I first met Sean Sullivan as a 6-year-old student in his first-grade classroom at Oxford Elementary. As a teacher he was a role model for all of us, a sort of father figure for us all to look up to. Along with the standard curriculum, Mr. Sullivan taught us what it meant to be accountable and respectful, and how to carry ourselves in this world as young men and women. He held all of us to a high moral standard.

I was introduced to soccer in that same first-grade class and continued to play through high school and college — still up to this day. On the field I have been mentored by Coach Sullivan for most of those 12 years as he is an integral part of the soccer community in Cleveland Heights.

Coach Sullivan has always held the same expectations for me, and all his players, throughout that time — accountability and respect. Respect for the game, respect for your opponent, and most importantly, respect for myself. Any soccer clinic can teach a child to play the game, but only Sean Sullivan can nurture a child to grow within.

Matt Pinna

After watching and cheering on her older brother pretty much her whole life, our daughter Abigail could not wait for her own opportunity to play soccer. Finding the right environment for a toddler playing sports can be difficult. We wanted to find something structured, yet still fun. The Tiger Cubs program has provided that, with an even mixture of games, skill development, and athletic drills. There are several benefits we noticed immediately. The use of the turf field at Denison means no muddy cleats or uniforms. The trainers are all very encouraging and great with the kids. And the parents can be as active and involved (or not) as they want to be in all of the drills and exercises. We highly recommend Coach Sullivan and his Tiger Cubs program. It has been a great fit for our Abigail.

Daniel and Nicole Powell

Our son Matthew has been attending Heights United Soccer Academy’s camp for the past three summers. When he first started, he was set to enter travel soccer in the fall and we were concerned that the level of play would overwhelm him. But HUSA definitely helped Matthew prepare for the challenging transition from the rec leagues to the travel divisions.  After just one summer with HUSA, the massive improvement in his foot skills and understanding of the game were evident to both us and his coaches. He quickly ascended to become a very integral part of his travel team, competing against some of the best soccer players in the Greater Cleveland area. While Matthew continued his development during each fall and spring season while he was a U8 and U9 travel player, at no time did his skills improve more than over the summertime when he attended HUSA.

After his third summer at camp, Matthew set a personal goal for himself to play on a premier level team, the top level of play for youth soccer. In no small part due to the training and encouragement he received directly from Sean and the other HUSA counselors, Matthew accomplished his goal and was recently invited to join a premier team starting in the fall. We, of course, have entrusted Sean and his crew with Matthew again this summer to help prepare him for that challenge.

For anyone looking to help develop their child’s soccer skills in a structured, fun and challenging, yet caring environment, we highly recommend the Heights United Soccer Academy and Sean Sullivan.

As the former Cleveland Heights High Boys’ Varsity Coach, I strongly recommend Coach Sullivan’s Heights United Summer Camp. All over the world kids play soccer in parks, vacant lots and streets. The soccer played in the streets of Rio and the alleys of Algiers looks alike; kids playing with unbounded joy and creative flair. That atmosphere produced the great Zidane and the great Christiano Ronaldo, among countless others. That is the atmosphere Coach Sullivan creates at his camp. Players learn to play with creativity and flair. They develop a life long passion for the beautiful game.Just last year I began to coach a local U9 boys team. Over last summer I encouraged the players to attend Coach Sullivan’s camp. To say that team is successful is a huge understatement. They are the champions of the Blast Cup in Columbus; the champions of the AC Milan Intercontinental Cup where they played and beat foreign teams; and the CASA FINALE champions where they beat the best Premier Teams in Ohio. At Coach Sullivan’s camp each player continued to develop the individual skill and creativity needed to succeed at the highest level.

Rarely am I given the opportunity to write a letter of recommendation for an individual for whom I have such regard. It is, therefore, with great pleasure and my enthusiastic support that I endorse Sean Sullivan as, both, an upstanding individual, Teacher, community leader and a highly talented soccer coach.

