Introducing Our U11 Coaching Staff!
Date: 5/14/2014
Arsenal Colorado is excited to introduce our coaches for the 2014-2015 U11 boys and girls age groups. The players have had an opportunity to get to know all the coaches during the course of the spring season and at our pre-tryout camps. Now, we want the parents to get to know them as well. Our first two coaches we would like to introduce are our girls and boys Gold Team coaches.
Arsenal Colorado is excited to introduce Kelly Labor, the Colorado State Women’s Soccer Assistant Coach as next year’s U11 Girls Gold coach. Growing up Labor played youth soccer in her hometown of Steamboat Springs. She played soccer at Regis University where she was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. After her freshmen year, she transferred to UNLV where she played the reminder of her collegiate career. She was a three-year letter winner. UNLV was conference champions her sophomore year and was ranked in the Top 25 nationally her junior year.
After graduating, Labor returned home to Colorado and began coaching youth soccer at Westminster AFC. She led two girls Super League teams, one to the State Cup Semifinals and one to the Finals during her three years with the club. She was an assistant coach at Regis University and obtained her Masters in Industrial and Organizational Psychology with a specialization in Leadership Development and Sports Psychology. Kelly moved to Fort Collins to be the assistant coach for CSU’s newly-formed Division I Women’s Soccer program. Since her arrival, Kelly has been an active member of Arsenal Colorado coaching staff, helping coach teams in all age groups during the season. Kelly is excited to have the opportunity to coach a youth team again as CSU women’s team trains in the morning hours leaving her afternoons open. Kelly currently holds her NSCAA Advanced National Coaching license.
Arsenal Colorado is excited to introduce Ryan Peterson as the2014-2015 U11 Boys Gold coach. Peterson grew up playing soccer for the Fort Collins Soccer Club and Fort Collins Arsenal. Following his high school career at Rocky Mountain High School, Peterson played collegiately at Colorado School of Mines. Peterson was a four-time conference champion in the RMAC and received several awards and accolades as a player. He then went on to play professionally for the Orlando Sundogs, the Daytona Beach Speed Kings and Huntsville Fire.
Peterson has many years of coaching experience and has been one of our top youth coaches for 6 years. Peterson was also an assistant coach at the Colorado School of Mines. He currently holds his USSF C Coaching License. We are excited to have Ryan as our Gold coach with such an extensive coaching and playing history.
Coach Labor and Peterson will be assisted by coach Chris Rosazza who will be mentoring in the U11 age group, in a program Arsenal will begin fall 2014 to enhance player development at a crucial age. Rosazza will give up coaching his own team to allow for better focus on player development at the U11 age group. Rosazza has coached gold teams for the past 12 years and has been coaching with Arsenal Colorado for 16 years.
Please be sure to come out to our U11 Arsenal Colorado orientation Wednesday, May 21, at 6:30pm at Fossil Ridge High School to meet the coaches and ask questions.
U11 Girls Royal, Blue and White Coaches:
U11 Girls Royal: Kris Horn has been a part of Arsenal Colorado for 9 years and this will be her third year coaching a royal team. Coach Kris grew up in California where she eventually played college soccer at the University of California, Santa Barbara (Division I). She made the All-West Regional Team her sophomore year. After graduating, Kris played for the Southern California Blues Women’s semi-pro team from ’96-’99. In June 1997 Kris Horn was named the Head Coach of the University of California, Santa Barbara and remained the head coach until 1999. Following her collegiate run as a player and coach Kris began working on the youth side as a coach of the Cal South ODP program. Kris and her family moved here in the fall of 2004 and she has coached with the club since. Kris currently holds her USSF National “C” License and has her B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
U11 Girls Blue: Heather Wages will be our U11 girls blue coach. Heather has been a youth soccer coach in the northern Colorado area for several years; but this will be her first year with Arsenal Colorado. Heather hold her USSF National D License and is an Active Multi-State licensed registered nurse. Coach Heather has coached competitive girls since 2011 and was the recipient of the Colorado Rapids Community Coach Award in 2011. In 2013 she was a Thompson Soccer Association Coach of the year nominee. We are excited for Heather to join the Arsenal Colorado coaching staff family.
U11 Girls White: We are excited to announce Charles Pratt as our U11 girls white team coach. Charles is one of our new coaches for Arsenal. Charles recently relocated to Fort Collins from Arizona. He is a graduate of the University of Redlands where he received his B.A. in Liberal Studies and Spanish. While in Arizona Charles was a staff coach for SoccerPLUS which is overseen by Tony DiCicco, former coach of US Women’s National Team. Charles has 9 years of coaching experience. Charles is currently a 4th grade teach at Beattie Elementary School.
U11 Boys Royal, Blue, White and Black Coaches:
U11 Boys Royal - Eric Fanning played youth soccer from U6 through Arsenal and has been a part of the club ever since. He began coaching recreational soccer in high school and intermediate soccer in college. He just finished up his first two year cycle as an Arsenal Colorado head coach in the U11 and U12 age groups. Eric is also the head coach of the Arsenal Colorado Goalkeeping Academy. He currently holds his NSCAA III Goalkeeping License as well as his USSF "D" License and just finished the USSF "C" course in Portland, OR. Eric graduated from CSU with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies in 2011.
U11 Boys Blue - Brad Kaye grew up in Aurora, CO and played club soccer with the Colorado Foxes. Brad played his high school soccer Smoky Hill. He began coaching youth soccer after his senior year of high school (for Colorado Foxes) and got involved with Arsenal while he attended Colorado State University. Brad has coached for the club for 10 years and has 14 total years of youth coaching experience. Brad has held his D license since 2002. He holds a PhD in Psychology and is working on a second PhD in Communication Studies. Brad is currently a professor in Communication Studies at CSU.
U11 Boys White - Erik Mathews played AAA Baseball for the New York Mets and has several years of coaching experience with U11 to U13 Boys and Girls soccer teams. After a hand injury in 1987, Erik entered the Navy following his Baseball career where discipline and paying attention to detail became an everyday must. Erik has also been a charter middle school Girls and Boys coach in Loveland. Erik currently holds his USSF E License and is currently working on his D License. Erik is very excited to start the new season and can’t wait to start training in the fall. Erik’s coaching philosophy is to use the player’s strengths and to build upon the weaknesses to get your child to perform at his best ability. Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.
U11 Boys Black - Tyler Adams is also a Fort Collins Soccer Club/Arsenal Colorado alumnus. Tyler played with the club from U5 through U18 (4 years as a Royal player and 2 years on the Gold team). He was also a 3 year varsity player at Poudre High School. Tyler played 1 year of collegiate soccer at CCC of Kansas. He will complete his D License this summer.