I played growing up, I’m Mexican American so it was always soccer when I was young, it’s a big part of the culture. I started coaching because of my daughter, she started playing soccer when she was three years old and now plays in the 2010 team….so since then really, I stepped in as an assistant coach and moved up from there. I’ve been coaching kid’s soccer for about 10 years now.

Well honestly, I do this all for fun. I don’t receive a salary, I’m not a paid coach. I get excited to see the girls and their development, where they started and where they’re heading. I always tell them – you are with me just temporarily, but I know you have a great future ahead of you.

So that’s why we do it. Day in, day out and kind of live soccer! I see the success. I see the fruits of the labour, if you want to call it that. We’ve gone from not being a top team, to being a top team in the last few years.

Yes I would say at least once a week typically, to see who’s moved and where we stand.

I mean, they were excited! We knew our ranking, we knew we were number 1, but we weren’t aware that we would be getting the award.

Obviously now this year it’s something to look forward to, we’re trying to play in those tournaments that are going to give us the big points – and maybe end up at the top again, it’s just really hard.

We will stick to the same drills for a few weeks, but then I like to switch it up because I don’t want the players to get bored.

Also… I hate lines…don’t have lines for a player to do a 22 second drill and then go get back in line! Have a routine ready so that you’re not winging it and they’re going to stay active.

Focus on principles! Like passing, dribbling the ball, shooting. A lot of times coaches try to explain or create these crazy drills where it’s like, man, your kid doesn’t even know how to pass a ball. Let’s focus on that first, don’t jump the basics.

Then its watching the game, how they see the pitch and how they force the ball… like, don’t force the ball where your teammate is going to get in trouble because there’s two people defending against them. Instead, let’s knock the ball around the other way.

A lot of the time it’s simple stuff like that, especially with a team of younger kids, they’re just trying to go forward. They don’t look to scan the field and maybe switch the ball around to the other side.

I feel like that right there is just a game changer, when you’re able to have your players, even as young as thirteen, able to scan the field and make good decisions. It’s not always going to be going forward. Sometimes you need to take the ball back and reset it.

My players are all really athletic and you know, they like competition. So I don’t tell them choose between other things and soccer. I’d hate to do that, they have the freedom to go and enjoy other sports and I have a few girls that are pretty competitive in flag football.

But I would say the girls will have to determine what their main focus is going to be soon, what their main interest is, to go further.

Half of the girls in the squad were freshman last year, all of them made varsity. The other half that are going to start high school this year… I have a pretty good feeling that they’re all going to make varsity as well, it takes dedication.

I think we’ve spent the majority of the last… I’ll say two to three years, where our main focus has been being able to connect the pass.

My girls can connect a pass like no others, we’ll maintain control of the ball and possession for most of a game.

So we win a lot of games because the girls on the other team get tired after halftime – and my girls don’t. Yes, we do a lot of conditioning, but it’s really

because the other team has barely had a chance to touch the ball and chased it all half. Our passing is at another level now for sure.

It’s always a good idea to have help. An assistant coach or someone else that is willing to help, because you have a limited time with the kids and you want to be sure to make the most out of it.

Be ready, be prepared so that when you’re on the pitch, you execute those training practices as smooth and as fast as possible.

My assistant coach could already be setting up the next drill, or I let him watch over the current drill while I set up the next one. We get from one to another quickly so we’re not spending time just idle, we’re not stopping. My players end up drenched and know they’ve worked hard by the time a session is over.

Also, you want to make sure your players are challenging each other. I tell them when they’re doing a scrimmage among teammates – you’ve got to challenge your teammates. Otherwise, how are they going to get better? Go strong on them, go hard on them like you would on a top team that we’re playing.