Coach Scott Halpern took over as head coach of the boys soccer team in the summer of 2022, bringing with him years of experience at the highest levels of college soccer. From 2017 to 2022, Scott served as an assistant coach for the University of Connecticut men’s soccer program, where he was responsible for recruiting, on-field coaching, opponent analysis, fundraising, community relations, and game-day marketing and ticket sales. During his five years at UConn, he helped more than 15 players reach the professional level in the United States and overseas.  

What’s your coaching “why”? What keeps you coming back each season? 

It has never been about the X’s and O’s for me. When I was 12 years old, I decided I wanted to be a coach, not just to teach the game, but to be a mentor and a real part of helping young men find themselves and become the best versions of who they can be. Soccer is the vehicle that allows me to do that. That is what keeps my energy going and motivates me to hold a high standard for our boys and for our program. It is much more than soccer. 

Do you have a motto or mantra you share with your athletes? 

How you do one thing is how you do everything. 
And another one: Simple actions at a high level. 

How do you build leadership within your team? 

Creating the environment is the coach’s job. Every day, I try to create a space where our players feel comfortable expressing themselves, taking chances, and reacting when mistakes are made. Soccer is a game of mistakes, and how quickly you respond to them matters. Those moments often reveal leadership both individually and within the team. 

We are also intentional about leadership development. Our captains and leadership group meet regularly to discuss team dynamics and ways we can continue to improve together. 

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from your athletes? 

The saying “no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care” is very real with our boys at this age. 

How do you handle setbacks or losses, both personally and with your team? 

Loomis Chaffee soccer has a great foundation and history of success, so sometimes it is easy to define success by outcomes, and it is difficult when we fall short. Personally, I take a lot of accountability on my shoulders. Whenever we come up short, I look in the mirror as head coach and ask whether I could have done anything differently to better position our boys for success. 

As a team, our message has been that success is process-oriented. We talk about “winning the day.” Everyone else is practicing, lifting, and playing, but what makes us different is how we do it. If our players leave Loomis understanding the importance of that daily process and the friendships that come from it, that is success. 

Has there been a player or team that surprised you in a memorable way? 

My first year as head coach in 2022 was a special one. The year before, in 2022, the team had some exceptional talent but just missed the Class A playoffs and graduated 13 seniors. When I took over in 2023, we had eight starting sophomores, and there was some uncertainty, with players wondering how we would compete. 

We ended up going 12–5–2, earning a spot in the Class A playoffs as the No. 6 seed, and reaching the quarterfinals. That group came together as underdogs and fully embraced a team-first mentality. It set the foundation for what we have today, with most of those players now seniors. 

What’s something about you that your athletes might not know? 

I think they know this, but they really are my family. I care about them with all my heart, even though I can be very hard on them. 

What advice would you give to a young coach just starting out? 

Focus less on plays and drills and invest more in relationships with your players. At the end of the day, people remember how their coaches made them feel, not how much they knew.