Having just sent my children, Robert and Cheyenne, to Sean’s Heights United Soccer Academy summer camp, I was thoroughly impressed with the individual skill and team development they were able to acquire in such a short period time. The repertoire of offensive and defensive tools they developed was quite amazing.

This is not my first experience with HUSA. I have sent my older twin sons, Raymond and Richard, to Sean’s camp and now continue the tradition with my younger son and daughter.

More important than the soccer training my children received is the sense of community Sean inspires. We participate in South Euclid-Lyndhurst Soccer travel program (SELSC). When we compete with Eastside Kicker teams it is wonderful to see the companionship that Sean has developed between the player’s that trained together in the summer and are competitors during the OASL and NOGSL seasons.

As a Cleveland Heights High School graduate and soccer alumnus (Class of 1981), I am grateful for the example Sean sets for our children — not just for the future of soccer in the Heights area, but for the leadership he displays in the community, the example he sets as an outstanding teacher at Oxford Elementary School and as a role model for many children at risk.

Past and progressive performance, I feel, is often an honest indicator of future potential. Therefore, without hesitation, Sean Sullivan receives my strong recommendation as a teacher, coach and outstanding individual.

Chip Hoppel
SELSC Board Member
U-11 OASL Select Coach

When I look back at all the coaches I have had over my career there are few that stand out as much as Sean Sullivan. Sean taught me at a young age the value of hard work, perseverance, dedication and the importance of believing in oneself.

Throughout my years at Cleveland Heights High School Sean pushed me to set my personal goals high and worked with our team to achieve a standard of excellence on and off the playing field.

As a freshman at Heights I faced some early stumbling blocks. Sean’s positive coaching approach and encouragement helped me to overcome some of these challenges. He helped motivate me and show that there were no obstacles too great to stand in the way of my dream. I finished my career at Heights with numerous personal and team accolades and went on to excel at the collegiate level.

As a member of the Cleveland Heights community Sean encouraged players to take an active role off the soccer field and serve others. Many players from our team, including myself, worked the summer soccer camp run by Sean through the community services program. In addition to the camp, Sean also coordinated an after school-mentoring program in which numerous players from our team were involved. His dedication, activism, and leadership within the community has left a lasting impact on many generations of Cleveland Heights youth.

I am now in my fifth year of professional soccer, and have lived a dream I only imagined as a youth playing for Eastside Kickers. After all these years I still hear Sean in my ear pushing me to dig deeper, work harder, and strive for excellence in all I do. I am very grateful to have had a coach and mentor like Sean who has always encouraged me to set my goals high and push myself to achieve my dreams.

Bayard Elfvin
U.S. Men’s National Beach Soccer Team Goalkeeper
Chicago Storm Goalkeeper
Cleveland Force, Portland Timbers, N.J. Ironmen, St. Louis Steamers

First of all I believe it was you bringing soccer to Oxford that sparked the interest of my brothers and then myself. You always showed a great deal of confidence in me as a developing player demanding possibly more out of me than I thought was capable at the time. The way you pushed us as athletes in our pre-season workouts and through out the season did indeed impact me as a player. Those workouts helped me see what I was capable of and then hold myself to that high level of intensity as I went to train to play in college and now as I train to play hopefully professionally. I had a great time playing under you and always enjoy coming back to the Heights tradition to see the younger guys and all the guys that I played with through out high school. It is definitely a unique experience as a soccer player and high school athlete to have played at Heights. My fellow team mates here in college don’t seem to have had the same dynamic as we share stories from high school with each other. So thanks for pushing to me to my limits and showing me that sometimes its more about how much heart you have and not always dependent on your technical ability. Playing with desire and the will to win can go a long way which we all saw in our time playing. That is all an honest assessment of your impact on my as a player.

Nate Yates

I met Sean Sullivan when I was a small, underweight freshman in high school. Although I was clearly too small to play, Sean recognized my talent and encouraged me to practice hard and work at playing a role on the team. Sean understood that Heights High did not have the soccer turnout numbers as the majority of schools we faced, but this did not discourage him in believing in our team. To make up for our lack of numbers we worked extremely hard and put heavy emphasis on conditioning. Although no one enjoyed the difficult training, we knew this would pay off in the long run, which it did. During my junior year at Heights we made it very far in the tournament, with a huge upset over Brush. Sean focuses on team unity and it certainly pays off. The entire team not only jelled on the field, but we were all friends off the field.

