Meet Jessica Perkin
Real Colorado As. Director of Recreational - U4-U8 boys and girls
A native of New Jersey, Jessica played varsity soccer and basketball all four years in High School. Her high school soccer accolades include being named Parade Magazine National High School Defender of the Year and All-American, Gatorade High School Defender of the Year, and two-time NSCAA High School All-American. She has extensive playing experience with the U.S. National Team Programs and for Santa Clara University at the NCAA Division I level.
Jess was a critical member of U.S. Youth National Teams since age 15 and a starting defender for the U.S. U-19 National Team when they won the first ever U-19 Women's World Cup in 2002. Jessica went out West in 2001 to attend Santa Clara University where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in English with a minor in Studio Art. She was a starter on SCU Women's Soccer team from 2001 to 2004. As a Freshman, Jessica contributed the assist that scored the winning goal to help SCU win their first ever NCAA Division I National Championship. Her college accolades include being a member of both the Soccer America All-Freshman All-American Team and the NCAA All-Tournament Team in 2001 and 2002, and the prestigious honor of the 2002 NCAA Tournament’s Defensive Most Valuable Player.
Jessica has an extensive coaching experience at all levels. After a career ending injury in her first game of her senior year at Santa Clara University, she fell into coaching. She coached at 3 different Division 1 schools, Rutgers University, University of Virginia, and University of Nevada Reno, before making a final decision to move to youth coaching full time, as well as enter the field of education. She holds an USSF "B" coaching license. She has coached club soccer on both the east and west coast, as well as NJ ODP, Region 1 ODP, and ran the Aptos High School Girls Varsity Soccer Program for 9 years where she was named Coach of the Year 4 times and broke school records by winning 5 consecutive SCCAL Championships. She has a teaching credential in Physical Education and a Master's Degree in Education. She also was invited to be an assistant coach with the U-14 U.S. National Team for an event in 2018.
Jessica and her husband Kenny have three children, Brayden, Tatum, and Kayleigh. She has always had a passion for development at the young ages and the importance of a coach's role in not only a player's soccer journey, but their life. She believes in giving back to her community and the importance of positive role models in youth sports. As a youth U.S. National Team member, she grew up traveling around the world at a young age and going to National team camps every few months and was fortunate to be surrounded by amazing female role models as her coaches and older National Team Players. These role models always made big efforts to give back and support the young players. She has always felt the importance of being a Female Role Model in her soccer journey as a player and then as a coach. Throughout Jess's coaching career, she has always focused time and energy on the youngest ages in club soccer by creating programs that develop youth players on and off the field and support their growth in soccer and life. She is excited to continue to apply her passion and experience as a recreational director and help continue to build a strong community for Real players to grow and develop within a supportive and collaborative environment.