As the women soccer season begins Cooper Paiva enters the new head coach position.
Coach Dinkenor, the former varsity soccer coach for 27 years, announced his retirement from coaching at the end of the 2022 boys fall season.
Paiva was named the women’s soccer head coach on January 5, 2023.
Paiva was previously an assistant coach at Leesville under Coach Dink. He was able to learn and gain knowledge through Dink´s presence.
“From being a student of Coach Dink’s and watching him coach and being on the sidelines with him over the years, I have definitely learned a lot about the game and how to have an impact,” said Paiva.
To return to his alma mater is a meaningful thing for Paiva. “I think the Leesville community and me being back is really special. I can’t wait to get started,¨ said Paiva.
Although he has not always seen himself as a coach, Paiva has been coaching for 8 years at a variety of levels.
Paiva has strong goals for this soccer season and for the future years. “For the past 30 years, Leesville has always been a contender for conference champions and state titles, so I want to maintain that legacy and level of success,” said Paiva.
During Paiva’s first season as head coach, he hopes to make a large and ongoing impact on the school, the team, and the players. His connections and knowledge of both Leesville and soccer will allow him to positively impact the ongoing Leesville soccer legacy.
Hi! My name is Cameron Broer. This is my second year on the LRHS newspaper staff.