because we couldn’t do anything. Sometimes we had to be in the parking lot because we couldn’t get on the field. So you just had to be really creative,” she said.
As NRCA’s facilities improved and expanded, so did the program. Pinon said, “To come from that and to come to [our current facilities] was such a huge blessing for the program.”
On the field, Pinon led her teams to success throughout the years. She recalled, “For the boys team, the best season we had was 18 and 0 with 104 goals scored, and on the girls side, a couple years ago, we went 14 and 0 with 53 goals scored, which was amazing for the girls to almost have a shutout. It was neat to see each team come together and make some pretty great memories.”
Pinon’s teams dominated on both offense and defense. The 2011 boys team’s undefeated championship season, when they scored 104 goals, was also historic because they remained unscored-upon through the regular season and tournament. The 2023 girls team gave up only one goal during their 14-0 championship season.
At the core of the program’s success was team-building, which took place on and off the field. “The bus rides we had—singing, listening to their conversations, and getting to know them better—were fun,” Pinon said.
Beyond the laughter, the moments of spiritual growth defined Pinon's program. Each season had a theme, like the following:
Rise Above, Accept the Challenge
Be grateful for the game in front of us—that is all we are guaranteed
TEAM (Training up our minds and bodies for the race; Enduring our experiences with Christ at our side; Achieving a crown that will last forever; and Matter, making a difference in the lives of others)
ONE: ONE team, with ONE goal, playing for ONE reason, for ONE day, and for ONE trophy
Be the player your teammates can rely on
Sign your name, leave your mark
“It wasn’t about how well you played,” she said. “It was about how you grew in your faith, encouraged others, and how you carried yourself.”
Creative traditions, which gave players a great way to learn powerful lessons, characterized Pinon’s teams. “On the girls’ side, we had secret sisters, and they loved it. Each player is given the name of one player on the team that will be their secret sister. They were responsible for lifting up and writing them a note, and some would add a small treat as well. The main goal was to make sure each player had someone to motivate them, encourage them, and let them know someone’s behind them, cheering and praying for them,” she shared.
Pinon’s legacy as a coach and mentor extends beyond her players’ time as athletes at NRCA. Many of her former players went on to play varsity sports, lead ministries, and even coach teams themselves. “When you leave something, you want them to feel as if they have made a difference,” she reflected. “It’s been amazing to see them grow as athletes and as people.”
As Pinon retires from coaching, she leaves a lasting impact on NRCA’s soccer program. “When you have someone like Sally Pinon, who for 26 years had that care and personal touch that she was able to provide our student athletes with, it’s almost impossible to replace that,” said Associate Athletic Director George Hoyle.
Hoyle expressed NRCA’s continued gratitude and support for Pinon’s legendary impact on NRCA soccer: “We are excited for her future, but we want to celebrate her and thank her for 26 years she was able to lead these programs.”
While Sally Pinon’s retirement impacts the players and their families, perhaps no one will miss her presence in the program more than Ed Pinon. “It was great to have her by my side all these years. She was very supportive and encouraging. Without her, this [soccer program] doesn’t happen. We had so many conversations about our players in trying to help them grow and develop into the kind of people that God desires them to be. She was just as committed to the calling of coaching as I was, and that was a blessing for so many years. She is missed on the field for sure!”
Sally Pinon will miss her time on the field, too. But for now, she is celebrating the joys of her transition to retirement and excited about her new opportunity to spend more time with her family and create new memories with the ones she loves. She is already enjoying the margin. “I don’t remember a time when I was able to pick my kids up from school and go home and hear their stories. Having time to talk to them and to be with them has been really nice. I think pouring into them, and pouring into myself, will be great, too. I gave that up [while coaching], but now I am grateful to be able to focus on myself and my family,” she said.
Coach Sally Pinon’s influence will echo through NRCA’s soccer program for a long time to come and will continue to shape and stand as an example to the soccer program of what it means to be an excellent coach and role model.
