Meet Triston Austin

I knew at a very young age that I wanted to become a high-level soccer player.

I still remember going to my first professional soccer game with my dad. There was something about being in that environment, seeing the players compete at that level, and feeling the energy around the game that made everything click for me.

I remember thinking:

“

This is what I want to do.

From that moment forward, soccer became more than something I enjoyed. It became something I wanted to pursue seriously.

I began my playing journey with Colorado Storm Recreation, where I played from 2002–2009. Eventually, an opportunity came that would completely change the direction of my soccer career.

I earned a place in the U.S. Development Academy with the Colorado Rapids organization.

Going from recreational soccer into the Development Academy was a critical turning point for me.

It became very real, very fast.

The game became more competitive. Expectations became higher. The players around me were incredibly talented, and I quickly learned that wanting to play at a high level was one thing—being willing to work for it was something completely different.

That experience taught me the importance of discipline, consistency, competing against yourself, and constantly looking for ways to improve.

Because I was playing in the U.S. Development Academy, I was under a contract that prevented me from participating in high school sports or other sports during that period.

That’s why I only played two years of high school soccer.

And both of those years ended with a championship.

In 2015, I helped Broomfield High School win the Colorado Class 5A State Championship.

After spending time away from high school soccer because of my Development Academy commitments, I returned in 2017 and helped Broomfield win another Class 5A State Championship.

Winning those championships is something I will always cherish.

But what I remember most isn’t simply the trophy.

It’s the people.

It’s the team.

It’s the work that went into getting there.

It’s the lessons we learned together.

And it’s the coach who helped lead us and inspired me to become the person and coach I am today.

Those experiences taught me that success is never just about one player. The best teams are built around trust, accountability, sacrifice, and everyone understanding their role.

During the 2017 season, I was also selected for the Colorado Class 5A All-Star Game and recognized as an All-State player.

Throughout my youth career, I also competed heavily in 3v3 soccer, becoming a 4-time Regional Champion and 2-time National Champion.

3v3 was incredibly important to my development.

The game was faster, more open, and demanded creativity and decision-making. There was nowhere to hide. You had to make decisions, take players on, defend, communicate, and solve problems constantly.

More importantly, 3v3 helped me rediscover something that can sometimes get lost in highly competitive environments:

the freedom to play.

That freedom became a major part of my development as a player.

My playing career continued at Sheridan College, where I competed in NJCAA Region 9.

In 2018, our team finished as Region 9 runners-up, and I was selected to the First Team All-Tournament Team for the Region 9 championship tournament.

After college, I began transitioning into the professional side of the game.

Then the world changed.

One of the biggest setbacks of my playing career came during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I was transitioning into the professional phases of my career after college, and suddenly the entire soccer world—and the country—was shut down.

Opportunities disappeared.

Plans changed.

The path I thought I was going to take suddenly looked completely different.

At the time, it was difficult to understand why everything was happening.

But looking back, that setback opened doors I never would have expected.

One of those doors brought me to St. Louis.

And that move would ultimately change not only my playing career, but my life and my future as a coach.

One of the most surreal moments of my playing career came in 2019 when I received a call-up to the USA Men’s National Arena Soccer Team.

I went on to earn two national team caps, representing the United States against Mexico and Guatemala.

Representing your country is something you dream about as a kid.

But actually experiencing it is something completely different.

Walking down the tunnel.

Hearing the USA chants.

Standing there as the national anthem played.

Feeling the goosebumps hit instantly.

Those are moments I’ll never forget.

It’s something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life, and it’s a story I can’t wait to tell my kids one day.

I also competed professionally with the Colorado Rumble and continued my professional indoor career with the St. Louis Ambush of the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL).

I’ve also competed in USL2 and UPSL environments with organizations including Ambush FC, GAM United FC, Colorado Rush, Boulder United FC, and Ehtar Belleville FC.

