Meet the Morningside Soccer Leadership Team — MORNINGSIDE AREA COMMUNITY COUNCIL

President: Grant Mattingly

Originally from Kansas, Grant Mattlingly lives in Stanton Heights with his wife Victoria and son Everett.

When he stepped into the role as president this year, Grant hit the ground running by setting up the league’s first official website, morningsidesoccer.org. He also established weekly leadership meetings which enabled us to plan more efficiently for the upcoming season. Under Grant’s first year of leadership, we’ve welcomed more than 250 athletes into the league and made playing more accessible for families by waiving a number of registration fees and providing equipment when needed. Thanks to Grant (and the generous donations of local businesses), we bought new soccer goals for our 8U and 10U kids and new soccer balls that are used during practices and games. He also initiated the first referee clinic which better prepared our kids for this position.

In addition to running the league, Grant also runs our concession stand. We all benefit from his expertise as a trained chef as he buys and prepares the food that’s sold there. He also manages our team of underage crate sellers and concession stand workers with unwavering patience and kindness and they all love ‘Mr. Grant.” Every decision that Grant makes on behalf of Morningside Soccer, he makes with the kids in mind.

The next time that you see Grant, be sure to thank him for the countless hours he’s spent to make this soccer season happen.

Athletic Director: John Schneider

Husband to Lindsey and dad to Ella and Aiden, our athletic director, John Schneider, is a Morningside native who grew up playing Morningside Soccer. He’s a retired Marine officer, doctor of physical therapy and avid runner who you may see running around the neighborhood at an ungodly hour with his dog, Finn.

While we couldn’t possibly list all of the things that he does for the league, John developed the metrics that we use to assess each player during our preseason clinics in an attempt to make balanced teams. He also put together our rule book (and helps us stick to it), makes our game schedules every season, manages our coaches and referees and expertly serves as our injury consultant. After refereeing an 8U or 10U game, he co-coaches our 13U and 17U kids and is usually the last person to leave the field on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights. If that isn’t enough, his business, On Target Running, sponsors a team every season.

Known as “Coach John” to most of our older players and their families, he’s an all-around nice guy who’s very good at supporting our athletes while also encouraging them to grow and develop both on and off the field. Morningside Soccer is also growing and developing thanks to John’s efforts. If you see him at Natoli, tell him a punny dad joke and say a big old “Thanks” for all that he does for our league.

Director of Marketing & Outreach: Beth Vassallo

Born and raised in a Philly suburb, Beth Vassallo first traveled to the Burgh for college (H2P!) and never left. She feels very fortunate to live in Morningside with her husband, John, and their three kids: Sam, Grace and Talia.

While Beth takes care of some of the more mundane aspects of running a soccer league (like repeatedly asking, “Do we have the money to do that?” during meetings), one of her favorite responsibilities is recruiting all 24 of the team sponsors and experiencing firsthand the generosity of the small businesses and organizations that support Morningside Soccer. She’s also proud to coach a 6U team (Go Water Dragons!) that’s comprised of some of the funniest and kindest humans she knows.

This season, thanks to Beth’s coordination efforts (and her ability to ask a zillion questions without tiring), the league is sending a select 10U boys team and a 10U girls team to compete in Fox Chapel’s Moonlight Madness tournament in October. She’s also thrilled to be facilitating the Ladies’ Night pickup games which are new this year (and lots of fun!).

If your kid is having a good time playing soccer this season, let Beth know the next time you see her and it’ll really make her day.