Coronado Dons Soccer

At Coronado for the Senior Awards!
Go Dons!!

So proud of our boys. Michael was rock that held my defense together. Jesus was the ultimate team player. Moving wherever the team needed him. He played just about every position, except keeper this year. Lazar was my wildcard. His job was to create chaos for their defense and he was supremely well suited for the job…

Going to miss you boys. Can’t wait to see what you achieve next.

Congratulations to Dons forward Lazar Stamenkovic on his signing with the Phoenix College soccer team.

A great experience for me. Always looking to expand my horizons. Thank you Kevin Maxwell and Don Henninger for taking the time to talk to me about one of my favorite subjects, my boys and my program. I enjoyed meeting you guys and seeing my program through your eyes. I think sometimes I’m too critical of my actions, and I don’t take the time to catch my breath and enjoy the journey as much as I should. We have so much still to do to get the program where I want it, but we have made significant progress.

Please take a listen, let me know your thoughts on where we are and where we can go from here. We can use lots of help, but more importantly, cheer my boys on every chance you get. They are amazing young men I am incredibly proud to coach.

Ep. 86 – A soccer success story – on, off the field

Coronado High School’s varsity soccer team has a record of being one of the best teams in the state. When you spend time with coach, Jose Velarde, you’ll discover that the real victories are more than what happens on game days. Overcoming challenges, building teamwork, being flexible, rewarding efforts, instilling discipline – all are part of the formula he uses to make his program successful. There are lessons there for all aspects of our lives in Scottsdale.

https://sites.libsyn.com/335969/ep-86-a-soccer-success-story-on-off-the-field

Tis the season… and we could so use the support. If you are able, we would be most appreciative. I’m already making a list of all the things I will need to get for the next season…

Help support Coronado Athletics by submitting your tax credit donation and designating it to the Athletics program. We need your support!!

Senior night!!!
We are playing AJ today for our Senior Night. Festivities start at 5. Join us!!
We would love to see alumni there cheering on out boys…

In all my years of coaching this is the first time I have had enough seniors that my entire starting lineup today is made up of seniors. This is going to be fun.

Go Dons!!!

Photos from Coronado Don's Athletics's post

Beautiful background for our practice today.

Quick update. I haven’t been posting like I should have been. Dealing with health issues and school has been a challenge…

My boys are doing fantastic. We are 3-3 at this point. A slow start by our standards but taking into account the fact that we played 3 6A conference teams in a tournament where we were the only 4A team invited and we held our own(beat one). What have we learned so far? Patience. This team is good at sticking to its guns and being patient. They don’t force things, they let the game come to them. We are an experienced team. 13 seniors. Normally I don’t like having more than half my team be seniors but something made me keep the 13. We had 17 tryout.

The rest of our season is going to be busy. We have 9 regular season games left and a tournament next week. All in about 6 weeks. Then the playoffs… I truly feel this team can do some damage come state playoffs.

Go Dons!!!

Coronado High School SUSD

Lady Dons Volleyball having a car wash. We are out here til 1pm. Come out and support our girls…
Go Dons!!!

This Saturday our girls are having a car wash. Trying to raise money to get us some team shirts. If you’re out and about and/or just willing to help, we would truly appreciate your support…

Hope to see lots of alumni there supporting our team…

Come out and support the Coronado Dons Varsity Football Team this Friday, August 26. The Dons take on the Cortez Colts for its home and season opener. Tickets may be purchased for $5 online at GoFan.co or at the gate for cash purposes. Concessions will be available along with a Kona Ice truck and Last Taco food truck so come hungry. Fight On Dons!!!

Don’t forget that this year we have a Clear Bag Policy so please leave purses and bags in your vehicle or at home.

Had a great time watching the boys battle. Can’t wait for the season to actually start. Go Dons!!!

@ Coronado for Don Days. Anyone want to sign up for soccer?

Every year in the off-season and summer we work on reloading and recharging getting ready to battle on one more year. This year was no different though a bit more challenging than usual for me… First, we managed to survive and get through a challenging season. We did alright but we could have done better. We managed to finish ranked 10th in our conference and placed 4 players in the All Region 1st Team, 3 in the All Region 2nd Team, Alex Quintanilla walked away with Region Player of the Year and we place two players in the All District Team. So all in all, not a bad season. Also, our JV under the Leadership of Coach Eddie managed to finish the season Undefeated. Really only one or two of the games were even close. That bodes well for our future.

Personally it was a bit more challenging. In the last 6 months Have had 5 surgeries, and I still have one more to go. Spent almost 6 weeks in the hospital. Lost 60 lbs and am in the process of gaining some of that back. Luckily i managed to put all the off until the season ended. Hope to be back in good shape once season starts. I am ready for another challenge. I expect big things out of this year’s team. Hope to see you all coming out to our games.

