With the sun setting behind him and dusk turning to darkness, soccer coach Caleb Carver is eager to wrap up practice.
Unfortunately for him, the eight and nine year olds on his Ojai Vipers are not. The rambunctious players, burning a special brand of elementary school energy, are as animated now as they were when practice started nearly an hour ago.
They’re running rampant on the field at Sarzotti Park, kicking the soccer ball in all directions, while Caleb, a 16-year-old junior at Ojai Valley School, takes notes and attempts to prepare strategy for their upcoming Saturday game.
“It is extremely difficult to make a bunch of eight and nine year olds behave,” said Caleb, who despite the demands is enjoying his time on the sidelines. 
“I loved playing soccer as a kid and enjoy coaching now as a high school student,” Caleb added. “I like teaching kids how to play soccer. It’s nice to know that I’m teaching kids the sport I love to play.”
Caleb is a volunteer head coach of an AYSO U10 soccer team in the Ojai Valley.
He took the unpaid job after learning from his mother, who is an AYSO regional commissioner, that there weren’t enough soccer coaches for the fall season. Caleb figured it would be fun, and that he would learn something along the way.
By taking on this new role Caleb has once again found himself back on Ojai’s AYSO soccer fields, where he began playing soccer as a small child, just like most of the athletes he coaches.
“I love it,” said Caleb’s mother, Cindy, about her son’s coaching duties.. “I started coaching Caleb when he was eight, nine years old.” 
His love for the game has continued to his years as an upperclassmen at the Upper Campus where he competes at a varsity level.
That said, Caleb now realizes that playing soccer and coaching soccer are two different dynamics.
His biggest revelation?
“Oh 100% realizing how much of a pain…some kids can be,” Caleb said.
Compared to playing, coaching has opened the eyes of the junior. Being a coach has also taught Caleb some life lessons.
“I’ve learned how nice little kids are when it comes to soccer,” he said. “They’re generally very nice to their teammates and opponents.”
Caleb has created an energetic, joyful, and exciting chemistry with his team. At practice kids are seen laughing, smiling, and cracking jokes amongst themselves. They are also very competitive with each other.
Caleb has even taken drills from his past soccer teams and put his own twist on them, one being Ultimate Soccer. Ultimate Soccer teaches kids positioning and how to get themselves open to be able to receive a pass. It also helps with team camaraderie, building a brotherhood.
Being a volunteer coach is hard. But being a high school student and being a volunteer coach is even harder. Caleb has successfully managed to balance life as student-athlete and as a youth soccer coach.
Caleb finished his AYSO soccer journey, after playing from ages 8-13, but AYSO soccer will always be a core part of his childhood.
“It’s really full circle to be coaching the kids on this field because I grew up playing here on this field, at Sarzotti,” he said.