DVIDS – News – A Universal Language: Retired Air Guardsman finds success coaching High School soccer

It’s an unseasonably warm autumn afternoon, as the opening round of the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) 6A Girls Soccer Championships kicks off at David Douglas High School, in Portland on Nov 2, 2024. Hosting their first ever playoff game, the ‘Scots’ hold on to a late lead in the final minutes to beat Cleveland High School 2-1, marking the first ever playoff win for the girls’ soccer program.

For the David Douglas seniors, the win is especially gratifying and comes after three straight years of getting knocked out in the opening round. For their first-year head coach Jonathan Dyer, it highlights a long journey – from balancing a full time job, coaching youth soccer, and military commitments in the Oregon Air National Guard.

“Really, it’s all them. These girls have demonstrated an ability to come together, especially under the circumstances that we started this year,” Dyer said to a local sports reporter following the victory. “I’ve been coaching 25 years and this is easily the most talented and most united team that I’ve ever been around and I can’t be prouder.”

Deflecting the praise to his players and assistant coaches, Dyer knows how special these moments are to the school and community. The team went on to win their second round match four days later against St. Mary’s 3-2, before being knocked out in the Quarterfinals – by the eventual State Champions Jesuit High School on Nov. 9. In addition to the two playoff wins, the Scots won a school-record 12 games for the season and Dyer was named OSAA 6A Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.

“The idea of something bigger than just soccer that governs our behavior is very much a part of my coaching paradigm and that absolutely came out of being in the military,” he said. “Oftentimes, I find myself repeating many of the core values when dealing with the kids I coach.”

Initial Military Assignments and Transition

Enlisting in the active duty Air Force in 1990, Dyer completed the Still Photography course at Lowry Air Force Base at Denver, Colorado. His first assignment landed him at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida. On August 24, 1992, the full force of Andrew, a category 5 hurricane, demolished the entire base and surrounding community. Dyer was one of the first service members to return to document the damage.

“I was the first photographer back on base, so I got some amazing images of the damage,” he said. “But the destruction left all of us as “refugees,” and allowed us to choose new assignments.”

After spending a 12-month tour in South Korea, Dyer was later assigned to the Air Mobility Command at Plattsburgh Air Force Base in New York. As the base was going through Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) in 1995, Dyer left active duty and eventually joined the 142nd Fighter Wing in Portland.

Over the next 16 years he served as a traditional Guardsman, and used many of his veteran’s education benefits to return to college, completing a degree in Science at the Portland State University. He began working for the Oregon State Crime Lab full time where he is still employed.

Dyer said that many of the reasons he stayed in the guard was the people, both with the interaction and the responsibility for working with a team. “It helped me thrive within the routine, even when it was just drilling once a month. Where you focus on others and that motivation is consistent with coaching (athletic) teams.”

Along the way he was able to work on numerous military exercises and training opportunities around the U.S., Canada, Jamaica and Bangladesh as part of the Department of Defense State Partnership Program.

“One of my last assignments was working with our (Oregon) State partner in Bangladesh on a three-week exercise, Shanti Doot in March of 2012,” he explained. “I really looked at this as ‘a gift,’ to have this unique opportunity to work with over a dozen nations working together as part of the United Nations peace-keeping operations.”

Not only did he bring his military camera equipment but Dyer brought along a soccer ball.

“I brought along a ball just to keep in shape. I was out in one of the grass fields juggling a ball and within 15 minutes there must have been 30 kids joining in to play,” Dyer said. “We didn’t all speak the same language but we spoke the universal language of football.”

This pick-up game and subsequent afternoon matches transformed into a tournament during the Shanti Doot exercise that several of the country’s participating in the exercise helped organize.

“From just kicking a ball they organized a tournament among themselves,” Dyer said, describing soccer as a chance to “bridge a gap between everyone.” For his part, he ended up photographing the tournament matches while still hanging out playing pick-up games with the local children.

