News Detail

22

Feb, 2019

MENTOR PROGRAM IN ACTION AT PDT

MENTOR-PROGRAM-AT-PDT


Over Presidents’ Day Weekend, 350 Rush Soccer players and over 40 coaches came together to represent the
Rush Select Program at the Presidents’ Day Tournament (PDT) in Phoenix, Arizona. Twenty-two teams (eleven male and eleven female) in the 2001-2006 birth years took to the fields, walking away on Presidents’ Day with 10 Championship finishes and 1 Finalist finish. Rush Select has been bringing together some of the top players within Rush to compete against other elite-level teams in Arizona for the past several years, with this year’s performances capturing a new record of victories for the program.

 

Among the 40+ Rush coaches present at the event were six mentee coaches looking to gain perspective, insight, and feedback from more experienced coaches. Some mentees were assigned to their mentor’s team from the Mentor Program, while a few were assigned to other experienced Rush coaches for the weekend.

 

The influx of over 40 coaches to Phoenix on one weekend in February proved to provide a great experience for the six mentees looking to grow in the game. Some notable advantages of experiencing PDT, an opportunity Matt Saul, Director of Coach Education, organized for the mentees were:

 

  • Networking

  • In person, on-field development

  • Understanding the level of the top players in Rush

  • Strengthen the relationship between Mentor and Mentee, as well as the relationship between mentees

 

Saul said of the experience:

 

“The partnership between Rush Select and the Mentor Program provides our coaches a truly unique, and hands-on coach development experience. The opportunity for some of these up and coming coaches from across Rush Nation to work with some of our top players and coaches is a hugely important part of the blended learning process that the Mentor Program strives to provide. I have nothing but admiration for the mentees who are committed to their own personal growth.”

 

Armando Sosa, a mentee from Idaho Rush remarked on his weekend at PDT:

 

“I have enjoyed being a part of the Mentor Program this year. I have had the luck to be around coaches that have a wealth of experience and information about the game and the administrative side of it. It’s been such a positive experience for me. I had an amazing experience with Rush Select and had great conversations with coaches around the Rush organization. It’s such a unique and incredible experience.”

 

The Mentor Program continues to help facilitate both learning and opportunity within its 10-month long program. The final event for this year’s mentees will be to attend Rush Fest in July, where they will again be immersed in one of the biggest Rush Soccer events of the year.

 

Two mentees from the previous year’s program participated in PDT again this year, this time as assistant coaches for the 2006 age group: Colin Spreag (2006 Boys) and Jess Nash (2006 Girls). Both former mentees will attend trips to Europe this year to see the 2006 Select teams compete against some of the top youth teams in Sweden and Italy!

 

 

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The Mentor Program is a 10 month-long education and mentorship opportunity for a select number of Rush coaches. This program was created to support standout coaches, develop their understanding of the Rush Way, foster their desire for self-development, and help them reach the pinnacle of the coaching profession.

 

The Rush Select Program is designed to give extended opportunities to the elite level players in Rush. This allows the top players in individual clubs to play with players at and above their level. Domestically it gives older players additional opportunities to be recruited at college showcase events that perhaps their local club will not be invited to, and allow the younger players to compete against the best players in the country. The Rush Select teams also have the opportunity to travel internationally, training and playing games against local, regional and youth professional teams from various nations. There are international training programs and international tournaments of which both often include attendance to professional games including Champions League games. The immediate goal of the program is to win, so players are selected based on their ability to help the team win and not necessarily for the long term potential development. The long term goal is to identify and put players in a competitive environment for the potential selection for a Rush men's and women's professional team.


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