On a recent afternoon before the start of practice, head coach of the boys soccer team Rodrigo Honorato didn’t hesitate when asked what the game means to him.

“It’s unity,” he said. “The moment the ball is on the field or on someone’s foot and they’re dribbling or passing the ball, everyone stops talking about whatever they were talking about and stops thinking about whatever they’re thinking about and they’re there to have fun and play.”

Mr. Honorato, 31, is currently in his first year as head coach, taking over from John Walsh. He is also the first Brazilian head coach of the team, which is largely made up of Brazilian players.

The season is off to a strong start under his tutelage, with a current record of 6-2-1.

Mr. Honorato was born and raised on the Island. His parents moved here in 1987 as part of the first group of Brazilian families to call the Vineyard home. He attended the Tisbury School and graduated from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School in 2012, playing soccer on the very same field he now coaches on.

“Ever since the age of three, I fell in love with soccer, and that’s all I wanted to do, and that’s all, really, I know what to do,” he said.

Always active on the sidelines.

Tim Johnson

Always active on the sidelines.

Tim Johnson

That statement does his other skills a disservice. Mr. Honorato has a background in mental health and social work. Previously, he worked as a family support worker at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services and now works in administrative support at the high school. He also is currently pursuing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Merrimack College.

Mr. Honorato took a break during his high school years to chase his dream of playing soccer full-time for the youth squad of Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, a professional soccer club located in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

“I stayed there for a year, and that was the best experience that I had,” he said. “After a year had gone by, I came back to grab my transcripts, and then I saw my friends, and I said, I don’t want to go back. But I’m grateful for the opportunity that I had there.”

The lessons he learned while playing abroad greatly influences his coaching style today.

“I saw how hard it is mentally to be a soccer player, and how everyone’s always competing for a starting spot,” he said. “That’s what I try to implement with my boys. There’s nothing guaranteed. Every day they have to work hard because in the real world, that’s just how it is.”

Growing up with immigrant parents has also influenced the way he interacts with his players.

“I’m trying to do what I didn’t have when I was in high school,” Mr. Honorato said. “I might have had [resources], but I didn’t use them to the full potential. I think it’s important for me to try to be that role model. I’m not Superman. I can’t save everyone’s daily issues, but whatever I can do, I make sure that they understand that I’m there for them and they have a support system.”

Earlier this month that support was put to the test during a game against Rising Tide Charter Public School in Plymouth. Mr. Honorato was speaking Portuguese to his Brazilian players when the opposing coach told him to speak English. Mr. Honorato raised the issue with the Rising Tide athletic director, and the coach was subsequently fired for “unacceptable behavior.”

“The reason why I [reported] it is because those kids were impacted and didn’t like what they heard and felt that they were being targeted,” Mr. Honorato said.

Rising Tide head of school Michael O’Keefe said in a statement at the time: “On Tuesday, during a Boys Varsity Soccer game versus Martha’s Vineyard, the Rising Tide Boys Varsity Soccer coach engaged in unacceptable behavior unbecoming of a staff member at Rising Tide. The Boys Varsity Soccer coach, new to the school this season, was dismissed from Rising Tide on Wednesday morning.”

After the incident, Mr. Honorato took the time to speak to his team about how the words of the other coach had affected them. He asked players to raise their hand if they felt impacted and was shocked when both bilingual players and American players who don’t speak Portuguese raised their hands.

“I asked them, why are they raising their hand, and he’s like, well, because it messed with my friend,” he said of a player’s response. “That’s what I’m trying to teach them.... It doesn’t matter the race, doesn’t matter what the color of their skin is, what language they speak at home — at the end of the day, we’re a family.”

He credits his assistant coach Esteban Aranzabe, Dr. Curt Cetrulo, who helped support Mr. Honorato growing up, and girls varsity head coach Matt Malowski for being role models throughout his life and during his current coaching journey.

“[Matt] is always talking to me, telling me how important it is [for the players] to mentally be stable and to be good in a mental state, to be able to practice and be able to come to school and do all the things that they need to do,” he said.

That advice fits well with Mr. Honorato’s strategy of always putting his players first.

“It’s very unique growing up here and now being a coach here, it’s about giving back. I don’t coach for myself. I coach for the kids because I believe in their potential,” he said.

 Mr. Honorato encourages the community to come out and watch not just the boys soccer team, but all the school sports teams.

“I would love to see more parents come support their soccer kids or their football kids or field hockey kids,” he said. “Watch your kids’ sports, because they’re only a kid once.”