THE SOUTHSIDE HEAT
Atlanta’s Teen Female Soccer Team
The urban community and soccer go hand in hand like Beauty and the Beast. Traditionally, it’s just not the most common union, nor the most glorified. However, on the heels of the U.S. Women’s championship run at this year’s World Cup, the tide has begun to change. Moreover, if the Southside Heat of Atlanta and its current crop of athletes have anything to do with it, the future of “futbol” will croon a different tune soon enough.
The Heat — a collective of spectacular African American female athletes who’s been together since grade school — is currently a top 50 ranked team by way of Soccer in College, and beating the odds with every successful season. In 2014, the squad acquired a new head coach, Reggie Askew, who made his mark as a standout high school player in Philadelphia, before moving on to test his skills at Auburn and Tuskegee University. These days, Askew’s competitive fire is being wrought by a group of girls that ironically possesses the same fervor for the game as him.
Presently under the umbrella of the Tiger Soccer Club, the Heat was brought together by and large due to their undying love for the game. From the impressionable ages of 6-7 years old, to a group of teenagers summoning womanhood, their unbreakable bond remains a central part of their DNA. And as they fearlessly leap into their formative years, an unwavering commitment to the game persists.
Coming off an undefeated fall season in 2014, which catapulted them into D Level competition and U14 play, the Heat has done so with a confident smile on every grill, of every team member. While competitive clubs they routinely play against, and defeat, are oft times financially driven, the Heat’s focus is motivated by true passion. That, along with a longing desire to improve each and every time their cleats settle into the soil to engage another squad.
“Even though we don’t have the resources as far as access to nighttime fields and whatnot, I think our program is solid,” says Coach Askew. “[This can be] evidenced by the fact that we’re pulling from the selection of fourteen kids, versus our competition, which has 300-400, maybe even 1,000 kids to pull from to build a team. By that I’m pretty proud of what we’re doing.”
Last year, The Heat consisted of only four 14-year-olds, with the majority of them ages 12-13 and a pool of 16 kids to pull from. Inasmuch as it is the only team of teenage African American girls in the city of Atlanta, their success is simply exceptional and well deserved.
“When you put the ball in the grass we’re going to compete,” says Askew, “and they’re going to get beat if they sleep on us.”
In addition to their unique ability to play the game, the Southside Heat know practice makes perfect. As such, the team accepted the challenge of honing its skills year round, long ago. While its counterparts were likely napping in the dog days of summer, the Heat tuned up with Coach Domenic Martelli — an Olympic Development Region 3 board member and former West Point Military Academy assistant coach (Women) — who reinforced the basics during a development summer camp weeks before the new school year and season.
“What we did was we had them go through a session that was very similar to what a college team would go through,” says Martelli. “When you look at my sessions, pretty much every drill I did, every game that I played, every large group session, was something they had never done before.”
Placing the girls in unfamiliar environments, where they can absorb new facets of the game, is an ongoing strategy. And while Askew is in favor of limiting the team’s summer month activities for much needed rest, the Heat prefer to lead an active lifestyle. Because in this sport, stars aren’t developed or discovered in the off season. They are groomed year round.
“Soccer is a skill that’s developed as a youth, then you learn all the nuances and tactics of the game,” says Askew. “You can be a terrific athlete and be competitive at soccer, but you would have to be super dedicated to training.”
From fast to faster, chubby to fit and shy to gregarious, the Southside Heat has undoubtedly matured physically and mentally since forming in 2010. Additionally, their growth off the field has worked to instill a togetherness that extends beyond them to their parents, which is nothing short of an indestructible family unit. Unsurprisingly, their spirit of togetherness and consideration for each other, has inspired an entire community.
“The real story is what those girls have been able to do with themselves,” Askew says, marveling at how their cohesiveness off the field translates to their performance on the field. “The way they represent themselves. They’re strong and competitive, have high self-esteem. To me they’re just a terrific group of young ladies and something we should all be proud of. It’s fascinating.”
SOUTHSIDE HEAT COACHING STAFF
Reggie Askew
When he isn’t constructing commercial buildings or restructuring apartment complexes, Reggie Askew is the year round Head Coach of the Southside Heat U14 Girls Soccer team. An accomplished soccer player himself, Askew excelled in high school, before going on to play for Auburn University (Montgomery, Alabama) and Tuskegee University. During the off-season in his stomping grounds of Philadelphia, PA, Askew bounced around the club circuit, as he was recruited heavily by local business owners vying for the most outstanding team(s) in the city.
“A lot of those guys were very passionate about it,” he recalls. “They would build the best teams, full of high school players and college players, especially in the summer and local kids in the fall. It was extremely competitive. There were bars were stealing players from each other. So it was pretty serious. That’s probably the closest I came to being a professional soccer player.”
These days Askew continues to carry out his love for the game with the Southside Heat, who he successfully coached to an undefeated season in his first as head coach. He’d previously served as an assistant since 2008.
Dr. Trent Jones
A resident assistant coach since August of 2014, Dr. Trent Jones initiated his trek into organized soccer when an opening congruously provided a transition from his seat as a supportive parent. Since then, coach Jones has emerged as everything and anything coach Reggie is not, or cannot be on a day to day basis. With a hands on specialty in organizing, he is responsible for scheduling, ordering uniforms, parent coordination, stats and everything in between.
“I’m the glue that keeps everything together so that he isn’t overwhelmed with the technical side of things,” he says.
Currently a certified E level coach, Dr. Jones is approaching D certification and has admittedly learned a ton about soccer from an experience he wouldn’t change for the world. His daughter Jade (No. 3) is 12 and will regularly compete against 14-15-year-olds this season.
Ricky Pittman
There isn’t much assistant coach Ricky Pittman hasn’t done for the Southside Heat on or off the field. From sideline pep talks to in-game adjustments, conditioning, calisthenics and the like, he brings a wealth of experience and a learned passion for the game. Similar to other staff members and parents, Coach Pittman was introduced to soccer through his daughter Imani, who played for the Heat the past three years. As a champion for all things nonprofit in the urban community, the University of Georgia Southern grad has spent much of his professional career developing inner city programs in an effort to unlock the potential within.
A football standout in high school and Atlanta native, Pittman is a devout Atlanta sports aficionado and Southside Heat lifer.
“I made a commitment, so I’m still going to be down with the Heat [no matter what],” he says. “I’m here because I enjoy seeing these young girls become young teenage girls and being able to form a sisterhood that will eventually translate to womanhood.”
