UC Riverside head men's soccer coach Tim Cupello is one of many whose fathers have passed down their love for sports.

"Everything my father and I did was around either family or the game," the 2022 Big West Men's Soccer Coach of the Year said. 

Cupello, whose Juventus-supporting family went from Italy to Brazil, then back to Italy, and finally to the United States, goes way back with his dad. Nelson Cupello, former coach and player with the North American Soccer League's Rochester Lancers, has been by Tim's side on and off the pitch. He's instilled lessons of respect, passion, determination, and joy for the beautiful game in his son. 

"A lot of on-field lessons about hard work, determination, and working towards your goals are very much aligned with what happens in the household," Cupello said, "plus, ultimately, respect for the game and the joy it can provide you."

Meanwhile, new UCR head women's soccer coach Mike Dibbini has charted a similar path watching his dad coach. Discipline and respect were his father's cornerstone teachings around the game. The former eventually played a hefty role in one of Dibbini's most eye-opening experiences. 

At 15, Dibbini suffered a torn ACL in a club match. 'Distraught' became an understatement. Through motivation and love, his dad told him that this was just a setup for a bigger comeback. Dibbini returned to the pitch and won two CIF Player of the Year awards at Palmdale High School. 

When Dibbini found his joy in coaching in jeopardy, again came dad to the rescue.

"He reminded me in my previous posts before Kansas State that I was choosing myself," Dibbini said. "Then I got to Kansas State and was trying to please everybody. I wasn't true to myself in what I do or how I do things. I reverted to who I am, what I do, and being true to myself, and that's what brought me to UC Riverside."

Whereas Dibbini's joy for the game stems from watching his dad coach, Cupello's is drawn from watching games as a family. Because soccer was scarcely televised for a young Cupello, he and his family had limited options on weekends.

So when his dad took him and his brother to the 1994 World Cup to see his native Italy vs. Bulgaria at Giants Stadium, a core memory took shape. 

"We'd watch Juventus every weekend," Cupello remembered fondly. "The passion that would come out of my grandfather, my father, and then me as a little kid, I knew nothing other than cheering for them…sharing those moments with my dad, and the joy and celebration of the sport connects the bond, even to this day."

Dibbini and Cupello have a wealth of experience watching their dads patrol a touchline, and as such, have aspired to emulate their fathers' coaching mannerisms. 

Dibbini, who emphasizes personal accountability and mutual respect, tries to be firm, yet fair — just as his father was with him. Cupello, who admittedly is not as tough on his players as his father was on his, shared his father's reputation for holding the whole roster to an equal standard.

Unbeknownst to the players at the time, that standard created everlasting connections that the younger Cupello has always vowed to carry with him as he enters year 13 at UCR. 

"Those relationships struck a chord with me and are why I got into coaching," Cupello says. "I want to win, but I also want to build the same lifelong bonds that he was able to establish with his former players."

While their fathers' mannerisms have continued to rub off on them as coaches, Dibbini and Cupello are still fathers first. Themes like support, compassion, and encouragement — healthy locker room characteristics — have now bled into the household and created a vision board for leadership and happiness. 

Dibbini wants to flip the script. It's not about "barking orders," but about service, sacrifice, encouragement, and cheering them on. As Cupello adds, "I don't want to coach my kids, I want to be a father to my kids. I want to support them and help them find their way…I want them to recognize the importance of following your passion and your dreams."

After all this time, Dibbini and Cupello's stories have become (or been) foundations on which they can build their respective team cultures. 

Dibbini is just getting his feet wet at UCR, but has already begun building a culture that stresses collective accountability, relentless growth, toughness, unity, good character, and class — all products of his environment. 

Cupello's culture holds a little more weight with two postseason Big West titles and two NCAA Tournament runs, but the takeaway remains re-emphasizing trust, respect, courage, and loyalty. 

"My journey from backyard drills with my dad to the collegiate game taught me that identity is built through consistency and shared values," Dibbini says. "That's what I aim to instill here: a program defined not just by wins, but by the way we play, lead, and grow together."

Cupello's story and his family's immigrant roots are emblematic of the diversity at UC Riverside and throughout the at-large community. It's a community that Cupello hopes will walk by a training session and see a group pouring everything onto the pitch. 

"Through that, we'll be able to achieve some special moments. It won't happen every year or every day, but when you pour yourself into something, then those special moments, those celebrations, those memories will start to take shape."

Just like moments with dad.