Captains for 2020: Jack Pedreschi '21 and Nathan Zhang '21
The Groton soccer program prides itself on the quality of the team’s experience, and that quality lies in success, resilience, and camaraderie.
A David-sized school facing many Goliaths, Groton relies on character and determination to make up the difference. Each year, players move up from JV, but particularly talented freshman consistently round out the roster, often playing significant roles on the team.
The field is an extension of the classroom, where players learn a great deal about themselves while placing the collective above individual goals. Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do,” and at Groton our aim is to realize our best daily while committing to much more than ourselves.
Joe Martinez joined Groton School in 2020 after teaching and coaching at Avon Old Farms for seven years. In his time at Avon, the soccer program won the Hay-Sanderson Cup (awarded to the top team in Western New England), qualified for the New England tournament twice, and produced many players who went on to play collegiate and professional soccer. Joe graduated from Amherst College in 2008 with a double major in economics and English and was also a four-year member of the soccer program. After graduating, he worked in finance until 2012, when he received a Project Coach Fellowship to pursue a Master of Arts in teaching at Smith College. Concurrently, he worked for a nonprofit organization, founded by two Smith professors, that designed and ran soccer camps and literacy programs in Springfield, MA.
Joe lives on campus with his wife, Anna, and their daughters Audrey and Harper. He teaches English, coaches soccer and basketball, and runs an Upper School dorm.