​To determine the most effective tactics and maximize a team’s strengths in a match, a coach must first understand each player’s profile. It’s no accident that coaches are often described as teachers. As mentors, they identify vulnerabilities and amplify strengths, both on the field and off it. Beatriz Vaz e Silva’s path—from her childhood in the North Zone of São Paulo, through a professional football career as a player, to her current role as a coach—has shaped the leadership perspective she holds today.
“Dealing with people is always challenging because we must respect one another. Judgment often comes first. We view others through our own lens and with the beauty or flaws we have to offer. Time reveals that working with people is largely about honoring who they are and understanding who we are as well, since we all have limitations,” she says. With her attention finely tuned, Bia listens more than she talks. Even in the most tense moments of a match, it is in her notes—written on paper—that she organizes her thoughts before guiding the players.
From early on, the triangle of sports, studies, and people has been integral to her life. As a child, she enjoyed a wide sporting repertoire thanks to her grandfather, Claudionor Pereira da Silva, and the neighborhood where she grew up. “My father loved playing and took me everywhere. Vila Amélia is a tree-lined neighborhood, so we played ball all day on the street corner. There were street games, spinning tops, marbles, kites, volleyball, and basketball. My father also enrolled me in karate,” she recalls.
She can’t pinpoint exactly when street play gave way to serious training, but she remembers that around age 12 she shifted her focus from the tatami to the ball. Her schoolteacher, Luiz, not only permitted her to practice team sports but encouraged her to seek a club and, years later, to pursue physical education. “A student who was studying physical education with Luiz, Carlinhos, coached Macabi, which had an all-girls team. Then I tried out for Juventus when I was about 15. That’s where I met Magali, who is a reference in women’s football in São Paulo,” she remembers.
With Ferroviária, Bia Vaz captured the Brazilian Championship in 2014. From the Mooca club, she went on to compete for Itanhaém, Mackenzie (where she completed her degree in physical education), Foz Cataratas, Ferroviária again, São José, Flamengo, and Osasco Audax. Along the way, she gained two international experiences—one to study abroad and another to play a season with the Boston Breakers. She also earned call-ups to the Brazilian National Team, along with national and international titles. Throughout her club career, she helped secure the 2014 and 2016 Brazilian Women’s Championships, the 2011 and 2014 Women’s Copa do Brasil, and the 2013 Paulista Women’s Championship, among other achievements.