Waltham resident Gilbert Navarro chasing soccer coaching dreams

Role models who prove that goals can be accomplished are integral to a community, and Waltham native Gilbert Navarro is a shining example. The Waltham High School Class of 2018 graduate is making his objective of becoming a soccer coach a reality.

“We didn’t grow up with much,” Navarro said. “We grew up in a pretty tough environment. That breeds a mentality that you have to be a certain type of person and work a certain type of job to survive. For the kids that are out there in the city, I want them to believe that whether it is as a player, as a coach, or in any creative industry that speaks to you the most, you can do it.”

Navarro is climbing up the rungs of the coaching ladder. In addition to his role with Valeo Futbol Club, an MLS Next training organization based in Newton, he is now an assistant coach with the Western Mass Pioneers in Ludlow. The Pioneers play in USL League Two and had two players selected in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. The team is off to a hot start this season, having knocked off Boston City FC, 9-0, in its opening game.

Navarro said that when he was younger, he “went through a lot of difficult times. You begin to feel like you can’t do it and you should do what your community expects of you. But there is definitely a way out and a place in the world for everyone.”

Navarro began his journey when he was still at WHS. He reached out to a now-defunct organization named Global Premier Soccer and got his start holding down a summer job when he was 17 years old. Navarro worked at various camps and New England Revolution community programs before obtaining his official coaching license from U.S. Soccer.

“From there, I just knew,” Navarro said. “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

Navarro spent a few years living in New York City after high school, but the draws of Waltham beckoned him to return. Upon coming back to the city, Navarro began working with Waltham Partnership for Youth, the same nonprofit that he was a part of as a child. He then parlayed that experience into a role with the Hawks boys soccer team where he coached for the 2022 and 2023 fall seasons.

“I have always been involved,” he said. “I love Waltham as a community and what we have to offer. It always calls me back. It is where my family and my friends are. New York was a little too fast-paced. The opportunity to coach for WHS was a big factor. Ever since then, I have stuck around.”

Now, Navarro is settled in. He had a daughter in December and currently lives on Trapelo Road.

“I am Waltham through and through,” Navarro said.