COACH JAKE
A film by Ian Phillips
82 minutes, color, 2018
Martin Jacobson ('Coach Jake') may be the
winningest high school soccer coach in New York
City public school history, but his greatest victories
lie in helping others and attaining what he likes to
call 'the beautiful game.' Coach Jake has won a
record 17 City Championships since he began coaching soccer at Martin Luther King Jr. High
School in Manhattan in 1994, gaining notoriety
for flipping the school's bad reputation to a pillar
of the athletic community, and improving lives as
much as he has scoring averages.
Coach
Jake delves into the life and work of high school soccer's most intriguing figure.
"Coach Jake's unique and compelling story is captured in this award-winning
feature documentary. Jacobson tapped into the pipeline of soccer talent trained
in West African, Caribbean and South American countries and quickly transformed
a forgotten school into a soccer empire blooming with prideful future college students,
U.S. citizens and positive
contributors to society...a prime example of what an opportunity for excellence in America can produce when put into the proper, cultivating hands."
-The Shadow League
"Coach Jake is helping these kids in giving them an opportunity to succeed."
-Carmelo Anthony, NBA All Star
"The legendary New York City coach...has logged more than 400 wins with teams
largely comprised of
immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America."
-SoccerAmerica
"Tells a tale of redemption and fulfillment through the lives of his players...the enthusiastic, passionate, imperfect coach of the Martin Luther King High School soccer team."
-Empire of Soccer
"From drug addict to unstoppable winner...Martin Jacobson has had one hell of a
life."
-COPA 90
World Premiere at Urbanworld Film Festival | Just in time for the 2018 FIFA World Cup!
On iTunes June 4 | On DVD June 5