Go Dons!!!

Btw due to everything that was going on, I was unable to spend any time fundraising. I’m finding out that’s going to be a yearly thing. This year I hope to raise enough to get us some recording equipment for games. We are at a bit of disadvantage when we cannot do film analysis or put together video for our players to send to the college programs they are interested in. So, if you are interested in helping us or using your tax donations to help us, they would be most appreciated.

Go Dons!!

Yes!!!
We are a resource for our players to make themselves better. Better players. Better athletes. Better young people.

"You must set an
example. Your
players must know
that you care for
them more than just
as athletes.
- John Wooden

So proud. Go Dons!!!

I’m a bit heartbroken… In 30 years I cannot recall ever missing one of my team’s games. Today is a first and it just so happens to be Senior Night for the Class of 2022 Seniors. 11 of my boys will play their final home game and I’ll be at home recovering from Covid wishing desperately I could be there… I am blessed to have such great support. Coach Eddie, Tessa, John, my AD and of course my brother Artie have stepped up and everything is covered for tonight. But I can’t help the feeling that I’m letting my boys down.

Quick update on the season. It’s been a bit rocky. Current record is 6-4 with 3 games left. The four losses hurt, but three of them were against quality teams and our play level was good. So no complaints there. The 4th one… well, that’s a long story. Let’s just say we learned a valuable lesson on controlling tempers and self discipline. We still expect to win our region and make a run at the state playoffs. We are a very talented team that finally seems to be putting all the pieces together.

I’ll keep you all posted on how the season progresses.

Almost forgot congratulations to Coach Eddie and our JV team. Besides supporting me so well with the Varsity team, coach Eddie(and the boys) has managed to win every game they have played. They are 8-0 with two games to go.

Go Dons!!

My mother has a favorite saying for me. We never lose. We either win, or we learn… well, today we learned. We are used to being the faster team on the field. That wasn’t true today. Phoenix Country Day is a very good team, and they are fast. They also capitalized on set pieces, something for us to work on. The game was pretty evenly matched other than those set pieces. Our coaches are very proud of our boys. Even their coach came up to me and told me how good our team is. He’s rooting for us to win State.

The lesson for the day? There were several I could have picked. But I will go with perseverance. The season is a marathon. We have to think long term and learn from our stumblings, recover, reload, refocus, and move forward. We can’t do that looking in the rear view mirror. Next game, that’s what we have to concentrate on. Biggest life lesson of them all?

Next up is Saguaro. Monday at home. Hope to see more fans come to cheer our boys on to victory.

Go Dons!!!

Yesterday we had our first home games. Finally got to try on our new home uniforms...

Desert Edge came to us for a change.
Varsity won their game 2-0. We are improving game to game. This is good. Still have a few wrinkles to iron out, but we have 4 weeks more or less to take care of them for a playoff run. 4-0. Not a bad start…

JV finally played a clean game. They’re also 4-0 but they’re winning by larger margins. 8-0 this time. Coach Eddie asked them for a clean sheet and he got one.

The lesson of the day was teamwork. Both our defenses played tremendous games. There were mistakes but they covered each others’ back and no damage was allowed. It’s a life lesson. We all have strengths and weaknesses, being a part of a team allows us to achieve more than we would on our own and to grow…

We play again tomorrow morning at 11am. Phoenix Country Day comes to us. Should be a heck of a game.

Go Dons!!!

What do we do to get and stay game-ready? Well, on top of all the usual, conditioning, ball work, drills for situational awareness… we do Mindfulness lessons for the boys. Dr Wyatt from Mindfulness First has been working with our boys on a weekly basis… this week’s lesson? Stress management. Recognizing triggers and dealing with stress. Dr. Wyatt is fantastic!

On another note, tomorrow is our first home game. Desert Edge comes to us this year. JV plays at 4 and Varsity at 6pm. Hope to see as many of you as can make it there…

Go Dons!!!

Last night we had our third game of our season. Tempe. We won both games.

JV won their game handily 5-2. Varsity had a tougher battle. Winning 2-1 in Overtime. We had to overcome playing a tough team for 100 minutes and unfriendly refs(starting to think there is no other kind). The exciting part is that this team keeps finding a way to win when we aren’t playing our best and when we fall behind… we are improving game to game. We are achieving things as a team. It’s a life lesson. Teamwork makes things possible that individual effort would not. So proud of our boys…

Game day #2 done.
Or getting there. In the bus currently heading home from Cottonwood… ever stop to order McDonald’s for 38 teenagers? That was trippy…

The boys had to battle 45° weather and a constant drizzle. Not to mention unfriendly refs and hostile fans, and still shorthanded; working on our grades to have all our players available…

JV won 5-1. They controlled the game beginning to end.

