Photos by Vintage Couture Photography
“Set the tone, connect five, go to goal.” That's the motto twobrlocal soccer teams chanted as they stepped onto the field last year, donning abrnew logo on their jerseys. Velocity Elite FC, a North Texas competitive youthbrsoccer club, opened last April in Southlake. Just over a year later, the club hasbrrapidly grown to six teams of girls. With former Division 1 college and professionalbrathletes as coaches, it’s not hard to see why.
As Southlake's very own youth soccer club prepares for itsbrsecond year in action, we caught up with Executive Director John Saeger.
Home Turf
The idea for Velocity Elite FC was born after Saeger facedbran issue he saw many local families dealing with. Driving his daughter in rushbrhour traffic to various soccer clubs around the Metroplex night after night, Saegerbrstill felt like she wasn't getting the attention she needed. One day, he said, “Webrhave a ton of great athletes right here in Southlake – why not start somethingbrhere?”
So, he took a leap and did it. Investing in his ownbrneighborhood, as he calls it, Saeger started Velocity Elite FC, housed at StackbrVelocity Sports Performance on Highway 114. He has made it his goal to providebrhigh-quality training and one-on-one attention to young soccer players, rangingbrin age from about six to sixteen. “We know everybody's names. They're not abrnumber. Say there's 18 girls on a team – we develop one through 18 the same,”brhe says.
Saeger aims to train girls, and someday boys, to play beyondbrhigh school if they want. What goes into that is more than soccer training,brspeed and agility, he says. It's focusing on the overall health and wellness ofbreach player – that's why the club has partnered with Ben Hogan Sports Medicine to work with the girls on concussion prevention and management.
The girls also see a nutritionist – the same nutritionistbrwho works with FC Dallas and the Dallas Cowboys – to learn about the healthiestbrfood choices. “If a girl wants to play beyond high school, we want to give herbrthe tools to get to whatever goals she has,” Saeger says. “We definitely wantbrthem to eat the right things to help them be the best they can be.”
Although the focus on health and the individualizedbrattention make the club stand out, it's truly the coaches, in Saeger's opinion,brthat have helped the girls get where they are. “These women have the rightbrtemperament for coaching these young ladies,” Saeger says.
Meet the Coaches
Lauren Alkek is a former college and professional soccerbrplayer. Recruited by a number of different schools out of high school, thebrTexas native chose the University of Oklahoma, where she was a starter all fourbryears. After graduating in 2010, Alkek played professionally for three years.brThen, she tore her ACL, which led her to an opportunity she “couldn’t pass up”br– coaching.
“She was playing with the likes of Sydney Leroux and otherbrU.S. Women's National Team players, so she can certainly hold her own in thatbrregard,” Saeger says. “But she felt that this was a better long-termbropportunity for her.”
Now a coach and part owner of the Velocity Elite FCbrendeavor, the 25-year-old brings more than experience to the field. “As a club we are working to create abrspecial culture where the girls are more than just teammates, they're family,”brAlkek says. “The Velocity Elite FC women have set out on a quest together to becomebrthe very best they can be – not as individuals, but the best they can be forbreach other.”
Kelsey Devonshire, a goalie who was also a starter at OU allbrfour years, made her way to the program after a season of playingbrprofessionally. The Richland High School alumnus is now a goalie coach with thebrSouthlake program.
“Kelsey was coached at Oklahoma by Graeme Abel, the samebrcoach who worked with Hope Solo,” Saeger says. “She is a phenomenal goalkeeperbrcoach.”
Devonshire says starting every game during her four years atbrOU gives her a unique perspective on what goes into being an elite athlete atbrthe next level. “From the performance training in the weight room to thebrconditioning and endurance training in 110 degree heat… Because of this, I ambrable to look at our girls and know that I can provide them with a well-roundedbrsoccer experience,” Devonshire says.
Both coaches aim to develop the girls as people, not just asbrplayers. And apparently, their philosophy has paid off. “Watching the chemistrybrof the girls and their passion for the game grow has been one of the greatestbrthings I have witnessed,” Alkek says. Devonshire adds, “These girls refuse tobrleave practice!”
Slow But Steady
As for the future, Saeger says a lot is in store forbrVelocity Elite FC. Eventually, he says they'll make Velocity Elite AthleticbrClub the umbrella over many different sports. They are also going to invest inbrpermanent, larger facilities to accommodate more kids.
“It's our goal to become a club that everybody wants to comebrto,” Saeger says. “But, I don't want to grow any faster than our infrastructurebrwill allow. We want to get it right, do it the right way – focus onbrdevelopment, the health and fitness aspect, and grow from there.”
With individual attention from coaches like Alkekbrand Devonshire, leadership from Saeger, and a home base right here in Southlakebrfilled with camaraderie, passion and athletic development, growth is something theybrcan count on.
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