Nevada Pride Soccer

UPDATE: Pendolla Training

The U12 Pride girls' speed and agility training at Pendolla Training Facility will start on January 9th.  These trainings will be EVERY Monday night until March 5th from 6:30 to 8:00pm. Unlike other facilities in town who "generalize" their trainings, Pendolla is sport specific and will focus on the movements and physical attributes that pertain to soccer.  Also unique to the relationship Pride has formed with Pendolla will be to reinforce the four pillars of soccer:  Technical, Tactical, Physical and Psychological.  Pendolla will not just work on the speed and agility of our girls, but will teach the importance of nutrition and encourage a strong work ethic.  We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership! 

UPDATE:  Starting Saturday January 14th, we will be holding Coerver Technical Sessions at Reed High School from 10:30am to Noon.  These trainings will be held every Saturday on the East Lawn until our season offically kicks off. 

UPDATE:

10 Questions every parent should ask themselves when choosing a club team.   

1.  Does the team develop ALL of their players or only a select few?

2.  How does the team measure success?  Wins and losses or player development?

3.  Does the team have a long-term, well-structured plan, or is it win at all costs right now?

4.  Does the team play, or try to play soccer, or do they kick and chase and play to one or two superior players?

5.  Do you know the coaches who may be involved with your athlete, or do you only know them through heresay?  We challenge you to make a personal phone call or meet directly with any potential coach!

6.  What are the qualifications of the coach?  Do they have experience, education, success and love for the game?  Most importantly, are they a positive role model and do they have the best interest of your athlete in mind?

7.  How long is the coach planning on being with the team? A coach should be as committed as their players!

8.  If your athlete has played competitive soccer for more than a year, have they developed as you had hoped?

9.  If you have played on a team for more than a year, has the team developed or are other teams catching up?

10.  Is the team interested in coaching your athlete to be the best they can be, or just interested in picking up a paycheck?

Nevada Pride Stages of Development

1.  Fundamental Stage (U-10 & U-11)

            a.  Focus on fundamentals:  Dribbling, passing and receiving, shooting.

            b.  Introduction of Tactics (Decision Making):  Risk v Safety, when to dribble or to pass?

            c.  Basic attacking principles.  Penetration and Support.

            d.  Basic defending principles.  Pressure and Cover.

            e.  Use of small-sided games to teach the game. 

            f.  Learn to play position(s) and field responsibilities.

            g.  League play ONLY.  No out of state tournaments.

            h.  Player development is valued over wins and loses!!

            i.  One to two practices a week along with one game.

            j.  Kids play in the Fall and Spring.  However, I feel it is important that kids are exposed to as many sports as they wish.

2.  Transitional Stage (U-12 – U-14)

            a.  Advancement of fundamentals.

            b.  Introduce systems of play

            c.  Expand players use of tactics.

            d.  Add the attacking principles of mobility and width.

            e.  Add the defending principles of balance and compactness.

            f.  Size of the team increases.  Hard work, skill, dedication, attitude, etc. make for a more competitive environment.   

            g.  Fitness and Nutrition awareness become important components of an athletes lifestyle.

            h.  Players should start demanding more of themselves and not be afraid to “fail forward”

            i.  League play in addition to one local and one out-of-town tournament.

            j.  Player development is still the priority, however we need to introduce competition.

            k.  Two practices and one game.

            l.  Kids play in the Fall and Spring.  Kids should still be exploring other interests outside of soccer.

            m.  Costs increase due to travel and tournament fees, but are still very minimal. 

3.  Competitive Stage (U-14 – U-17)

            a.  Mastery of fundamentals.

            b.  Adaptable to play various systems of play.

            c.  Use of high level tactics.

            d.  Attacking and defensive principles become second nature.

            e.  Size of team increases again.  Competition in the team may lead to reduction of playing time.

            f.  Fitness and Nutrition are a must at this level.

            g.  League play as well as 4-6 out-of-town tournaments.

            h.  Player development will always be the priority at Nevada Pride, however, being successful starts to become more important in order to get into the better tournaments and having kids be seen by coaches at the next level. 

            i.  Two or three practices a week.

            j.  Kids play in the Spring only!!!  Kids are still encouraged to do other things, but if we decide as a team to be more competitive, athletes will be asked to make soccer January-June not their sole sporting priority,  but their main one.

            k.  Costs may reach $1,500 due to travel expenses. 