Varsity won 2-1. They played a fantastic game. Had to overcome a couple of injuries and have a couple of jv players fill in. Mingus made it exciting by scoring a late goal(I didn’t think it went in but oh well). Our boys responded by putting on the pressure and defending by attacking.

The word of the day is Perseverance. Things weren’t really going our way, but we kept plugging away and found a way to win the game. It’s a Life lesson. Nothing will ever go as planned. You have to find a way to succeed. Nothing will be handed to you. So far our boys have done exactly that…

Go Dons!!!

First games done.

Played away at Mesquite HS. So proud of our boys. JV won handily despite being short handed due to grades. Varsity was down 3-1 at half and also shorthanded, they battled back and won 4-3.

Also, special thanks to Coach Eddie for pulling double duty today. He coached both games. I was serving my suspension from last year’s playoff red card. Yes, they carry over… some of the players asked me who would know if I didn’t do it. And I told them I would. The word of the day is Accountability. I can’t help my players become the men they can be, if I don’t hold myself accountable. It’s a life lesson. Actions have consequences. Do I think I deserved it? Doesn’t matter. It was what it was. So I served my suspension, sat with some parents and enjoyed an amazing comeback win… I wouldn’t have it any other way…

Go Dons!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

I am grateful for each and everyone of you. I wouldn’t be me without you all. Love my family, friends and village. We have the most amazing community…

Yesterday during the Mindfulness session with our boys, I mentioned to them how this is my favorite time of year. Yeah, holidays and all that… but we have a new season stretching out before us. The possibilities are endless. The opportunities for growth and learning are infinite…what could be better?

Just for fun(speaking about Dons’ Soccer) here’s my senior yearbook picture from the soccer page. (Don’t tell my players I’m not wearing shin guards).

Season has started. We are in the fourth week. What’s happened up til now? Let me see… tryouts. Lots and lots of running(by the boys and sometimes coach Eddie. I’m too old to run AND coach). Lots of ball work. Lots of bonding time… the beginning of season is always a magical time. Full of promise and possibility. We reset, reloaded and are preparing for another run. A lot of the old faces are back along with some new ones infusing a different perspective. A new fire.
The word of the day is renewal. It’s a life lesson. Many times in life we have to find a way to adjust perspective, to digest new input, reset your compass and keep moving forward. We are doing exactly that.

What’s new? New uniforms, new warmups. New practice equipment. So we look good. Now I tell the boys it’s up to them what this season will bring for us all… also, very exciting to be able to say that we have a girls team again!!!

Yesterday we got to scrimmage Valley Christian HS. The format is 4 20 minute quarters for scrimmages. So we played with our starters the first 40 minutes, backups the next 20 minutes and I let JV have the last 20 minutes. I’m very happy and proud to say that we looked good pretty much the entire 80 minutes. We have a good squad. Now just have to execute for the next 12-18 games…

Go Dons!!

At Coronado to support our Football Team’s home game.
Go Dons!!!

It was nice to see a good size crowd cheering on our Dons… tough loss, but the boys battled. There is never any shame in losing. The shame is in giving up and the Dons did not quit…

Go Dons!!!

Who’s going to join me cheering the Dons on tonight?

Go Dons!!!

Game Night!!! Come support your Dons Football tonight at 7pm. Gates open at 6pm. Tickets may be purchased in advance using the link below:'

https://gofan.co/app/events/378444?schoolId=AZ11962

Go Dons!!

Next week we will be at our stadium cheering them on for their first home game. Hope to see lots of alumni there.

Dons Win!!! Dons Win!!!
Congratulations to the Dons varsity football team on their first victory of the season 52-6 vs Catalina HS.

Tonight I got to watch the Coronado Girls Volleyball Team pull out two match wins. Both the JV and Varsity won in straight sets. But it wasn’t as easy as that sounds. They battled through and won. Happy to be there to upper and was very glad to see some of my boys there supporting as well. Community building at its best…

Go Dons!!!

Today my boys got to attend a soccer clinic thrown by the Phoenix Rising FC. Coaches from the organization from the youth coaches to Coach Schantz from the professional side and three of their professional players worked with our boys and some of the younger kids from our area….

Phoenix Rising Football Club

The boys had a great time. And hopefully learned a thing or two. I’ve always said that it is a good thing for the players to learn from different coaches. There are many styles of coaching. The more a player is exposed to, the better he will develop. So the lesson for the day is Diversity of Instruction. There is no one magical method of instruction. The more points of view a mind if exposed to, the better it understands the concepts. It’s a Life Lesson…

Go Dons!!!

@ Coronado for a small band performance for the parents.

