Now the holder of a B License from the United States Soccer Federation, Nanchoff is proud to work with Tampa Bay United Rowdies SC.

“I’ve always known I wanted to jump into coaching,” he said. “At what point, I had no idea. I knew as soon as I started earning my coaching badges a couple of years ago that I wanted to coach at the highest possible youth level. Given that the Rowdies have an affiliate in the Tampa Bay United Rowdies Development Academy, I saw this is a great opportunity to jump into the coaching scene.”

His short time with TBU Rowdies has already been a valuable learning experience for Nanchoff. He’s learning to look at the game a different way, which benefits not only the players he coaches, but also himself as a player.

“It’s two different worlds,” he said. “Coaching is extremely tough. I’m sure any coach would tell that from their experience, there’s a whole other set of factors that come into play that you don’t think about when you’re inside the white lines as a player. It’s important to make sure, at the age I work with, that you’re keeping it fun while teaching them the right things at the right time.”

When Nanchoff arrives at TBU Rowdies for training four or five times a week, he says he can sometimes see the kids’ eyes light up. Maybe they feel a little extra pressure to perform in front of an actual professional Rowdies player.

The pressure cuts both ways though. When Nanchoff’s players are in the stands at Al Lang Stadium to watch him play, he says he feels a little extra pressure to perform. After scoring against the Philadelphia Union in a preseason match on February 24, he received a warm welcome and some congratulations from his young mentees.

It would be easy for Nanchoff to put off coaching until later in his playing career and spend his free time relaxing, but when he thinks back to his time as a youth soccer player, he feels an obligation to help the future generations. He wants to make sure they have a good learning environment and are being taught to play the right way.

“For me, this is an added challenge,” he said. “I love doing this. It makes me feel young over and over and over again even though there are some headaches that go along with it. I remember that I was once in those players’ shoes and now is my time to give back. The sky is the limit for these kids and it’s super important for us as players to give back to these kids and teach them how to play the right way.”