For many student-athletes, the dream is to be able to play their sport forever. Kim DeCesare, a four-year letter winner and two-time All-ACC selection for the Duke women's soccer program, shared this sentiment and has made it her mission to leave her mark on the soccer world for as long as she can. DeCesare graduated from Duke in 2013 after establishing herself as one of the program's greats, finishing with 29 goals – sixth all-time on the program's scoring list – and 15 assists in 93 career matches.
After her graduation, DeCesare went on to play in the professional ranks with the Boston Breakers of the National Women's Soccer League in 2014 and Sky Blue FC from 2015-17. She also competed internationally with the Eskilstuna United DFF in Sweden's top women's league in 2014 and PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands in 2018. However, after suffering a leg injury during her time with PSV Eindhoven, the young pro decided it was time to make a switch.
"That's when I said, 'I know this is going to be a five to six-month recovery and I am 27 – what does it look like from here? Is it time to coach instead of playing?'" DeCesare said. "I think coaching is the next best thing because I get to essentially do the same thing and sometimes have a greater influence on the game than I would have as a player, especially on the young people that I'm around. It was just naturally the next step for me."
DeCesare followed her inclination, moving on to work two seasons as an assistant coach with the Elon Phoenix women's soccer coaching staff. With experience on the sideline under her belt, she accepted the head coach position at Franklin College in July of 2019, and is excited to continue proving herself in the coaching world while helping the team grow.
"We have made crazy amounts of improvements and that has been really awesome," she said. "Because of COVID, we haven't been able to play games in 2020 so the next immediate goal is to see what all the work we put in looks like and continue to improve. I am not going to sit here and say that I cannot wait to win a championship in the next six months, because we have a long way to go. But I love the process and the development side mainly because I the saw results of that as a player. I just want to continue to see us progress and of course win games and championships, but I know that comes with taking the proper steps."
However, DeCesare acknowledged the role that Duke played in helping her accomplish this goal.
"Duke was an uncomfortable place in the best way possible," she said. "On the soccer side of things, I wasn't a top recruit so I was always striving to just be good enough. Learning at Duke, I got used being comfortable with the uncomfortable. You walk into a classroom and you are like, 'Everyone here is brilliant and they have their own unique story and amazing, crazy, life going on.' It was the same thing on the team. I was playing with girls that had been on every single age group National Team or that played in a million different countries just coming out of high school. I was forced to get comfortable being challenged every single day, so then it wasn't that much different once I got into the professional environment."
That determination was evident from her earliest days as a Blue Devil, according to head coach Robbie Church. DeCesare was unable to play in her freshman season – the fall of 2009 – after tearing her ACL. While such a setback could have easily dealt a blow to her confidence, Church recalls a young newcomer looking to maximize her opportunity with the program even when she couldn't get out on the pitch.
"When she first came here, you noticed right away that she was just a soccer junkie," Church said. "She loves soccer and she has a great passion for the sport. As a player, even in the year she was hurt, she was always down in the weight room, she was always on the field and she was always at video training. Her mindset was, 'How can I make myself better? How can I use this year of not playing to get better?' You saw early on the love and the passion for the game that she had. That's a big part of this. You have to love this and you have to have passion to be successful."
When asked what she took away from her time learning under Church, DeCesare asserted, "To care."
"Robbie is just an amazing human and the most caring coach," she said. "He genuinely wants his team and the people around him to be successful. He is a genuine guy and I try to be like that. I definitely learned from Robbie that you get the most out of your team if you show that you care about them."
During her time at Duke, the now-coach met her best friends and was surrounded by a staff that invested themselves in her success. She learned to compete, hold people accountable, take criticism and capitalize on her strengths as a player and person in general. These lessons have inspired the philosophy she implements as a coach at Franklin, while allowing her to gain the trust and respect of the players on her team.
"Duke taught me two major lessons – how to learn by tapping into every part of myself and the people around me, and then networking," DeCesare said. "I learned how to learn and I learned how to know people and use networking to the fullest extent, and the connections I made ultimately pushed along my soccer career and helped me get into the coaching world."
Her rise in the coaching ranks is hardly a surprise to Church. DeCesare's interest was established all the way back in her time at Duke, and as Church maintained, it was only a matter of time before she found herself in the position of teaching the sport.
"She was always interested in the tactics of the game," he said. "She was always interested in the motivation part of the game and the physical part of the game. She always wanted to learn different sides of the psychological part of the game with Greg Dale. For a young player and a young person, she had her eye on this. She wanted to play for as long as she could play, but she always wanted to coach from an early age. While a lot of her classmates were going to Wall Street, being doctors or being lawyers, she's never wavered – she wants to be a soccer coach."
DeCesare remains a proud Blue Devil with a passion for the game and being a leader to those around her. As she continues to grow and explore new opportunities within the realm of collegiate soccer, her love and gratitude for the Duke program has not wavered, and she never veers away from taking a moment to reveal how proud she is of the progress the program has made since her time in Durham.
The qualities that DeCesare possesses as a coach were the same that she displayed in her collegiate career. She remains self-disciplined and driven to get better however she can. For Church, DeCesare's current position will serve to continue growing the game, as those playing for her can look at their coach as a model for what it takes to become successful in the world of soccer and beyond.
"She was like a captain on the field for us," Church said. "She was very vocal. Number one, she was very demanding of herself. But she was also very demanding of the players on the field. She always had a thirst for knowledge. She wanted to get better and she would reach out to anybody that would help make her better in so many different areas. I'm excited for the future of the women's game to have women coaches like Kim, who has gone through the ranks. She's played at a high level in the ACC, has played in the NWSL, has played internationally and now she comes back and she gives back to the game."
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