Meet the Team

Coach PJ has been in love with playing sports his entire life. From the wrestling mat to the soccer field, his enthusiasm and ferocity set him apart as a true LION. When he finally had a cub of his own, he took back to the pitch to become a coach and teach his son the same values of sportsmanship and work ethic that he learned in his younger years. As a head soccer coach for over a decade, PJ became a family favorite here in Williamsburg. Now, he’s taking his fun-loving style to a pitch near you!

Fun fact: Won Fear Factor at Universal Studios — on his honeymoon. Also a master juggler and exceptionally skilled at finding four-leaf clovers.

Coming from a background in behavioral health administration, Chris never thought he’d fall in love with coaching — much less turn it into a career. Since 2023, Chris has been in charge of the business development of Little Lions Club, putting practices, policies, and procedures in place in order to make our dream a reality. As PJ likes to put it, every business needs a guy with glasses!

Fun fact: Chris was one of the best Guitar Hero players in high school AND types over 83 words per minute.

Coming from a background in business development, teaching, and being a mom of three, Francine’s extended experience is a great match for the Little Lion’s Club. She’s the perfect marriage of EQ and IQ – as Executive Director of the Club, Francine knows how to make hard calls, and how to make them smart. Like a master ref perfectly handling a difficult offsides decision, Francine moves with skill and experience unlike any other!

Fun fact: Francine is a Jersey girl, grew up playing soccer, loves the beach, and is a certified cupcake design master.

Coach Jessica is a military spouse, the mother of 2 boys and 1 dog, and the owner of her own business. What a resume – and we’re not even counting all the great work she does for the Lions! With a background in early childhood education, health & fitness, and some party planning, Coach Jessica is the perfect fit for the coaching and customer relationship role. She’s our “tip of the spear” when it comes to working with our partner preschools and programs!

Fun fact: Jess raced dragon boats and played soccer in Japan and has visited almost 30 countries!

Coach Caitlin is a soccer mom turned coach! She really enjoys watching little minds grow and helping them in the process. Her love of arts and crafts blends seamlessly from the classroom to the pitch and makes her a fan favorite at all of our schools! 

Fun fact: Born in Misawa, Japan, and loves arts and crafts — especially painting.

A Williamsburg native, Coach Jake played soccer for Lafayette High School’s varsity team and went on to play at Longwood university. He later joined the Army where he served as a team leader for his platoon and learned how to guide others in organized fashion to accomplish various missions and tasks. As such, Jake brings a wealth of relevant experience to the club where he hopes to impart his knowledge onto the next generation of lions.

Fun fact: Jake jumped out of airplanes, camped in a −60° Alaska winter, and owns a 100-pound golden retriever named Ranger.

In her own words, Tifanni is a wife, mother, business owner, and lover of life! Her background is in business management, marketing, and coaching cheerleaders. She played soccer prior to her cheer career and has now circled back to coaching soccer for some fabulous and ferocious lions. Tiffani takes pride in making sure each kid she meets has the confidence to do what they set their mind to.

Fun fact: Tiff has run a published photography business for 16+ years — and plays Fortnite with her kids.

Coach Brittney is the first member of the Little Lions Club Hall of Fame! One of the first coaches to hit the fields with us and a great representative of the Little Lions Club way. We are proud to have been a part of her journey and we can’t wait to see what she accomplishes!

Fun fact: Coach Brittney invented Bubble Busters!!

Coach Alyson is the second member of the Little Lions Club Hall of Fame! Coach Alyson displayed all of the tenets of success for a coach in the Little Lions Club and became a great example for others to follow. She succeeded in multiple markets and brought the Little Lions Club to Virginia Tech!

Fun fact: Coach Alyson invented Cannonball Run!!

Coach Clara came to us as a Coach and eventually conducted our very first Research Study alongside Ema Stankova!  ‘Evaluating the Impact of the Little Lions Club on Young Children’s Emotional and Social Development‘ by Ema Stankova.

Their collaborative effort resulted in a peer-reviewed, and published article in the W&M Department of Psychological Sciences. Check it out here:

Fun fact: Born and raised in Oregon, she’s a big fan of rainy days. She lived in Brazil for a year and a half, and now she’s fluent in Portuguese. Clara is a crafting queen—crocheting, embroidery, painting, you name it! When she’s not coaching or crafting, you’ll find her dominating at board games.

Coach Ema came to us as an intern for the College of W&M and along with Coach Clara Pond conducted our very first Research Study!  ‘Evaluating the Impact of the Little Lions Club on Young Children’s Emotional and Social Development‘ by Ema Stankova.

Their collaborative effort resulted in a peer-reviewed, and published article in the W&M Department of Psychological Sciences. Check it out here:

Fun fact: 1. She used to travel all over Europe for badminton tournaments 2. She’s bilingual and loves learning about different cultures