Written By Sean Irby
Tyler Weiss is a 28-year-old men’s soccer coach from York, Pennsylvania, about an hour west of Philadelphia. Weiss has a long history of both playing and coaching soccer as he first became familiar with the game at a young age. His passion for the game grew quickly and he later joined elite level clubs throughout his early years and high school.
In 2011, Tyler was asked to participate in the first ever JCC Maccabi Games held in Israel and he played on the U16 boys’ soccer team from San Francisco. The team needed an extra midfielder.
“It was an amazing experience,” says Weiss. “I still have to this day a jersey I traded with the Israel team which I cherish greatly. The way it made me feel to be there had a profound impact on the Jew I am today.”
Tyler then attended the University of Rochester where he first made the move from player to coach. Weiss took over the school’s club soccer team during his junior and senior years.
“During my junior year, we had to let go of the coach due to financial reasons and I expressed interest in transitioning from a player to a coach,” he said. “I felt that I had a future coaching as I had enjoyed it when I volunteered coaching in high school and it worked out well.” His club team made the playoffs, and Tyler proved himself a capable coach putting him on a path that he still follows to this day.
His other coaching jobs included a stint as assistant coach of United Philly Soccer Club, a “low-income” club near the Philadelphia area. He then became the head boys’ varsity coach at the Julia Reynolds Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia where Tyler led the Dragons to their first ever Public League Championship in 2021. In the summer of 2022, Tyler returned to Israel to coach Men’s Open Futsal at the 21st Maccabiah. In a different setting surrounded by new people and new competition, Weiss still found a way to excel.
“It was very weird. I was not only the youngest coach there by some decades, I was more than a decade younger than some of my players,” he said. “I was lucky that my players quickly bought into what I was saying and more than that, they found meaning in everything I was doing as a coach and as a mentor to experience Israel.” Making the adjustment from regular soccer, Tyler coached the futsal squad to a 6th place finish out of 20 teams.
Tyler believes that his previous experience as both a player and a coach at the Maccabiah will better prepare him for this winter’s Pan American Maccabi Games in Argentina. While this time around he will be an assistant on the coaching staff, Tyler will still play an important role in getting the team ready to face the competition. He believes the relationships he has built with the current roster from the previous games will only strengthen their chances at winning gold.
“Playing together and playing hard” will be crucial, he added.
This will be his first Pan American Maccabi Games and his first time in Argentina. Tyler is excited to be with the team again and eager to get out on the field to coach his squad to victory.
“As the last team sport not to win a medal for Maccabi USA, it’s time for us to make that right after many close calls. Coming home with that gold would be a dream come true.”
Sean Irby is from Leonia, New Jersey. He is a senior at Temple University. Connect with him on Twitter @Sean_Irby1, Instagram @Seanirby1 and follow him at www.maccabiusa.com.