Coach: Marla Nelson

Current Team: USA 94 and 98 Girls, Lone Peak High School Girls Assistant Coach, and ODP Goalkeeper Staff

Coaching Experience: I have coached goalkeepers since I was 18, starting with boys and girls high school keepers, club teams, and then private training. I coached club soccer in southern California (Irvine and Fullerton) for four years, and then started with Lone Peak High School Girls soccer in 2003, Utah Soccer Alliance in 2008, and just recently with the ODP goalkeeping staff. I also coached track and field (high jump) at Lone Peak High School for five years. I just earned my USSF D National license and plan on earning my C license this summer.

Playing Experience: As a youth player, I played club and high school in southern California. I played collegiately for Cal State Fullerton (Fullerton, CA) from 1997-2000. After moving to Utah I played in Western Regionals with the State Select team in 2004, and currently I continue to play for fun and to stay in shape…I just can't stay away from it - I love this sport too dang much!!!!

Favorite Soccer Teams: I really don't have a favorite professional team...I just like watching a good game.

Favorite Soccer Players: Definitely [my] players in high school and club alike! Because I learn more about myself as a coach, player and person just from working with them...and they remind me that life doesn't have to be so serious all the time!

Most Memorable Soccer Experiences: *When I look back on my collegiate experience, I realize how much I enjoyed training with my goalkeeper coach, Bob Ammann. I have never been in a training session tougher than his, and no other coach has ever made me work harder than he did. He wouldn't let me make excuses (regardless of how much pain I was in or how sore I was), he always expected me to perform at my best, but he also helped me get there...he continually believed in my potential and never let me settle for anything less. He not only helped me become a great goalkeeper, but he helped me learn to love this sport and to never give up through the blood, sweat and tears that every serious athlete experiences when they are striving toward their goal to be a successful player. He is one of the main reasons I continue to love soccer and coach today.

*Playing against University of North Texas in the monsoon-like rains and winds down in Dallas-Ft. Worth. The field was so flooded that if you passed the ball on the ground, it would either get stuck in the mud or in a puddle of water, and if you kicked it in the air, the wind either blew it back in your face or carried it half way across the field. We won 1-0, but it was by far the funnest game I've ever played in and it reminded me that to be successful in something, you have to also love it and enjoy it...in a game like that, people either complain about the weather which keeps them from performing at their best, or they make the best of it and we all made the best of it!

Coaching Philosophy: My philosophy is to develop my athletes to be great team players with the proper knowledge and skills (team and individual) needed to be successful in soccer, but also develop my players as persons of integrity and discipline with the proper skills needed to succeed in life off the field.

Favorite Movie: The Ultimate Gift, The Sandlot, anything Disney or musicals (Singing in the Rain, White Christmas, etc).

Favorite Book: I teach English, so this is a really unfair question!! I love the books Keeper by Mal Peet, Under a War Torn Sky by L.M Elliot, Painting the Black by Carl Dueker and Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl.

Favorite Food: Steak, pizza, cobb salad, pizookies, and anything chocolate (but I'm not a chocolate with fruit person--eek!)

Special Interests:

• Right now I am working on my M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in reading. My goal is to help promote classroom instructional strategies and implement curriculum based instruction that will help all students be successful in the classroom and have a positive learning experience in school. As a teacher, I see too many kids who have slipped through the cracks, and have fallen behind with no help to get them back up to where they need to be either because they don't have the proper support system, or people have simply given up on them...and more and more kids are not enjoying school...I want to help change that.
• I love supporting my students and athletes as much as I can in what they do when they are not spending their time under my direction.
• I love to travel and have traveled all over the world. My favorite trips have been to Israel on an archeological dig (and some touring), China, Thailand, Singapore, Brazil, Russia and Sweden. Someday I would like to go on an African Safari, ride on a dog sled in Alaska, and I want to see a professional or international soccer game played in another country (preferably Europe or Brazil!).
• I also secretly like to scrapbook and play the piano.

Marla Says: "Never lower your moral values or the expectations you have set for yourself to get ahead in life or to impress others, enjoy what you are doing (even if its not that fun), and always go the extra mile in all you do. Have an open mind and embrace others' differences without compromising your own beliefs and values. "Risk more than others think is safe, care more than others think is wise, dream more than others think is practical, expect more than others think is possible." Don't let fear stand in the way of your dreams."