James Burns has built an established pipeline to higher levels of soccer as head coach of the Manteca FC Rebels Red U19 boys team.

He’s in the process of laying the foundation for the Turlock-based Academica SC pre-professional women’s squad.

The latest project is a complete rebuild at his alma mater.

A four-year player for the Manteca High boys soccer team, the 1998 grad has taken over the program as its fourth head coach in six years. Burns, who teaches multimedia and journalism at the school, wants to bring stability, inject passion, change culture and perception.

He’s also working to get new equipment to supplement training and jerseys through fund raising.

Eric Gonzalez, another MHS alumnus, is coaching the JV team, and Hayden Beier serves as varsity assistant.

 “Just looking for a fresh start,” Burns said. “The program has struggled in recent years, so it’s time to hit the reset button. We’ve tried to change everything about this program. We had spring workouts and now summer workouts — our season is broken up into three parts.

“We’re trying to change the culture little by little, so that the kids are invested into the program and excited about it. We’ve talked about protecting boys soccer on campus, even though it’s one of the campus’ most underperforming programs. I told them it’s on us to be shepherds for the program and to be sure we’re protecting it at all times through our performances, play and participation. Let’s change the narrative in the hallway and change perception of boys soccer.”

Manteca has not had a winning season since finishing 11-9-3 in 2016-17 under Justin Coenenberg, who has since remained coach for the Buffs’ highly-successful girls team. The boys have not won more than four games in the last six years, going 3-14 this past winter while placing last in the Valley Oak League at 1-9.

The Buffaloes have not qualified for the postseason since the fall 2013 season, and their last championship was earned in 2012.

To help encourage the change in culture, Burns has reached out to Coenenberg. The boys and girls train together and are putting on a youth camp next week.

Burns is reviving the Buff Cup boys tournament (Dec. 14-15) that Coenenberg started for both programs. Only the girls tournament has been run in recent years.

“The girls program has been so successful, so for the boys program, I’m trying to expose them to what a healthy program looks like,” Burns said. “I want to show them they’re capable of it if they have the same kind of buy-in, discipline and structure, and to his credit, Justin welcomed us with open arms.

“He wants to see it be successful — he’s the last link to better days with the (boys) program. He definitely wants me to be successful as a coach and has helped me with the paperwork end of things. I’ve only had to worry about training sessions and coaching the team at Sierra, and Manuel (Pires) is so good at being the manager. Justin has been a huge resource for me.”

Burns previously served as an assistant under Pires’ girls team at Sierra, another program that is no stranger to winning. He was part of the staff for the Timberwolves’ Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship in 2019.

Several of Sierra’s former standouts play for Burns’ Academica SC side. Academica is in its inaugural season in the USL W.

Managing such a busy schedule can be a challenge for Burns, who also offers individual and small-group training for high-level youth players through his FirstTouch Futbol business.

“It has taken some creative scheduling and patience at home from my family,” Burns said, adding that he has had to conduct a few practices for Academica and MFC Rebels Red simultaneously.

“Each one is certainly a unique opportunity, and my wife (Jill) and kids (Karlie and Jimmy) have supported me taking these challenges. I definitely couldn’t have done it without their support, but it has been exhausting, at times.”

Burns added he will lead the Rebels Red for one more year.

As for his MHS squad, Burns is encouraged with the consistent participation in offseason workouts, noting that 30-35 have turned out for every session since the spring.

“That’s exciting to see, coming off a year where they had to forfeit a game because they did not have enough players,” Burns said. “Participation had been real low, so to have that many kids each and every day feels like things are trending in the right direction.”

Seniors outside back Matthew Kong and forward Yhair Martinez return to provide leadership and varsity experience. Club veteran Alex Mejia returns after taking his junior season off from the high school team, joining Kong on the back line. Sophomore Mateo Esparza and defender Omar Ramirez are expected to be important contributors coming up from the competitive JV team that went 7-6-2.

“The hope for the boys soccer program this year is just to be disruptive,” Burns said. “We want to be a thorn on the side of every team in the VOL. We want to give them a tough 80 minutes every night out. With the right preparation, we can be certain to win more games than we did last year.”

Having a been a Buffalo who has walked in their boots, being in this position holds extra meaning for Burns.

“There’s certainly some pride having been in their position,” Burns said. “As we go through these paces, especially in the summer, I can remember showing up for summer workouts as a freshman, and then coming back as a sophomore and junior with more confidence and more driven. I can relate to the excitement these boys have as they show up.

“This is a fresh start. I don’t want it to be about me coming back to lead the program, I want these boys to leave their mark on the season. And for the ones who have the opportunity to come back for another year or two or three, how can they create their own legacy and rewrite the narrative around the program.”

The Manteca Youth Soccer Camp is on June 26-28 from 9-10:30 a.m. and open to boys and girls ages 5-14. Cost is $75.

The boys team has its own fundraiser dubbed Sign of Support. There are varying sponsorship levels for businesses that wish to have their names displayed on vinyl banners for match days.

For more information about the camp and Sign of Support, contact Burns at 209.679.4831, or email jburns@musd.net.