Ben Pearson wanted to play professional soccer. It didn’t matter where, how long it would take to get there nor what he would have to do to make the opportunity worthwhile. He just wanted to fulfill a lifelong dream.
He did so in 2010, signing on with Empoli F.C. in the Italian professional league, near Florence, where he played for three seasons. In June, Pearson fulfilled another soccer dream — this time of the coaching variety — when he became the new head boys soccer coach at Lebanon High School.
Pearson, a Norwich native who played two seasons — as a freshman and sophomore — at Hanover High, has been a coach with the region’s Lightning Soccer Club since moving back to the area in 2015. Since joining the Raiders, friends have teased Pearson about crossing the picket lines of what used to be one of the region’s fiercest rivalries, Hanover versus Lebanon, before Hanover moved to NHIAA Division I from D-II several years ago. He now resides in Hartford and recently started working as a phlebotomist at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital in Lebanon.
But Pearson, who aspires to be a collegiate soccer coach one day, said the Lebanon job offered a chance to move up the coaching ranks while staying connected to soccer in the region. It also gave him an opportunity to learn how to build a program, balancing varsity success with a stable pipeline of young athletes. The opening was too good to pass up.
“It’s definitely going to be challenge, coaching at the varsity level again,” Pearson said on Monday. “The atmosphere, it’s a whole new program. With Lightning, you try out and there are only a select group of guys you get to choose from. I’m actually looking forward to Lebanon. You get more competition and you really get to pick and choose who you want on the team.”
The job became vacant in the spring after Rob Johnstone, a teacher at Windsor High, stepped down after 25 years. Johnstone led the Raiders to a 280-135-38 record over that span, making four NHIAA championship appearances without a victory. Lebanon, which has not won a state title since 1991, went 12-5-1 last fall and graduated 11 from its roster in the offseason.
“There are a lot of expectations coming from a coach that’s been there for 20-plus years,” Pearson said. “A lot of big shoes to be filled. … Lebanon’s always been a winning program. They’re always a contender.”
It helps, Pearson said, having a connection to soccer in the area.
He grew up in Norwich and came up through the Dresden School District, finding soccer at an early age. He played with Lightning SC for six years, perfecting his game before high school. After two seasons with the Marauders, Pearson transferred to Lawrence High in Fairfield, Maine, for his junior and senior seasons, leading the Bulldogs in scoring with 68 goals. He joined Empoli F.C. after high school, becoming the only American to make the squad.
“Patience is a virtue,” Pearson said of his time overseas. “Coming from the American style, which is very rugged and fast-paced, to Italy, a completely different atmosphere and play style. … I try to use the patience from Italy and bring it to the American style. You can spread the field out a little bit more, angling yourself in positions.”
He returned to the United States in 2013, joining the Lawrence High coaching staff as junior varsity coach and assistant head coach for two years. The position at Lebanon is his first as a varsity head coach, and Pearson admitted the biggest challenge may be away from the field.
“I’m really looking forward to, in my off time, going and checking out the middle schoolers,” Pearson said. “Our main objective is to build a program so that incoming sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders all know what type of level they need to be at. It’s all very scripted from middle school to high school — same formation, just different levels of play.”
So far, he’s liked what he’s seen.
“I’ve been helping out with the summer program now; I’ve jumped in and coached a couple of games now,” he said. “Even the incoming freshmen are phenomenal athletes. It’s promising for the program. That’s what I hope to build, continuing to build on what Rob’s done. Hopefully we can add a state championship in there, as well.”
Mascoma Coach Departs: Ryan Limero, the Mascoma High boys soccer coach, has accepted a position as an assistant coach with the Colby-Sawyer College men’s soccer team. He leaves the Royals after three seasons.
“It was one of the hardest decisions I had to make,” Limero said on Tuesday. “I loved working with the kids, and they’ve progressed so much. The ways we improved, I think we were starting to build the culture there. With the youth coming up, it was tough not to come back and see what they could do.”
Limero, who played collegiate soccer at Elmira (N.Y.) College, joined the Royals in 2015, leading the team to a 23-25-2 record, 20-12-2 over the last two seasons. He joined the Chargers in June.
“I think I’m looking to learn and grow; I’m pretty young and green in my coaching career,” Limero said. “Pick up new techniques, new tactics. The ultimate goal is to be a head coach at the collegiate level. I think this is a good opportunity for me.”
Limero, who lives in New London, said he will be responsible for “a little bit of everything” at Colby-Sawyer, including recruiting and everyday practices and pregame preparation.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.
Correction
Hanover High’s boys soccer program competes in Division I of the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association. The team’s divisional assignment was incorrectly reported in an earlier version of this story.