My name is Matthew Childers. I am a Creative Director with Hillhouse Creative in Kingsport, TN. I am also a professional illustrator and comic book artist. I fell in love with soccer/football when my oldest son Christopher started playing 8 or 9 years ago and my favorite team is Tottenham Hotspur. My daughter Lauren has played on the Grasshoppers for the last few years as a defender and goalie.

I have coached three years at Persimmion Ridge for a boys team. I also coached a girls team at Kingsport Parks and Rec/Tri-Cities United and two boys teams at Tri-Cities United.

My goal is to give the girls a fun experience. I will rotate the players frequently as I want to give everyone the feeling of scoring a goal. I will try to balance that goal with the feeling of winning games. The Grasshoppers traditionally have been very strong and I want to continue that winning mentality. However I also want to make sure every girl has a chance to play as many positions as possible. 

Ideally the girls will develop into better players at the end and will have fun doing it.

A size 4 ball is the standard size for the 9-11 Age Group

Regular soccer cleats with no metal spikes. It is recommended that all players wear legal, molded-sole soccer shoes or turf shoes. Metal or metal-tipped cleats are not allowed.