ISSUE 011: From finance to football 💰⚽️

IN THIS ISSUE

• 🤝 Introduction: Career pivots are hard

• 🟢 Job Opportunity: Marketing Project Manager

• 👨‍🎓 Soccer Thought Leaders: A financial trader’s career pivot into soccer

• 👥 Mentorship Opportunity: 1-on-1 with Dean Costalas

• ⚽️ Soccer Jobs: New + interesting jobs

• ⭐️ Featured Jobs: Austin FC’s eight (!) open roles

• 🫵 Do This Now: Create a superb X profile

INTRODUCTION

Hello, Pathwayers!

When did you know you wanted to work in soccer? For some, that clarity comes while still in high school. For others, it might happen during college or just after graduation.

But, for many, it’s a realization that comes years into building a career in a completely different industry. And the process of making a massive career pivot into soccer can be very intimidating.

Leaving something familiar is hard. Building a network from scratch is hard. Finding an entry point is hard. Getting that first interview is hard. Landing a job? Even harder.

Today, we share a conversation with someone who made a career pivot at age 38 (!) after more than a decade working in financial trading. He’s now the Director of Soccer Analysis at Philadelphia Union.

Let his story be an encouragement to continue chasing down that dream job in soccer. It doesn’t come without sacrifice, but the long-term impact may be well worth the short term challenges.

Don’t give up.

-John Bello, Co-Founder & COO

SOCCER THOUGHT LEADERS: DEAN COSTALAS OF PHILADELPHIA UNION

“In those moments when you have free time, are you willing to make yourself better and improve your skill set?”

Dean Costalas of the Philadelphia Union didn’t initially embark on a career in soccer; instead, he spent 14 years working as a derivatives trader in futures and options markets - a title we had to google before interviewing him. Dean’s career pivot into the game was sparked by a friend’s invitation in 2009 to assist in coaching his son’s school team. From the moment he stepped back onto the pitch, he knew he had rediscovered his passion for the game.  

His transition into soccer came gradually, beginning as a part-time goalkeeper coach, and then as a full-time Executive Director at Palumbo SC in Philadelphia, where he crossed paths with Philadelphia Union Head Coach Jim Curtin. In 2017, Dean initiated a collaboration with Jim and the Union staff, initially working for free as a part-time analyst. Over the next year, his role evolved to overseeing opposition scouting and analytics and eventually expanded to managing the entire department.  

Dean’s pathway was full of unique decisions and didn’t happen overnight. However, it serves as a powerful reminder that even after establishing one career, there’s still an opportunity to create a new path when driven by strong passion, hard work, and the right amount of ambition.  

We hope you find inspiration in reading about his journey.

Questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity (and any emphasis below is ours).

PATHWAY: Before taking your first job in soccer, you spent 14 years working as a derivatives trader in futures and options markets. What factors influenced your decision to make a career pivot into soccer?

DEAN:  I got into the trading business in Chicago in 2001 and I was a floor trader for a while. And then when the financial crisis hit in 2008, a lot of that stuff in 2009 just totally dried up.  

A guy I traded next to said to me, “Hey, my son's a good player, and I'm going to be the head coach of his school team, but I don't know a ton about it. Can you help me?” and I was like, “yeah, this would be great because the markets are such a grind, I would love to do this and help you out.” As soon as I got back on the field, I was like, wow - I just totally rediscovered my passion for the game.

And so starting in 2010 I did some goalkeeper sessions and worked with that group up until 2013 when I moved back to Philadelphia. At that point, I had left the firm that I was trading with and was trading on my own and I was offered a position at Palumbo Soccer Club to coach a U-10 team. And then I coached a U-12 team and then the club's board approached me at the end of 2014 and said, “would you be interested in helping build our club?”

I came home, spoke about it with my wife because, obviously, it would be a massive career change, but she knew how much I liked it and we decided to try it for a few years to see how it went.

Then, fast forward to 2017, and now there's 700 kids in that club. We have a 400 person recreational program and it's in all the neighborhoods in South Philadelphia and it's something that I'm really proud of. When you find something that you're doing that's helping people in a community, that's what drove me along with my passion for the soccer part. 

PATHWAY: While working at Palumbo Soccer Club, you coached Jim Curtin’s kids and were able to get to know him. How did that connection eventually evolve into a working relationship?

DEAN: It's funny, after we had spoken a few times, we figured out because we grew up in the Philadelphia area, that we had mutual friends from playing soccer. I'd never met him before - he was helping coach his daughter's team and they had a session before us and he just said, “hey man, if you need anything, let me know.” And from there, we would talk whenever we ran into each other. 

