Director of Coaching

Enrique Serrano

My name is Enrique Serrano and it is a pleasure to be working for the New Mexico Clash Soccer Club.  It is my intention to help catapult this club into the sphere of prestige that only a few clubs enjoy in the U.S.A.  I am certain that the potential is there in terms of the talent of coaches and players; my job is to set a new direction that will free us from the self-imposed constraints caused by years of an uncritical approach to coaching methods and philosophy.

The experience that empowers me to attempt this endeavor is divided into four different sources.  The first one, and perhaps the most important, is my life-long love of the game.  I have loved the game of soccer since before I could talk.  My parents got a lot of attention showing off how I would go into a sort of convulsion at the sight and sound of a goal being scored at the park or on the television set.  The second most valuable credential of mine is my actual playing experience at high competitive levels.  Early on in my childhood, I am actually embarrassed to say this, I was able to pass the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades thanks to a school principal that loved soccer and the fact that I played for my School District’s regional select team, a district composed of dozens of schools and tens of thousands of children (to help you imagine the size of it should suffice to say that it is in Mexico City, where I am from).  This early exposure to competitive soccer was the foundation that gave me the confidence to attempt to follow a career in professional soccer, which I was able to achieve by the age of 19, until my mid-thirties.  During this phase of my life, I was lucky enough to have landed contracts playing for several championship teams, in which I was able to personally win scoring titles, and many appearances on All Star teams.  However, most importantly, during this time I had the opportunity to work under coaches like Miguel Mejia Baron, Mario Velarde, Guillermo Vazques, Hugo Hernandez, all of which coached or assisted with the Mexican National Team. 

The third branch of my soccer formation comes from actually having coached the game for over twenty years at the youth, high school and college levels.  I was first introduced to coaching at a youth soccer program at the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico.  This is unique program not only because of its size (which at the time consisted of more than 17,000 kids) but also because it was developed and managed by doctors of the Child Development section of the Psychology department of that university.  Later on, after emigration to the U.S., I was involved in youth coaching and soon got involved in High School coaching at the La Cueva Women’s soccer program assisting Greg Rusk during his 7 year consecutive state champion ships, and later on as Head Coach to win a couple more.  After this, I had the opportunity to again assist Rusk at the New Mexico Highlands University for several years and Head Coach for one.

Finally, the fourth characteristic of my development that gives me the buoyancy necessary to state that I can, and will, help Clash reach its goal of becoming a premiere soccer club is my life-long love of knowledge and the critical thinking abilities that it helps develop.  Thanks to this trait, I have been able to develop a coaching philosophy, an eclectic methodology, and a style that has helped many players reach greater heights of performance, and several teams achieve their developmental and competitive goals. I will share my perspectives on the game as we move forward in the process of creating great experiences for our children.