Jon Aliaga
Episode 386
29 JUNE 2026
He created Bengals Soccer Camp — for boys — nine years ago, after having been hired at Bloomfield High School in New Jersey as head soccer coach for their girls program one year earlier. Three years ago, he created his own organization called Soccer Friends, which is a soccer team that focuses on quality development but also focuses on creating and maintaining good friendships. Back in his days as a student-athlete he had played soccer first at St. Benedict’s Prep and then at the Division 3 level for Drew University, later returning to serve as an assistant coach.
Notable guest quotes:
“One of the most important things my family really focused on with our faith – as busy as we were with soccer and baseball and martial arts and other things that we did – we always found time to go to Mass. There was 7am Mass on Sunday morning or the local parish at 6 p.m. on a Saturday. We went to our neighboring town that had a Polish Mass on Saturday afternoon to just make sure that we were attending Mass and fulfilling our duty. My parents always focused on our church and our faith and attending CCD and making sure we were receiving formation.”
“St. Benedict’s Prep … when I was there it was an all-boys school actually run by Benedictine monks in the late 1800s … but it was an amazing place. I loved it and it just drove home those Catholic virtues that we were taught as a young kid.”
“I dabbled with baseball; I played Little League. I did martial arts … I was, like, 14. I had a black belt in soo bahk do, which was a Korean defensive style. But my main focus was soccer. I think once I got to high school and I saw that I loved it and – it was passed down to me by my father who played professionally – I kind of focused on that in high school and … then I played in college as well.”
“It’s most famous phrase – one of its most famous phrases – ‘whatever hurts my brother hurts me.’ And to this day I, a lot of my best friends that I have, best men at my wedding, I made those friendships at St. Benedict’s Prep.”
“My Catholic roots, my parents instilled those roots so well that it really kept me focused and responsible in playing college soccer but also maintaining good grades.”
“It’s always good to reflect back on our lives, always room to see how God has been so right in our lives, how He’s really written out everything. He’s the author of life.”
“We realized that soccer and any sport is such a tool and it’s such an instrument to help boys and girls really develop, build character, learn through adversity.”
“Last year when we went to one of the tournaments, we went to Mass with one of the other families. So, we’re trying to figure out a way how we can integrate the faith into that.”
“We were blessed with being involved with a missionary group called Lazos de Amor Mariano out of Colombia in South America. It’s also known as Bonds of Marian Love because it also is in English as well. But this movement has been very transformative for our lives.”
“God’s love is, there’s no words for it. His mercy, it’s just, I’m speechless on what I’ve seen so far.”
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