Then, at the beginning of 2017, before the Union went to preseason, I reached out and said “I really love what I'm doing here at Palumbo, but I would just like to see it at a higher level.” And he said, “yeah, man, come down for a few days to preseason, talk to the coaches, come to training, and come watch a game.” So I did, and it was great. After the game, Jim asked me what I wanted to do and how far I wanted to take it. And I told him I'm the kind of person that really wants to excel and progress, I want to push myself. And he asked if I would be willing to watch their upcoming opponent before every game and put together an email with 10-15 bullet points on whatever strengths and weaknesses I saw. 

So, I took a couple of scouting courses to figure out how to structure a scouting report, and it grew from a one or two page email into this 10-12 page report. I didn't get paid that first year. And it's one of those decisions you have to make where you have this opportunity to work with such a talented group of people. And I was lucky enough to be in a position to do that so I took the opportunity.

PATHWAY: As you transitioned into your career in soccer, what habits or qualities did you lean on in your first few years?

DEAN: When I entered the soccer world full-time at 38, I approached my first few years in soccer in the same manner that I approached my first few years in trading at 24 - work hard, educate myself as much as possible in different areas of the professional game, and absorb as much information as possible from those who were thought leaders within my environment. I am very fortunate to have worked alongside such knowledgeable coaches and mentors like Jim Curtin, BJ Callaghan, Pat Noonan, and Oka Nikolov - this definitely sped up my learning and acclimation to the game at the professional level.

PATHWAY: How have things changed since you started as an analyst and where do they continue to evolve with the growth of MLS and the increased schedule congestion?

DEAN: To me it's always been about marrying specifically the soccer data and video analysis. I'm not a believer that things should be totally data-driven. I think data is one piece that can help, just like video is a piece, just like live scouting is a piece. I think the most important thing, and it took us a while at the Union to figure this out, is how you build an efficient, repeatable workflow that's consistent, and then deliver information to the coaching staff or to players in a digestible, concise manner to where they don't have to sift through the full 15-20 pages of a scouting report, and they can go to the specific information that they need. And always taking feedback, collaborating with the staff to say, “okay, what do you guys find here that's really useful?” Especially as the schedule becomes more congested, it's about becoming even more efficient. 

PATHWAY: If you were going to open a junior analyst role at the Union, what essential skill sets would you be looking for in the initial interview stages?

DEAN: In the initial interview stage, you'd want to see that there was a passion for the sport because everybody can put in 50 hours of work per week, but when it gets hard and when you get tired, it has to be something that you're really passionate about. One of the other things that I always focus on is that if you have the time, get on the field and coach, go coach at a local youth club. It doesn't have to be a high level, but understand what it’s like to run a training session. Understand that when you're coaching, it's not just about building the training session, but running it efficiently so that you keep the players’ attention. We're living and breathing with all of the analysis stuff every day, but the coaching staff has a lot of other stuff to deal with, especially at the professional level. 

When I was going through school, learning Microsoft Excel was the key thing. Now, it's learning Python and R, those coding languages. Staying as much at the forefront of efficient technology is also important.

There are resources all over. For me, everybody has time commitments, but in those moments when you have free time, are you willing to make yourself better and improve your skill set? I don't think you need money to do that - you just need the ingenuity and the will to figure it out and then to follow through.

PATHWAY: What's the thing you most enjoy about working in soccer?

DEAN: What drew me back into the game was the camaraderie. When you're managing money or trading, it's very much an ‘every man for himself’ type of thing. With soccer, what I really love is the camaraderie and having a group of people who all have a common goal.

The competition drives me as well. I love that part of it. And it's not the same as being on a field, and I think anyone will tell you that, but in the end, hopefully you can provide a nugget or two a week that can help with the tactical plan and team performance. 

And then from a personal level, I like the fact that I still can continue to learn. I'm at a level now where I like what I'm doing. I think it provides value. I get to manage a team of analysts and I'm still learning, but I also think that I have room to grow. My ultimate goal would be to be in a technical director or general manager role. And that's something that I've been working towards. I think about what could it be if I was a decision maker on a roster or building a team and an organization from the academy to the second team to the first team. And that's what drives me.

Ed. note: You can connect with Dean on LinkedIn.

PATHWAY MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITY: 1-ON-1 WITH DEAN COSTALAS

Dean has kindly offered to conduct two (2) 1-on-1 mentorship sessions next week. If you’re interested in speaking with Dean directly, click below to raise your hand for the opportunity. 🙋

• PATHWAY MENTORSHIP APPLICATION: Dean Costalas, Philadelphia Union [apply here!]

