Kwabena Boateng, the new head coach for our women’s soccer program at Roosevelt High School, is in his 8th season coaching soccer. Born and raised in Portland, he went to college in New York where he started coaching for 3-5 year olds. Returning to PDX in 2019, Boateng made the jump to high school as JV head coach and varsity assistant coach at Cleveland and Central Catholic High School. Roosevelt is his first head coaching position and first girls team at the high school level. Boateng was led to coaching by the significant influence his own coaches had on him in his youth. He’s taken the mantras he learned on the soccer field like, “Don’t give up on the play” and applied it to his adult life. These sayings remind him not to give up; “it’s a bad day, not a bad life.” Another influential figure in his life was his automotive teacher at Benson High School, who kept it real with his students. Boateng aspires to channel that authenticity and “not sell the idea of sunshine and rainbows to people who will go out into the world and see it’s anything but that.” Boateng’s soccer career is not over, as he competes in the Greater Portland Soccer Division for his age group, where his team took third place overall last season.
Off the pitch, Boateng is a caregiver, working with his mom at a foster home for non verbal autistic children. He also takes care of his own rambunctious two year old. You may also find him in record stores searching for vinyls, mixing beats, or working on cars. His favorite soccer team is quote, “Arsenal Arsenal Arsenal.” And he will also always cheer for the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia Eagles.
Boateng’s vision for the Roosevelt Women’s Soccer program is one that other teams respect. Tough, competitive, and hustle are the words that come to mind when he thinks of the program in a few years. He says the days of other teams thinking of Roosevelt as an “easy win” are over and to expect more wins to come as the Riders currently sit at a 2-3 record for the start of the pre-season.
