FORT LEE, Va. — The Fort Lee Soccer Team head coach, who grew up in an Arizona high-desert valley, has made a career out of taking the high road.
Sgt. 1st Class Alan Ibarralepe, a U.S. Army Quartermaster School training instructor for the Petroleum Water and Energy Department, Fort Lee, took on the coaching responsibility because it was the right thing to do.
“I was kind of pushed toward it,” Ibarralepe said. “The guy who had the team before was on his way out, so he looked to me because he knew my background and asked me to take over.”
Ibarralepe, who played high school soccer and grew up in a household wherein the sport was prevalent, has three Armed Forces Competition gold medals and has twice represented the U.S. Armed Forces Team.
He also attended a professional tryout himself in California, where he stayed his junior year of high school before moving back to Arizona.
He reluctantly took the coaching opportunity both because he recognized the team’s need and his own need to broaden himself developmentally as a first-time coach, he said.
Similarly, Ibarralepe, from Prescott Valley, a town nestled at 5,100 feet between the Bradshaw Mountains and Black Hills, joined the military 12 years ago because he saw it as the right thing to do both for himself and his family.
Though he had been offered soccer scholarships, he couldn’t accept them due to his legal status, and so he joined the U.S. Army as an expedited pathway to citizenship.
“I had a friend who had joined, and I saw how his life changed financially,” Ibarralepe said. “It was kind of a way out but also a way to provide for my family.”
He discovered a new place of belonging in the Army and a rewarding career as a petroleum supply specialist that he still enjoys, which is why he continues to serve, he said.
Luckily as well for Ibarralepe, he quickly fell into a soccer community again at his first duty station in Fort Irwin, California.
The Fort Irwin head coach, Joshua Blodgett, had himself been a longtime All-Army Soccer veteran and recommended Ibarralepe for All-Army.
“That installation is super small, but we had a very connected team and won major tournaments like Defender’s Cup two years,” Ibarralepe said. “We had a very strong team, and a few other people ended up going to All-Army camp.”
Playing on post teams at big tournaments is where a lot of Soldiers can get exposure to coaches and earn a reputation.
The process to submit an application packet includes commander approval, garrison sports director endorsement, and a soccer resume along with references.
Ibarralepe has played with the All-Army Soccer Team since 2015, but Army obligations and optempo don’t always allow a Soldier to attend camp.
His sixth and most recent All-Army camp this year was his first since 2022.
He was the most veteran player in terms of camp appearances and, at 34, nearly the oldest.
Ibarralepe said he wanted to prove he could keep up with his mostly 20-something teammates, who referred to him at times as the OG, the old man and the veteran.
His birthday came during camp, and his roommate overheard him talking about it over the phone with his kids.
So, his teammates gave him a bucket of ice water celebration after practice followed that night by a birthday dinner.
Ibarralepe likened the camaraderie at an All-Army camp to a brotherhood.
“You have Soldiers from privates all the way up to lieutenant colonel, senior warrant officers, all ranges of ranks, but at the end it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “We’re all there for the same goal, same purpose. We keep it very professional, but it gives everybody an opportunity to get to know each other personally. A lot of networking can be done, a lot of information exchanged.”
This year he took on a mentoring role with the younger Soldiers on the team, Ibarralepe said.
“Some of the players kind of look to me, so it made me stay the most disciplined, stay on my toes because they’re watching me,” he said. “I have to be like a role model, everything from nutrition to sleep for recovery. All that will come out in performance.”
Sgt. Aaron Camino, a U.S. Army Ordnance School instructor for the Basic Wheel Division, Fort Lee, who plays for Fort Lee Soccer, handles logistics and assistant coaching, said that Ibarralepe is quiet until you know him well.
“On the soccer field he leads by play,” said Camino, who has also been selected for All-Army Soccer before. “He’s just going to show you; he’s going to perform. He’s very calm and just executes, never stops working. He works hard.”
This exemplary practice of discipline works to motivate others both on and off the field, Ibarralepe said.
“Here at work, Soldiers are watching us, so whatever I do, they think that it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “So, it makes me have to just be a leader, leading by example. Throughout my military career, that’s how I’ve always maintained my focus. When people look at me, I want to be a good example.”
There are three other sets of eyes watching Ibarralepe, ages 12, 10 and eight in the form of his kids, two boys and one girl, respectively.
They are carrying on the family tradition of watching, playing and enjoying soccer. He coaches them individually and also brings them to Fort Lee practice
“Soccer is a passion,” Ibarralepe said. “Now that I’m older, and I have kids, they’re getting into the competitive side of soccer. They’ve been my motivation to keep playing. I want them to see me still out there performing.”
Ibarralepe balances the roles of being a Dad and being a coach.
“I don’t want to be too hard on them, though I want them to be the best they can be,” he said. “So, whenever I make the correction, I don’t want to come off too strong. I got to keep that balance of both playful and serious.”
Camino said that Ibarralepe holds his kids accountable at practice the same way he holds the other Fort Lee players accountable.
His goal is to train them, so they can play at a higher level than he has.
It’s a high-elevation ambition, as Ibarralepe has competed at the highest level the U.S. military offers.
He attended two International Military Sports Council (CISM) camps and played against professionals at the 2015 CISM Military World Games in Mungyeong, South Korea and the 2019 CISM in Wuhan, China.
“It’s just a cool feeling, seeing USA and then my name right under it,” Ibarralepe said. “It’s like the military Olympics, so getting to meet all the other people from all the other countries was amazing.”
His advice to players who might want to try out for All-Army Soccer is to stay competitive.
“It’s easy to get complacent, but obviously fitness is a big factor,” he said. “If you’re not consistently training by the time you get to camp, by day two or day three with three practices a day, you’re already struggling. We had a few people fall out within the first couple days just because they weren’t camp ready.”
One of his goals is to get Fort Lee to be a known, competitive team.
“[Ibarralepe] instills discipline by letting us hold each other accountable,” Camino said. “He’s like, ‘You sink or swim; either you get with the program or the program isn’t for you.’ We condition. We go through technical drills. He emphasizes the fundamentals of playing as a team.”
Soccer, like life for Ibarralepe, is about dedication and doing things the right way.
It’s an example many of his players look up to, as they aim to follow him to new heights.
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