Respect for individuality and study: how Bia Vaz became a coach

To define the best tactics and make the most of the team’s abilities in a match, a coach must first and foremost know the profile of each of their players. It is no coincidence that coaches are called teachers. Like mentors, they identify vulnerabilities and strengthen qualities, on and off the field.

From her childhood in São Paulo’s North Zone, through her professional football career as a player, to taking on the role of coach, the path traveled by Beatriz Vaz e Silva shaped the vision she has today about leadership.

“Dealing with people is always difficult, because we have to respect the other person. Usually, judgment comes first. We look at others through our own eyes and through whatever beautiful things — or not — we have to offer. Time shows us that dealing with people is very much about respecting who they are and understanding who we are too, because we have many limitations,” she acknowledges.

Childhood in sports

With attentive eyes, Bia listens more than she speaks. Even in tense moments during a game, it is in her notes — on paper — that she shapes and organizes her thinking before instructing the players. The trio of sports, studies, and people has been present since early on. As a child, she had a diverse sporting upbringing thanks to her grandpa, Claudionor Pereira da Silva, and the neighborhood where she lived.

“My father always loved playing and would take me everywhere. And Vila Amélia is a super wooded neighborhood; we played ball all day at the end of the street. And there were street games, spinning tops, marbles, kites, volleyball, basketball. And alongside that, my father enrolled me in karate,” she says.

Without being able to pinpoint exactly when street play became serious business, she recalls that, around the age of 12, she left the tatami behind to focus on the ball. Her school teacher Luiz not only allowed her to play team sports, but also encouraged her to look for a club and, years later, study physical education.

Clubs and titles

“A student who was studying physical education with Luiz, Carlinhos, was the coach of Macabi, which had a girls-only team. Then I had a tryout at Juventus, when I was about 15. And that’s where I met Magali, who is a reference when we think about women’s football in São Paulo,” she recalls.

From the Mooca club, the midfielder went on to play for Itanhaém, Mackenzie (where she completed her degree in physical education), Foz Cataratas, Ferroviária, São José, Flamengo, and Osasco Audax. Along the way, she had two experiences abroad — one to study and the other to play a season with the Boston Breakers. She also earned call-ups to the Brazilian National Team and won national and international titles.

At club level, she won the 2014 and 2016 Brazilian Women’s Championship, the 2011 and 2014 Women’s Copa do Brasil, and the 2013 Paulista Women’s Championship. And with Brazil, between 2013 and 2016, she won the 2014 Women’s Copa América.

Maturity and career transition

Despite the difficulties of adapting in the United States and the frustration, she views that period as important for her personal and professional growth. “Boston Breakers was very challenging, because the game was very vertical and I had come from a style more like street football and futsal, with combinations and being on the ball all the time. Back then, that logic of the game wasn’t so clear to me, and I didn’t work hard enough to adapt to that reality. I think it comes down a bit to maturity,” she acknowledges.

Bia also praises her call-ups to the Brazilian National Team, which she describes as experiences that went beyond football: “You know when you’re living a dream? Your teammates are role models, the people working with you are also incredible, and the experience is collective — you spend a lot of time with one another, and that makes you grow.”

Even though she did not play much in Brazil’s jersey, going to competitions and being part of the group strengthened her and helped her understand and respect both her teammates and the coaches’ decisions. Unlike her casual choice to pursue professional football as a teenager, her transition into coaching was more deliberate.

At 31, her body, mind, and motivations for staying on the field were different. She had already earned the B license, aimed at coaching age groups up to U-20, and had the support of members of the women’s national team staff, such as Vadão and Fabrício Maia.

“They were very patient with me day to day. And the players understood my moment of changing roles and were super receptive and welcoming, giving me the support I needed to feel more secure in what I was doing,” she says gratefully.

Before returning to the Brazilian Women’s National Team as assistant coach of the U-17s, alongside Rilany Silva, and head coach of the U-15s at the start of this year, she led Corinthians’ U-20 team for two seasons, 2024 and 2025. Alongside Rilany, she won the South American U-17 Championship, and her next challenges will be the CONMEBOL U-15 Liga Evolución in September in Paraguay and the U-17 World Cup in October in Morocco.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.