ELON, N.C. - Leading up to the start of the Elon University women's soccer season, players and members of the coaching staff will share what they have done to prepare for the upcoming season.
 
Featured in today's edition is assistant coach John Pardini, who begins his fifth season with the program in 2017. He sat down for a short Q&A to talk about his experience coaching at the Region III U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program.
 
Question: Explain what the U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program for Region III is?
 
Answer: "The US ODP Region III program is a pathway for youth players to get selected to be a part of the United States Women's Youth National Teams. Each state from Region III puts together a team to partake in a week of training and games with the hope of having a few of their players be selected to the Region Team by a group of Region Coaches. The Region Staff identifies and builds a team of the top 18 players from our Region to compete in the National Team event against the other 3 regions, as well as an additional 22 players to be a part of the Region III pool."
 
"I was asked to be a part of the Region III staff to help evaluate and develop these players. Also on staff with me were Patrick Baker from Florida Atlantic, James Armstrong from Auburn, Tom Brown from Sam Houston State, Director of Tennessee Soccer Club Ronnie Woodard, Rade Tanaskovic from Iowa, Mike Varga from Gardner-Webb, Brian Periman from FIU, and Pauline McDonald who is a member of the Scottish FA."
 
Question: What was the structure of the entire week of the program?
 
Answer: "The week started with each Region Staff member being assigned 2 teams from different states. We would train these players during the morning session. After the training sessions, there would be a set of games, and from those games we would come up with a player pool. Each afternoon our Region staff would collaborate, evaluate and put together a list of about 50 to 60 players to participate in the evening games. In the evenings, the selected players would be split into four teams to compete against one another. Following the games, the entire Region 3 coaching staff, would get together, deliberate, and identify our top-18 players and our top-40 for that evening. This would continue throughout the week culminate at the end of the week with the creation of a Region Team and group of pool players."
 
Question: What were some of the keys to evaluating these players?
 
"At this level, most players are going to have a high level of skill and athleticism. It is relatively easy to spot those attributes. From there however, it is imperative to find out what players have a high football IQ, who is internally motivated and competitive, who is consistent in their decision-making and execution of that decisions, and ultimately who is a football junkie. These traits are not always easily identifiable and at times can be very subjective from coach to coach. Therefore, it is essential that you get to know the players as quickly as possible, spend as much time working with them. This aspect ties hand-in-hand with recruiting and why we spend so much time getting to know our players before we ask them to join our team at Elon. I spend a tremendous amount of time recruiting, as our entire staff, and we go out and spend weeks upon weeks away from family to get to know all of these players. When you bring a player into your program, you're bringing them into your family."
 
Question: What were some of the challenges you faced being a part of the Region III development program's staff?
 
Answer: "As a Region Staff we are trying to build a team that can win and compete against top players from across the country. We had a little under a week to get to know as many of the players as possible and build a squad from that group."
 
"The first challenging aspect is connecting with the players, and finding a way to make them better. Our sport is all about building relationships and developing players. In such a small period of time I had to find ways to build relationships with the players and identify the strengths and areas of improvement that each player needs for them to be successful. It's a unique experience to get to work with players from all over the southeast. Every player is going to be a little different and they each respond to feedback in different ways so it is important to be adaptable in your teaching methods. One common theme, however, when it comes to elite players, is that they want honesty about their game whether it be positive or negative. Our staff at Elon really prides itself on being effective communicators with our players. This is imperative to player development and also in establishing trust and a relationship with each player."
 
"The second challenging aspect is identifying the top players and selecting the squad. This can be an arduous process as there is a tremendous amount of subjectivity and speculation involved when you are collaborating with multiple coaches. On our staff, there were multiple evenings in which players were debated at great length over who was more technical or athletic or intelligent. There were coaches with a tremendous amount of experience at the highest level of collegiate soccer who have developed tremendous players that have gone on to the next level.  As a coach you must find a way to advocate for players that you feel belong in the squad, however, it also necessary to collaborate with the other coaches and come up with a squad that we felt comfortable with as a group."  
 
Question: What are some things you learned that you can bring to Elon from the experience?
 
Answer: "Due to the structure and setup of the event, I was able to spend a large portion of my time talking and communicating with other Division 1 coaches. I asked them about their recruiting philosophies and identification of talent, I watched their training sessions, and I discussed their approach to building a team and how they bring new players into an existing culture. Every year at Elon we add a new group of freshmen to our Elon soccer family who have been trained by many different coaches and come from all over the world. We have very limited time to acclimate these players to our style, culture, and philosophy before our first counting match. There are not too many professions that operate the way we do, so we rely on each other for new ideas and to reflect on our current methods."
 
About the U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program:
The US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program was formed in 1977 to identify a pool of players in each age group from which a National Team will be selected for international competition; to provide high-level training to benefit and enhance the development of players at all levels; and, through the use of carefully selected and licensed coaches, develop a mechanism for the exchange of ideas and curriculum to improve all levels of coaching. For more information, please visit http://regioniii.usyouthsoccer.org/.