Meet Eric Perilla

This journey began for me when I was about 16 or 17 years old, coaching my little sister and training her in the backyard and at some of her soccer practices, where she played for Dearborn/Dearborn Heights Soccer Club and Garden City Soccer Club. I took my first official coaching educational course at 18 years old while attending Michigan State University. ​ While at university, I also worked for a club called Michigan Chill SBC and Chicago Fire Camps of MLS. I met some great friends who have gone on to do fantastic things for local soccer communities as well as in their own professional careers abroad. During this time, I officially started my formal education in the game through the US Soccer Federation and United Soccer Coaches (formerly the National Soccer Coaches Association of America). ​ Throughout my playing career, I made sure to continue coaching and obtaining coaching licenses and diplomas. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn about the game and give back while maintaining a job during the pursuit of my playing career. Once my career took me to South Florida, I continued to train but also coached at the same time. ​ I was offered the opportunity to get into the coaching scene by a famous Peruvian player who played in three World Cups and is among the top goalscorers of all time, Teófilo Cubillas. His son, Cristian, brought me into a club called South Miami United. I also coached with another club called Plantation Eagles FC, where I worked with another professional goalkeeping coach, a South Florida legend named Giuseppe Weller. ​ From there, I was given the opportunity to work as technical director for a club called South Florida FC with my cousin, Norberto Mahecha, who ran a large portion of the men’s, women's and youth soccer leagues there. Not long after, I was offered a position at Schulz Academy in the USL PDL, where I served as a player, coach, and resident mentor. Josef Schulz, another South Florida legend, played a large role in the development of many players, including former USA international Jozy Altidore, among others. ​ During this time, I was also asked to run private training sessions on the exclusive Fisher Island, just a boat ride away from South Beach. I ran training sessions for the day school there, which was sponsored by AC Milan. After this, I moved into a coaching role with the Coral Gables Toros and Storm. ​ It wasn’t long before an offer came to start running camps for FC Barcelona in the South Florida area, which eventually led to the opening of the first FC Barcelona official Escola in the USA, run by Kaptiva Sports. My role was to serve as the lead goalkeeping coach, with our home base at the beautiful stadium in Lauderhill, Florida. The stadium at Central Broward Regional Park has even served as the home for various MLS Combines. ​ After my time with the FC Barcelona Escola, I moved to the US Soccer Development Academy with a club called Kendall SC and another called Miami United FC. At Kendall SC, I found a whole new world of club soccer in the youth game. We regularly played MLS academies and top competition around the USA. Several players I worked with, both goalkeepers and field players, were called into US Youth National Team setups. ​ I had an amazing group of players, and we trained often, sometimes twice a day during the season and off-season. A goalkeeper named Justin Garces was called into the US Youth National Team and went on to start and represent the USA at the U17 World Cup. He was later signed by Atlanta United FC. Various other goalkeepers I worked with also entered the setup and have gone on to create professional careers. ​ In 2014, I was honored to be selected for the NSCAA's inaugural 30 Under 30 Program, recognized as one of "Thirty Coaches Pegged as the Profession's Next Generation." During this time, I had the unique opportunity to spend a week observing each of the U.S. National Team setups, from the Senior National Team to the U20s, U14s, and all levels in between. ​ Another field player I coached, Jonathan Lewis, represented the full Senior National Team, as did Nick Hinds for the US U20 National Team. Andre Zuluaga made his debut for the US Youth National Team and created a professional career. Mauricio Uribe was called into various US Soccer Training Centers. I had another goalkeeper, Ryan Shellow, whom I started coaching at 15 years old, and 10 years later, at 25, I brought him into the professional club I was with at Detroit City FC, where he made his professional debut. We made significant waves in the youth game, considering we were nowhere near the budgets and offerings of an MLS academy environment. ​ While working with this club, I was also with Miami United FC, which had strong ambitions to become the MLS bid in Miami. There, I served as a player, coach, advisor, scout, interim head coach, and more. I did as much as I could for the club. At one point, we had Ronaldinho’s brother join the club, and we even set up a match against Ronaldinho and friends. We also signed the famous Brazilian player Adriano. We did fantastic things in the community and brought in various first-division teams from around the world to play us. At Miami United, I had the privilege of serving under the coaching staff of renowned former Brazilian player Serginho Manoel and Stefano Agresti, former assistant coach of the Japanese National Team and Inter Milan. ​ During this time, I also took on part-time work with St. Thomas University, serving the goalkeepers for both the men’s and women’s teams. I spent a short time as an assistant interim goalkeeping coach at Miami FC for the legendary Alessandro Nesta while his signed goalkeeping coach awaited a visa. ​ I was also invited to the very first International Goalkeeping Coaches Conference, where I helped supply 5–6 goalkeepers for the event. The coaching and presenting staff was incredible! If you’re in the goalkeeping world, you’d know the