KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Dec. 13, 2024) – Each year at the United Soccer Coaches Convention, the association recognizes a select few for their special contributions to the sport and the association’s membership. This year, three individuals will be presented Letters of Commendation at the Awards Ceremony on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, as part of the 85th annual Convention in Chicago, IL.
- Katlin Okamoto, Westminster, Colo.
- Luis Sagastume, Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Steve Veal, Kansas City, Mo.
Katlin Okamoto
Katlin Okamoto joined the U.S. Soccer Foundation in June 2022 as the Director for the Coach-Mentor Training Program. She is a practitioner-scholar who embraces the opportunity to bring theory and research onto the field and into the day-to-day of sport coaching. Her coaching, teaching, and scholarship is focused on elevating sport opportunities to best serve young people through integrating youth agency and voice into program design and implementation.
Okamoto has over two decades of coaching experience at the collegiate, youth, and community level, most recently serving as the Girls Academy Director at Salvo Soccer Club in Minnesota. She has also taught extensively in higher education, including as Community Faculty at the University of Minnesota in the Youth Development Leadership master’s program. Her areas of research and scholarship include youth work in sport, action research, youth development, youth participatory action research, and social work in sport, and has been published in several academic journals.
Luis Sagastume
Known primarily as a college coach, Sagastume’s life journey is a testament to his passion for the game and his unwavering commitment to shaping the next generation of soccer players and coaches.
In 1977-1978, Sagastume served as the head coach for the San Francisco State University men’s soccer program posting a two-year record of 21-8. He was later inducted into the school’s athletics Hall of Fame.
In 1979, Sagastume was hired as the men’s coach at the United States Air Force Academy. In 28 seasons, he had 20
winning seasons, posting a career record of 282-187-43. He was twice named Mountain Pacific Conference Coach of the Year twice and Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Soccer League Coach of the Year and was also honored as NSCAA Midwest Region Coach of the Year.
After retiring from his position at the Air Force Academy, he coached at St. Mary’s High School winning the Colorado 3A State Championship and has remained in youth soccer, marking 50-plus years investing and giving back to the game.
Steve Veal
To quantify Veal’s contributions to United Soccer Coaches is nearly impossible. He joined the association as its third full-time employee in 1993 and held nearly every position in the organization’s National Office, from Coaching Education to Membership to Awards and Recognition in his 31-year career. He served two terms as Interim Executive Director and was the association’s Awards Manager, serving in that role for 12 years until his retirement.
There was a consistency about Veal that was admired, for everything he did was to better the association, its members and those he worked with. He never wavered in his approach.
Veal did more than just take care of business; he took care of people. He made sure that everyone felt a part of and included in the NSCAA and now United Soccer Coaches. His legacy is more than how many members he brought into the association, but how many supporters we gained through his friendships.