Military Retirement Has Its Advantages

When he retired as the 142nd Fighter Wing’s Public Affairs noncommissioned officer-in-charge in late 2012, the extra time on his hands allowed him to pursue new coaching opportunities. He had already been coaching his own kids youth soccer teams and working to help build two separate soccer clubs in the Clackamas and Milwaukie area on Portland’s east side.

“I got into coaching soccer in 1998 with my step-son Nick. The coach didn’t know that much about soccer and I had played in High School and some on active duty,” Dyer said, describing his early encounters in youth coaching. “The guy was just hanging out and basically killing time until his kid was old enough to play (American) football. I stepped in and was technically the assistant coach and from that point on… I’ve never looked back.”

This led to working on the board of North Clackamas soccer club. He was joined by Gordon Williamson, a coaching counterpart at the same age level.

“He’s (Williamson) a former professional player and has the soccer pedigree. His son was on one team, and mine on another team so there was some natural competition. We upped the ante and started Thelo Football Club as an elite pathway for player development,” Dyer said. Along the way he would coach all three of his kids youth teams as they became active in the sport.

Throughout the years he established himself as coach, mentor and club coordinator to give kids at every level a chance to play on both ability and economic means.

“I wasn’t trying to coach these kids for any particular High School but mostly for participation and enjoying the game,” he said. “My last girls’ club team represented seven different High Schools and I always found a sense of pride in that because I knew their other coaches appreciated that I was preparing them equally.”

Eventually Dyer would start coaching High School girls’ Junior Varsity teams over the next seven years to include; Clackamas High School, La Salle Catholic College Preparatory, and Putnam High School. But the connection to landing the David Douglas head coaching position came through a parent of his club team.

“By chance, one of the moms on my team was helping with the David Douglas program. The head coach had stepped down at mid-season the year before so the job was open,” he said. “She wrote me a glowing recommendation and to be honest, I was both flattered and somewhat caught off guard by the endorsement.”

Right Place, Right Time

With the job being posted state-wide, the school was looking for a coach that had a history with working with kids with a wide variety of backgrounds.

“We had several different candidates that made it to the final stages for an interview and then we took it down to our finalist when our assistant principal and athletic director chose Jon,” said Brad Joy, Athletic Director for David Douglas High School. “The soccer community is a pretty small circle so we knew many of the same people. Jon has been instrumental in building programs in the community and creating opportunities for kids who can’t always afford to play at a club level.”

Dyer inherited a team with nine seniors and one of the state’s best goalkeepers. After an initial team meeting to get to know his players and assistant coaches, he did what he always does; he brought his knowledge and passion for the game to the program.

“He has such a love of the sport,” Joy said. “Not only that he’s very regimented, and is super organized so adapting to the job could not have been easier.”

David Douglas High School has the largest enrollment in the state and the campus itself encompasses several blocks on Portland’s east side. It has a highly diverse student population in cultural backgrounds.

“It is probably the most diverse school in Oregon,” Joy said, describing the unique collection of students. “I’ve been here 32 years and have watched the demographics change over that time. There’s more than 30 languages spoken here…it’s like the United Nations!”

This ability to work with diverse populations and kids from underserved communities also made Dyer the right coach for the program. He’s done volunteer work for over two decades with Camp Rosenbaum, an Oregon National Guard summer camp for at-risk 10-12 year old’s. He was also an active participant in the 142nd Wing’s Diversity and Inclusion Council meetings, helping shape an environment where service members rise to their potential by embracing equity and developing productive changes.

I really don’t use my “NCO voice,” now that I’ve retired,” he laughed, recalling his time in uniform. “There is a difference between supervising Airmen trying to meet a critical deadline, and kids on a soccer pitch… I am overtly positive when it comes to coaching now.”

Yet he’s quick to recall how much the military training, culture and values are still part of who he is.

“After I retired, it never really left me,” Dyer said, recalling his experience in the military. “I still identify very strongly with my service commitment and the lessons I have learned along the way. And my motivation for coaching now is to somehow instill those similar values that were instilled in me. Those characteristics are still essential.”