Fact or Fiction:  Helpful information for making the right decision.

Fiction:  Playing for club "X" will get you a college scholarship.  Northern Nevada clubs have little to no effect on whether or not an athlete plays at the next level.

Fact:  Less than 6% of club coaches in Northern Nevada that charge training fees have an advanced soccer license (if they have a license at all).  Many are adding coaches to their team rosters so they can travel out of state.

Fiction:  A player, even a good player, makes a good coach.  I like to call this the Magic Johnson Rule.  There are four aspects to soccer: Technical, Tactical, Psychological and Physical.  Former players may be able to demonstrate the technical aspects more effectively, but the others require someone who can coach.  You need to be a good teacher and motivator to be a successful coach.  Former players may or may not have this skill.  Coaching is a craft that takes years of nuturing and a lifetime to master.  Good coaches embrace ideas of other good coaches and adapt and modify their style to become a better mentor for young kids/adults.  Being a positive role model is one of the most important and most overlooked roles of a youth coach.

Fact:  No Northern Nevada girls soccer team has won a Nevada State Cup Title IN ANY AGE GROUP since 2000.  Ironically, that team was coached by Steve Asher, current Spanish Springs Director of Coaching and U14 Pride Head Coach.

Fact: 12 out of 13 Nevada girls soccer players that went on to play at the next level in 2009, ended up coming back home to their respective hometowns.

Fiction:  The more money you pay in training fees, the better the training.  You can pay money to coaches with a lower level license (or none at all), or you can find highly qualified, experienced coaches who do this for your daughters, not for a living.  I would ask myself, why would a "B" licensed coach charge no training fees, while a "D" licensed coach charges $50-$150 per player per month.  If I go to the doctor, I want the more qualified doctor working on me, not the one that's charging the most money.  NOTE:  Ask to see their diploma.

Fact:  Since 2005, fewer than 6 Northern Nevada girls soccer players have received full-ride Division I athletic scholarships.  Only two played for more than a year.

Fact: Northern Nevada does not have the poplulation to sustain the number of clubs we have.  There are 11 "competitive" clubs in Northern Nevada with a population under 500,000.  Las Vegas has 5 "competitive" clubs and a population over 2 million.  Until we have fewer clubs watering down the talent pool, it will be difficult for teams in this area to compete at a high level.

Fact:  Less than 5% of ALL athletes receive full-ride athletic scholarships at any level of college athletics.  Most are partial scholarships that pay for books and/or room and board.  They do not cover the tuition costs which can reach up to $40,000 a year!

Fact:  50% of athletes that specialize in a single sport are 10 times more likely to suffer from burn out and stop playing that sport all together.

Fact:  The best way to improve your chances of a college scholarhip is to attend that colleges summer camp(s).

Fact:  The sport receiving the highest percentage of scholarships is girls golf at 1.6%.  Football is the next highest at 1.4%.

Fact:  No coach (no matter how highly qualified), no club, no team can get you to the next level.  Only the players talent, work ethic, attitude and sacrifice will give her a chance to be that player.  Think about it.

Fiction:  Everything you hear from a club/coach is the truth.  Do your homework.  Ask players and parents who have played for the club/coach.  Interview potential coaches face to face before you make your decision.  Check for these three things:  Experience, Education, Success.  Ask them to provide you proof of the things they tell you.  Ask yourself why are they there - for my daughter, or a paycheck?  Most importantly, ask parents and players who have actually played for the coach in question.  You will get a more honest answer than from a second hand source.

Don't take our word for it.  All of the information above can be found by doing a simple Google search.

Congratulations!!!!

Savannah Gobelman has decided to play for Napa College starting in the fall of 2011.  It looks like all that hard work and sacrifice finally paid off.  Good Luck Sav from your family at Nevada Pride!