Our Story

Core Sports Academy was founded in 2014 by Natalie Rogers Soto in Orlando, Florida. She grew up in Hunter's Creek playing soccer, and at the young age of 18, was invited by her Aunt, Ms. Roberta to teach soccer at Sunchild Academy (a local daycare in their community). Natalie accepted the challenge, and brought in her now husband Jacob Soto to be the co-founder, and began what we know today as Core Sports Academy.

As they grew, the company's foundation was built on their passion for sports and desire to share that with the younger generation. This passion quickly turned into so much more during the realization of how much of an impact a sports program can really have on a child's life. Core Sports Academy is not only dedicated to sports, but on core values and character development.

The company quickly expanded their programs, added another sport, and dedicated coaches who also shared the same passion and values. One of these key members of the team was Karena Picciotti, who also grew up playing soccer with Natalie in Hunter's Creek. She stepped into the role of Chief Operating Officer in 2017. She too, was passionate about soccer, had an infectious positive energy, and strong leadership qualities. This led to her taking over the company in 2019, and Natalie and Jacob moved on to other endeavors, making Karena the new owner. 

Since then, Karena has dedicated her life to the success and mission of Core Sports Academy to empower her local community. Her love continues to touch thousands of lives in Central Florida while serving at 20 schools, 50+ programs and three different sports. Karena's husband, Derek, has also joined the team as Co-Owner/C.O.O. and is excited to nurture the family business that began in 2014.

This small start up company is honored to give back in the very community that gave so much to them, and is looking forward to all the kids they'll reach next. They specialize in quality coaches, a quality curriculum, and quality relationships to enrich the lives of everyone they meet. 

So while much of the world has changed, Core Sports Academy's motto remains the same: Core Sports, Core Values, Core Strong!

About the Owners

Karena Picciotti, the owner and C.E.O., was born and raised in Orlando, Florida and was a student of OCPS from Kindergarten - 12th grade. Her now husband Derek Picciotti the Co-Owner & C.O.O., was born in Chicago Illinois, and moved to Orlando, Florida when he was two years old! They both grew up playing sports, Karena soccer, and Derek basketball, and they are equally passionate about the positive impact sports can have on the younger generations. 

Together, they follow and serve Jesus Christ, and believe wholeheartedly in "loving your neighbor as yourself." Treating everyone with love and compassion has transformed their lives and the way they run their business, and they are eager to reach more children and families with love and kindness that first so greatly impacted them.

Karena fell in love with sports at age six, went on to play semi-professional soccer as a young adult, and still actively plays in adult co-ed leagues. She pours her passion for sports into her hometown and even partners with the same school she attended as a child, Hunter's Creek Elementary! She recognizes that the game is much bigger than the field or court, and that lessons kids learn from sports at a young age can help them navigate every facet of life in the future.

Her journey with Core Sports began as an Assistant Soccer Coach in 2016, and she quickly climbed the ladder every year by becoming Head Soccer Coach, Regional Soccer Manager, Chief Operating Officer, CEO and later became the Owner by 2019. During her time with Core Sports, Karena has created new partnerships with local schools and launched the first ever Core Sports Scholarship Program, making youth sports available to more kids and families in the community she serves.

Derek grew up playing competitive basketball, swimming and water polo, and still plays basketball today. From a young age, Derek always had a desire to grow up and work for a sports organization like the Orlando Magic, so when Karena and Derek met, their stories, passions, and world's collided. Derek quickly realized that the same dream he had as a child, was now being offered to him as a beautiful opportunity as an adult. He left the sales world behind and joined CSA's mission with his now wife Karena.

Together they plan to revolutionize youth sports and empower communities across the globe through all of the wisdom, value and impact sports has to offer.

Outside of sports, Karena earned her A.A. degree from Valencia's Seneff Honors College with a focus in Leadership and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Central Florida. During her time at UCF, she became the President of the Psychological Society and was a research assistant in childhood development. Derek also graduated from the University of Central Florida, earning his bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary studies with a focus on communications, leadership, and psychology.

When they're not focused on sports or business, you can find them spending quality time with friends and family, cooking fun meals, and going on adventures!

Learn More About Core Sports Academy

VISION
Core Sports Academy's vision is to revolutionize the youth sports industry, by offering a sports program that has the opportunity to reach every child regardless of location or socio-economic background. We believe every child deserves the opportunity to be a part of a sports team. 

We know many communities do not offer sports programs for children, so we are committed to providing these programs in as many locations possible with quality recreational training and an affordable cost.

 We plan on achieving this mission by partnering with schools and community centers in every neighborhood where there is a need, to bring all children a quality and fun recreational sports program. Our program will be conveniently located for children within their own communities and the quality of our program will be like no other recreational youth league.

Core Sports Academy knows that sports are a very important platform to use to help shape the character of a child, as well as instill a passion within them that can last forever.

CSA and our staff truly cares about our players and making an impact in their lives. We believe the children are our future and it is our duty to mentor them into the right direction!
CORE SPORTS ACADEMY
Core Sports Academy’s mission is to bring the love and passion of sports to our students while instilling core values and promoting a healthy lifestyle. We plan to accomplish this through focusing on the fun that sports have to offer with engaging curriculums full of fundamental skill builders and entertaining games.
CORE SPORTS
Core Sports Academy does not only specialize in one sport, we want to bring our perspective to all core sports in the industry. We currently offer soccer and basketball programs and have mastered our offering with our exclusive curriculum, coaching mentorship, and our emphasis on core values.
CORE VALUES
We use sports as a foundation to teach the fundamentals of sports, but also to emphasize core values. This is an important part of our mission as we strive to instill core values through the fun of sports. Every practice session has a character development "word of the day" that we teach and put into examples through life and sports.
QUALIFICATIONS
Core Sports Academy has been working in this industry for over 9 years and we have been involved with community sports programs for over 20 years. We currently have 51 programs running all over Central Florida.

All of our coaches are background checked and head coaches are DCF background check approved (more extensive).

Unlike most recreational sports programs, all CSA coaches are extensively trained and Core Sports certified before beginning. We make sure our coaches are well equipped with sufficient preparation, training, and have a structured curriculum for each session.
VISION
Core Sports Academy's vision is to revolutionize the youth sports industry, by offering a sports program that has the opportunity to reach every child regardless of location or socio-economic background. We believe every child deserves the opportunity to be a part of a sports team. 

We know many communities do not offer sports programs for children, so we are committed to providing these programs in as many locations possible with quality recreational training and an affordable cost.

 We plan on achieving this mission by partnering with schools and community centers in every neighborhood where there is a need, to bring all children a quality and fun recreational sports program. Our program will be conveniently located for children within their own communities and the quality of our program will be like no other recreational youth league.

Core Sports Academy knows that sports are a very important platform to use to help shape the character of a child, as well as instill a passion within them that can last forever.

CSA and our staff truly cares about our players and making an impact in their lives. We believe the children are our future and it is our duty to mentor them into the right direction!
Contact us!
info@coresportsacademy.com
Powered By ClickFunnels.com