Who We Are

Educator Owned:

We are West Coast Soccer Academy! This soccer and sports program is run by educators! Emily Ingalls and Terese Kristoffersson work in the Lake Oswego and Beaverton School Districts. Therefor, we understand the importance of implementing a developmentally appropriate curriculum, how to add a social-emotional component to every class, and instilling in our players that what they thought was impossible, is in fact attainable through hard work, appreciation, and kindness.

Curriculum:

Our curriculum is based on extensive research so that we are creating developmentally appropriate games and activities that fit the ages of our players. We always keep parents informed of what their children are learning during an after-school clinic or camp. We are constantly evaluating and reflecting after each clinic or camp to make improvements and evolve our curriculum to create the best experiences possible for our players.

Professional Coaching Staff:

We are uncompromising when hiring out coaching staff for our clinics and camps. We only hire coaches that are either at the varsity level in high-school, played college sports, or are professional players. After seeing other camps and clinics that typically hire very young coaches with very little experience in athletics, it was clear that this was a hole that needed to be filled. Your children deserve the best quality to maximize their learning time spent with our coaches and ensure their safety. With experience comes understanding. You can only provide a safe environment for kids, when you have quality coaches with experiences in childcare and an extensive understanding of the sport they are coaching.

CEO: Emily Ingalls

My name is Emily Ingalls and I am the owner and CEO of West Coast Soccer Academy. I first started this program as an elementary teacher who had many young students wanting a soccer program that was of better quality, convenient, and affordable. I therefore implemented an after-school soccer program and started summer camps for the four years while teaching in Molalla and two years in Portland. Although I started very small, we grew to enroll over 150 students just within my school! We are now growing, and West Coast Soccer Academy is currently open at Hope Chinese Charter School in Beaverton, Oregon and Oak Creek in Lake Oswego. We are hoping to expand even further over the course of this year!

Masters in Early Childhood Education
Bachelor's in Early Childhood Psychology
Varsity Level Player 4 Years
Collegiate Level Player 2 Years - Western Oregon University

My name is Melinda Kristoffersson. I have been playing soccer since I was 5 years old. I have taught a number of camps and coached club soccer for a few years. I currently play indoor soccer and continue to help with youth sports camps. I love being around athletics and love helping young kids develop their skills in fun atmosphere.

Varsity Soccer at Wilsonville High School
D1 soccer at Oregon State University
5 years Professional soccer in Sweden

MElinda Kristoffersson

Terese Kristoffersson

My name is Tess Kristoffersson and I am the manager of West Coast Soccer Academy. I wanted to join my sister-in-law Emily on this journey because I believe that being active is extremely important for everyone, but especially young kids. We at West Coast Soccer Academy want to combine our strengths in teaching, coaching, and experience in the athletic world to help children find a love for being active, along with an opportunity to find a community of their own.

Sports have been a huge part of my life and I have been lucky enough to do what I love on a professional level. My hope is to bring what I’ve learned to these camps and for your children to walk away feeling like they have grown. A

Administrative Assistant Oak Creek Elementary School: Lake Oswego

HR Coordinator West Coast Soccer Academy

5 years of professional soccer in Sweden

Ronen Retzlaff

Ronen started playing soccer at age 5. He joined the Willamette United recreation club and then progressed into the Crossfire Oregon and OPFC Academy team. (Oregon Premier Football Club). During his High School years at West Linn he played all 4 years and was the first team to make it to State finals in WLHS history his Senior year.

Ronen is now a Freshman at Oregon State University in the Outdoor Products curriculum.

In addition to soccer, Ronen loves snowboarding, mountain biking, kiteboarding, volleyball, spike ball, weightlifting, camping, tuning cars and hanging out with family and friends.

Haaken Retzlaff

Head Coach

Haaken started playing soccer at age 5. He joined the Willamette United recreation club and then progressed into the Crossfire Oregon and OPFC Academy team. (Oregon Premier Football Club). During his High School years at West Linn he played both his freshman and sophomore years and went undefeated.

Haaken will be a Junior this fall and looks forward to playing on the Varsity team.

In addition to soccer, Haaken loves snowboarding, mountain biking, kiteboarding, spike ball, weightlifting, camping, driving his manual GTI and hanging out with family and friends.