I also had the privilege to work for Sean during the summer of ’04. I was in charge of a group of young boys and girls at his soccer and recreation camp.  This was a good experience for me as I learned to how to keep children entertained for long days, and adjust to the problems that young children face everyday. The camp was run smoothly and was in large part due to Sean’s organization. After graduating from Heights I enrolled at the College of Wooster, where I was very successful on the men’s soccer team. I started every game of my college career except for the first few of my freshman year. My conditioning was not as nearly as good as it was in high school, but I did recognize how important conditioning is the higher up you go in competitive soccer. I would like to thank Sean for all of his support and coaching that he has provided for me throughout my years of playing soccer.

Nick Waychoff

Sean Sullivan has had an enormous impact on my life in a myriad of ways. I have known Sean for about 14 years, dating back to my first year at one of his soccer camps at the age of 5. There are three main areas of my relationship with Sean: a coach, a boss, and a mentor.

As a player under Sean, I learned many foundations for soccer that translate to other aspects of my life. While playing for Cleveland Heights men’s soccer team, Sean instilled tactical, leadership, and commitment skills. He has an excellent knowledge of Soccer training techniques and strategies. His experience of coaching at various levels of competition for over a decade was extremely evident while playing for him.

While working for Sean as a CIT, counselor, and head counselor at his soccer camps I became drastically more responsible having to look after children of all ages. It was at Heights United Soccer Academy where I really understood what it takes to run such successful summer camps. It is Sean Sullivan’s insight and profound knowledge of teaching the sport of soccer combined with professionalism that makes the soccer camps so consistent on an annual basis. I admire how Sean has created a camp that is a house-hold name for CH-UH soccer players.

The last aspect of my relationship to Sean Sullivan is as a mentor to me. Sean has taught me a lot about coaching and life that has already helped me as a student, athlete, and beginning coach. The thing about Sean that I hold dearest to my heart is his love for the community. He has always made it clear how it is essential to give back to the community in order to make it stronger. His passion for teaching the sport of soccer is quite admirable.

Julian Gatta
Cleveland Heights High School Graduate with Honors 2007
Captain of the Heights High soccer team 2006
Employee of Sean for 4 summers
HUSA camper for 8 years

I cannot say enough words to describe whom I find to be one of Cleveland Heights’ best teachers. I have known Mr. Sean Sullivan for four years. In that time I have found him to be a hard worker, always striving for perfection. He is a team player, who always wants to share anything that would enhance the character of others. He has also been an excellent role model for my daughter and I. This makes me proud to say that not only is he the teacher of my child, but he is also a friend.

Through different academic activities and sporting venues I have seen Sean rise to the occasion and deliver in an exceptional fashion. He has been the entertainment coordinator for our father/daughter dance since its beginning, and has always done such a superb job. It is considered the biggest event of the year.

Mr. Sullivan’s dedication to his students goes beyond the classroom. Sean has dedicated a huge portion of his time to the character building and mentoring program called Young Gentlemen of Oxford. This club deals specifically with the young men. It has been a great asset to our youth, helping them to grow into successful adults. He also is the founder of Heights United Soccer Academy. The academy has been a part of our community for many years. It has birthed many athletes who have gotten scholarships for school, some of whom has gone on the play professional soccer. Somehow, Sean also finds time to be the track coach and the coordinator for the school’s Student Council.

Sean has been a pinnacle of Oxford Elementary for many years. He has always been an effective teacher, a great leader and a role model to the students and parents he has come in contact with. I am very proud to have my child be a student of his. I enjoy and appreciate the time he takes with her and the passion we share about her success. I am reminded of a quote I once heard: “What we do in life, echoes through eternity.” I’ll always remember the positive impact Sean has had on my child and me.

Sheldon Glave
Parent