When Jacksonville Youth Soccer Club merged with fellow Florida club, First Coast Soccer, to form a U18 team, who would’ve thought that it would turn out to be as beneficial for the coaches as it was is for the players?   

In bringing together the teams, coaches are getting the chance to work with talent that they wouldn’t have otherwise. Talent, like polished central midfielder Anthony Kattreh.

“Having the chance to coach a player of Anthony’s caliber … this is new for me,” admitted coach Jason Lee. “I haven’t had the chance to see him all that much but he has really left an impression.”

Because of an ankle injury that sidelined Kattreh for more than a month, and the high school season break, Lee hasn’t enjoyed the normal reps a coach prefers with their star player.

But he has seen enough to be effusive in his praise of Kattreh and what he brings to the team.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time and he’s one of the best I’ve seen,” Lee said. “We’re going to go as far as he wants to take us. And with his work ethic you can see he knows what it takes to stay at a high level and be a top player.”

Kattreh, who will attend College of Charleston next year, has a good chance to lead the First Coast KYX team a long way. His best attribute may be his vision: the vision to reward his teammates on runs, or take space in the middle of the field. Kattreh’s ability to see the whole field makes him the ideal decision-maker or play-maker, and it’s well within his skill set to take defenders on 1v1.

So where does Kattreh fall in the ranks of other top Florida boys players?

Well, U.S. National team players Stefan Jerome and Zachary Herold have to come up pretty early in the discussion. A couple of special goalkeepers represent two of the best in the region: Eric Reyes (IMG Soccer Academy) and Michael Attal (Clearwater Chargers SC).

But not many players in Florida should be put in front of Kattreh. Just ask his new coach, and fan.