Interestingly, coaching wasn’t originally supposed to become such a major part of my life.

Soccer brought me to St. Louis because of my playing career.

Coaching initially became a way for me to use some of the free time I had while playing professionally.

But something happened that I didn’t expect.

I fell in love with it.

I started seeing the reaction kids had when they learned something new.

I watched players gain confidence.

I watched players who were struggling suddenly figure something out.

I watched kids develop not only as soccer players, but as people.

And I realized I had an opportunity to give back everything the game had given me.

That’s when coaching stopped being something I did on the side.

It became something I wanted to build my life around.

I’ve had the opportunity to coach players from as young as 3 years old through the college level.

I’ve coached boys and girls, recreational players, competitive players, high-level athletes, beginners, and players with aspirations of playing at the next level.

My coaching experience includes:

I’ve also worked as a core soccer trainer for multiple competitive and recreational clubs throughout the St. Louis area, served as a camp trainer and subcontractor, worked as a soccer referee, and personally trained 70+ players through private training.

My experiences as a player are the foundation of TNT.

Growing up, I had some incredibly strict and demanding coaches.

That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, some of those coaches taught me valuable lessons that I still carry with me today.

But there were also times when the pressure changed the way I felt about the game.

As I became more serious about soccer, I started realizing that there had to be another way.

Somewhere along the way, the game can stop being fun.

Players can become afraid to make mistakes.

They can become afraid to try something creative because they’re worried about getting yelled at.

They can begin measuring their worth by whether they scored, started, made the team, or played well that day.

I experienced some of that myself.

And ironically, some of the biggest growth in my confidence came from playing soccer outside of those structured environments.

When I had the freedom to play, experiment, make mistakes, take players on, and simply enjoy the game, I found something again.

I found myself.

That freedom helped me walk back into high-level environments with more confidence because I wasn’t carrying the same pressure.

That’s something I want every player I work with to experience.

TNT isn’t about removing standards.

It’s about changing the way we reach them.

I want players to be challenged.

I want them to work hard.

I want them to be accountable.

I want them to learn how to compete.

But I also want them to feel comfortable being creative.

I want them to understand that mistakes are part of development.

I want them to learn how to manage their emotions when things don’t go their way.

I want them to raise their own standards instead of constantly comparing themselves to everyone around them.

And above all, I want them to love the game.

Because I know firsthand what happens when a player feels free to play.

I understand what it means for a parent to trust a coach.

You’re not just trusting someone with your child’s soccer development.

You’re trusting them with your child’s confidence.

You’re trusting them with their time.

You’re trusting them during an important part of their childhood.

And you’re trusting them to help shape how your child feels about a game they may love for the rest of their life.

I don’t take that responsibility lightly.

I’ve been the kid chasing the dream.

I’ve been the player trying to earn an opportunity.

I’ve been the player under pressure.

I’ve been the player who made mistakes.

I’ve been the player who needed confidence.

I’ve experienced winning championships and falling short.

I’ve represented my country.

I’ve played professionally.

And now I’ve had the privilege of standing on the other side of the game as a coach.

That perspective is what I bring to TNT.

I don’t believe every player needs the same thing.

Some players want to make their school team.

Some want to earn more playing time.

Some want to play college soccer.

Some want to reach the professional level.

Some simply want to become more confident and have fun.

Whatever their goal is, my job is to meet them where they are and help them take the next step.

At the end of the day, I don’t want TNT to simply create better soccer players.

I want TNT to help create better people.

Soccer eventually ends.

The trophies get put away.

The seasons come to an end.

But confidence, discipline, resilience, accountability, creativity, work ethic, and the ability to handle adversity can stay with a person for the rest of their life.

That’s what TNT means to me.

It’s about training with purpose.

It’s about competing with confidence.

It’s about creating an environment where players can work hard without being afraid to fail.

It’s about challenging players without taking away their joy.

And ultimately, it’s about helping every player become the best version of themselves.