This year we are doing our best to support all the Dons’ programs… that and of course my nephews…

The lesson of the day is Community Building. We are only as strong as the Community we choose and help build around ourselves… Go Dons!!!

@ Coronado for Student Registration… talking to students about my program…

I got my keys, my school ID and my classroom… I’m ready to start..

2021-2022 here we come.
Go Dons!!!

Coronado Football Booster Club, organized by Jerry Black

Please help support our Football program if you can. The pandemic has put all our programs behind the 8ball financially to start the year. Coach Black and the boys have been working hard getting themselves physically ready all summer long. Let’s show them a little love…

Go Dons!!!

Coronado Football Booster Club, organized by Jerry Black Dear Family Friends & Alumni, Due to the pandemic our fundraising as well as school at… Jerry Black needs your support for Coronado Football Booster Club

Summer Soccer Camp 2021 final update…

Today we spent the entire time playing foot tennis. Introduced the boys to it. It’s an interesting variation on their soccer skill. The courts are hard and flat. The ball bounces differently than it does on wood like in the gym or on turf like it is on our field… a big challenge of playing HS soccer is that one needs to be able to adapt to the different surfaces and conditions of the fields. First round of the playoffs last year was on a crowned, narrow, short and bumpy field. We struggled mightily with that though we did eventually adapt enough to win that game. It’s a life skill. You never know where you’ll be tomorrow or what circumstances You’ll he asked to overcome. So the final lesson for the Camp is Adaptability…

So proud of my boys. I wonder if they realize how much further along their journey they are now compared to when we started this camp… nowhere else I’d rather be…

Go Dons!!!

Almost forgot. They also had to adapt to a bit of rain. Weird weather.

Coronado Summer Soccer Camp 2021 Update…

Last three days of the camp. We worked once again on shooting, touch and some keep away(Rondos)… most of my players have shown improvement, some have shown a ton of improvement from beginning of the last season to now. The lesson of the day is progress… my dad taught me that progress is like climbing a mountain of loose dirt. If you’re not plugging away and moving forward, you’re losing momentum and sliding backwards. It’s a life lesson. It applies to pretty much everything you do in life. You are either constantly learning, improving and mastering or you’re losing ground…

Go Dons!!!

Summer Soccer Camp 2021 update…

Today we worked on shooting on the big goal. For two hours straight. The boys worked hard. We went at it different angles, standing ball, rolling ball and bouncing balls…

The thing about shooting is that it to be a good shooter you need unshakeable confidence. You have to be able to put one 10 rows into the stands but still believe the next one will be a gem. Self-confidence, the lesson for today. It’s a life lesson. If you don’t believe in yourself how can you expect others to do it for you?…

Finally heard back from the Phoenix Rising. We are going to have that clinic, we just need to pick a date. Or more accurately they need to pick a date. They’ve promised me some of their pro players. Something that my boys will love and hopefully help them learn…

Go Dons!!!

Btw today we started the camp at 84° and finished at 90°. Considering we are running 5-7, that is some odd weather…

Summer Soccer Camp 2021 update…

Today due to the unexpected nice weather we played outside. We pulled out one of our goals and practiced shooting for about an hour. Trick to shooting is hitting it the same way every time and working on figuring out the result, so you can adjust it to where you want it to go. The lesson of the day is consistency. Sure, a brilliant play here or there is nice. But consistency is way more important. As a coach I can’t adjust what’s on the field if I don’t know what I’m getting from one minute to the next. As a player same thing applies in a more personal level. It’s a life lesson. It applies to all facets of life…

Today I saw something I’ve never seen in 30+ years of coaching. One of my players hit the crossbar while shooting at least 11 times in the span of about 35 minutes. Funniest thing I’ve ever seen.

Btw love being back on our beautiful field. I love being a Don.

Go Dons!!!

Almost forgot. In the picture attached you can see the football camp. Happy to see them having decent numbers and watching them work so hard.

Soccer Summer Camp 2021 update…

We have a couple of more players which made it better for our scrimmage. We worked on control and touch. We were playing in the main gym. So my boys were under strict orders not to go nuts with their shots and control the ball better. Don’t want to break anything in there. You’d think it couldn’t happen but last year one of the boys in a pe soccer class broke part of the scoreboard in the lower gym, so we are not taking any chances.

At the end of the practice one of my seniors asked if we could go into the classroom and go over a lineup recommendation he has. So we did… it’s an interesting variation on what I want to do. So I told him I’ll consider it. Love seeing my players think and prepare. So the lesson of the day is Preparation. No matter how good you are at what you do, there is no replacement for getting ready and thinking about possible wrinkles you might have to fix. The more we prepare, the better off we’ll be. It’s a life lesson…

Go Dons!!!