Set Piece Coach

About the role

Real Salt Lake, Real Monarchs, and the RSL Academy are united by a shared mission of winning together through development. We are committed to building world-class teams by investing in people—developing players, staff, and leaders through collaboration, innovation, and a high-performance culture. If you’re passionate about soccer, coaching, and innovation, we invite you to grow your career with Utah Soccer.

The Set-Piece Coach leads the design, coaching, and analysis of all set pieces, attacking and defensive, for the first team, with alignment support to MLS NEXT Pro and the Academy (NWSL staffed separately). This role owns corner, free-kick, throw-in, and penalty strategy, ensuring clarity of roles, repetition in training, and measurable performance improvement. This position plays a critical role in maximizing marginal gains by integrating video, tracking data, and opposition analysis into weekly preparation, delivering clear, actionable plans for players, coaches, and goalkeepers across men’s and youth programs. The ideal candidate is a detail-driven on-field coach with deep tactical expertise in set-piece phases who translates analysis into simple, repeatable routines while collaborating closely with the Head Coach, assistant coaches, goalkeeper coach, and soccer analytics. Solid line to the Head Coach; dotted lines to the Sporting Director (strategy alignment) and the Director of Soccer Analytics (data and video inputs).

Responsibilities

• Lead the Real Salt Lake’s set-piece strategy, covering attacking and defensive corners, direct and indirect free kicks, throw-ins, and penalties.
• Design clear, repeatable routines with defined roles, timing, delivery zones, and second-ball structures tailored to available personnel.
• Analyze opposition set pieces weekly using Hudl Sportscode and Wyscout video, supplemented by event/tracking outputs (StatsBomb, Opta, SkillCorner, Second Spectrum) via club analytics, to produce actionable scouting reports and match plans.
• Plan and deliver set-piece training blocks within the weekly schedule, ensuring efficient repetition, clarity, and player ownership.
• Coach individual delivery (corners, free kicks, throw-ins) and aerial and positional skills in coordination with technical and goalkeeper staff.
• Track set-piece KPIs (e.g., chances created and conceded, conversion rates, expected goals for and against) and report progress to the Head Coach and sporting leadership.
• Translate complex analysis into clear, actionable briefings for players, coaches, and goalkeepers through video, walkthroughs, and concise documents.
• Own matchday set-piece responsibilities, including final checks, in-game adjustments, and post-match review, as directed by the Head Coach.
• Evaluate emerging trends, technologies, and research in set-piece performance, driving continuous innovation.
• Promote knowledge sharing across MLS, MLS NEXT Pro, and Academy environments to elevate set-piece standards throughout the organization.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• USSF B License or UEFA B License (or equivalent experience; licensing equivalency review available) required; USSF A or UEFA A preferred.
• Minimum of 3 years coaching in elite football environments, with demonstrated impact on set-piece performance.
• Proficiency with Hudl Sportscode and Wyscout for video analysis and comfort interpreting event/tracking outputs (StatsBomb, Opta, SkillCorner, Second Spectrum) provided via club analytics.
• Ext