names Eric Steele, Phil Wheddon, Christophe Lollichon, Andrew Sparkes, Andy Quy, Maarten Arts, and others. These are coaches who have worked at some of the highest levels of the game, both in clubs and internationally. After the week, I was offered by Eric Steele (former Manchester United, Manchester City, and English National Team) and Andy Quy (Premier League) to spend another week training goalkeepers and learning their techniques. ​ After spending time away from home, I decided it was time to return to my roots and be closer to my immediate family. Upon moving back to Michigan, I took a job with the University of Michigan Dearborn, where I was fortunate to coach my younger sister again. I also took a position in the US Soccer Development Academy with a well-established youth club called Vardar. At Vardar, I served as the Head of Goalkeeping, assistant coach for the academy teams, and head coach for the academy reserve teams. ​ There, I started working with a goalkeeper named Sean Ellis, whom I later brought into the professional environment at Detroit City FC. Eventually, I decided to break off and create my own club, Wayne County Sporting, to offer a low-cost program for inner-city players who couldn’t afford a high-performance environment. We had two men’s teams, a women’s team, and 3–4 youth teams playing in semi-pro and youth leagues. A few players went on to join professional teams. ​ I also took a job at Gabriel Richard Catholic High School, where we won various titles in the Catholic League and District playoffs. After this, I was offered a position by Trevor James to join Detroit City FC as they transitioned from amateur to professional. Trevor James’s bio speaks for itself, with a wealth of experience working around the world at the highest levels, including with the legendary Sir Bobby Robson (Jose Mourinho's mentor). ​ I was also given a job with Atlanta United FC as a scout. I flew into town, spent time training, and then returned home to prepare for my work with Detroit City FC in the NISA and begin scouting for Atlanta United FC. As COVID hit, the scouting sector for Atlanta was impacted since youth soccer was shut down. With Detroit City FC, we kept going at the professional level. In the NISA, we won numerous trophies and claimed a 352-day unbeaten streak—the longest in US Soccer history at the professional level. ​ At Detroit City FC, I served as a player, goalkeeping coach, assistant coach, scout, and analyst. I set up and ran various parts of training sessions, conducted opposition analysis, performed our own analysis, put together presentations, and went on scouting trips for the club. During this time, I also coached goalkeepers at US Soccer Training Centers and for the Michigan Hawks. I worked with local goalkeepers like Xander Heitsch, who ended up playing for the Detroit City FC Reserve Team and training with our first team, and Deighton Wamer, who played for the club’s women’s team. ​​ In our men’s reserve and first-team training, I also worked with goalkeepers Owen Finnerty, who signed for Inter Miami CF of MLS, and Hunter Morse, who signed for FC Cincinnati of MLS. At Detroit City FC, we made the jump from two years in the NISA to two years in the USL Championship. Our starting goalkeeper, Nathan Steinwascher, received many accolades across the league. In both our years in the USL Championship, we made the playoffs and advanced through the playoffs one year as a new club, exceeding many expectations on a very limited budget. We even defeated the Columbus Crew of MLS in the US Open Cup. ​ While at Detroit City FC, I met one of my very best friends, Ryan Needs, a former Premier League coach and current MLS coach with the Chicago Fire, working next to former U.S. National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter. Spending a year working with Ryan allowed me to gain invaluable knowledge about the game, with a strong emphasis on set pieces. ​​ After spending four years with the club, I felt it was time to make another move. After a few offers, I took a role as a goalkeeping coach with Inter Miami CF of MLS, where I worked with goalkeepers from the II's, U20s to the U12s. My time at Inter Miami CF was almost indescribable. I was fortunate to spend time around arguably one of the greatest players ever, Lionel Messi, along with others like Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Oscar Ustari, and more. ​​ I was around coaches including Tata Martino, Federico Higuaín, and Cristian Ledesma. I had the opportunity to coach Leo and Luis’s kids and many other extremely talented athletes at the club. I was brought into the club by Messi’s “Godfather,” Guillermo Hoyos, who spent many years at Barcelona running La Masia and is credited with discovering a young Messi and bringing him to Barcelona FC. I also offered to coach alongside Messi’s brother-in-law, Tuli. ​​ We had sessions where I worked with younger players and the U20s daily, and on various occasions, we mixed in with the first team during training. Several goalkeepers in the club moved up to first- and second-team training from the academy and were called into their youth national teams, including Connor Dale, Levi Williams, TJ Williams, and others for the USA, Trinidad & Tobago, and Jamaica. ​ While at Inter Miami CF, I also observed training sessions from the Argentine National Team, the US National Team, and high-level clubs. I was invited to observe Wolverhampton Wanderers from the Premier League and meet one of my goalkeeping coach idols, Neil Cutler. Unfortunately, during a training session, I picked up another knee injury (my fourth), which sidelined my coaching career at Inter Miami CF. This can be the brutal reality of the game. ​ However, I am fully recovered and now looking forward to the next step in my soccer journey. I love this game so much, and nothing will stop me from pursuing my ultimate goal: to become a national team coach and help win the World Cup.