SOCCER JOBS: THE MOST INTERESTING NEW JOBS IN SOCCER

Because everyone loves new soccer job openings!

• Principal Data Scientist - MLS

• Director, Retail Development - NWSL

• Manager, Digital Strategy - The FA (UK)

• Coordinator, Social Media - FC Cincinatti

• Manager, Merchandise - Rhode Island FC

• Manager, Recruitment - FIFA World Cup 2026

• Director of Sport Performance - El Paso Locomotive

• Women’s Assistant Coach - University of Pennsylvania

Want more? Sign up for our weekly “Pathway Jobs Newsletter” where we aggregate and share 100+ soccer jobs all in one place - and drop it into your inbox every Friday.

DO THIS NOW: CREATE A SUPERB X [TWITTER!] PROFILE

When you are applying for jobs, you should know that hiring managers are looking at every single place you show up on the world wide web.

LinkedIn. Instagram. Facebook. X [Twitter!]. TikTok. Every single one of ‘em.

Because LinkedIn feels corporate, people tend to keep their profiles relatively profesh, but because X is more informal, we’ve found that individuals’ profiles are often… a bit messy.

Well, it’s time to clean it up, soccer friends. 🧹

Here are the 5 things you should do right now to ensure you have a killer Twitter profile (and that future employers will like what they see!):

1. Use a clear, easy-to-process photo of your face for your profile photo

   • Avoid group shots, your favorite team’s logo, memes, etc.

   • If you can afford it, we strongly recommend having professional headshots taken

   • For $200-$300, you’ll have a dozen strong images to use across your social channels

2. If you can secure it, use a @handle that incorporates your real name

   • At minimum, use your real name as your username

   • Handles/names that are anonymous or confusing create an unnecessary barrier for potential employers

3. Make sure your Twitter bio communicates who you are and what you’ve done

   • Include area of expertise

   • Include current + past employers

   • Make it easy to read (no all caps!)

   • Limit the number of clickable items (go easy on the hashtags)

   • A well-placed emoji or two can add personality

   • Use a character to create mini-sections (ex: - or • or | )

4. Always include a link to a website that allows potential employers to learn more about you/your work

   • Your LinkedIn profile

   • A personal website

   • Your creative portfolio/work (we love Gondola!)

5. It’s the least important, but your header image shouldn't be ignored. A few ideas:

   • Showcase work you’re proud of

   • Show something that you care about

   • Use a pattern/color that complements your profile photo

PATHWAY RESOURCE: Twitter profile examples [use these for inspiration!]

There are, of course, exceptions to everything above. You should take what works for you, leave behind what doesn't, and make the adjustments that best reflect your career, experience, personality, and interests.

Go get ‘em!

-Kyle Sheldon, Co-founder & CEO

WHEN YOU’RE READY, HERE ARE A FEW WAYS WE CAN HELP:

1. If this email was forwarded to you, you can sign up here to ensure you get every issue (sent on Wednesdays!) directly in your inbox.

2. You can subscribe to our Pathway Jobs Newsletter, which hits inboxes every Friday and lists as many new soccer jobs in North America as we can find (usually 80+ per issue!).

3. And, if you’re a club or brand looking to hire the most ambitious talent in soccer, drop us a line and we can tell you about our process, our growing talent pool, and the services we offer.

TELL A FRIEND?

⏩ Finally, if you’re willing to help spread the word, please forward this issue along to a friend or two who love the beautiful game. It’s the top way people find us and we’re grateful for the assist.

And if you really want to plug in to all things Pathway, you can also follow us on social media:

• X [Twitter!]

• Instagram

• LinkedIn

LAST WEEK’S ISSUE: JOANNA SORICELLI OF JS MANAGEMENT

In case you missed last week’s issue, you can find it here [reminder: It’s free!].

• We spoke to Joanna Soricelli about supporting MLS stars like DeAndre Yedlin, Sebastian Lletget, Paul Arriola, and several others, through her company JS Management

• We share an outline for how you can start writing ‘Unexpected Notes of Gratitude’ to build deeper relationships

• Job links shared included roles at Austin FC, Chicago Red Stars, Seattle Sounders FC, FIFA World Cup 2026, as well as roles at MLS and NWSL headquarters

January is halfway over. How did that happen? 🫣

See you next week, soccer friends.

• John Bello

• Kyle Sheldon

• Nolan Sheldon