Today we're talking to Jared Spires, the Chief Operating Officer for the soccer club Real Colorado.
And wow, what a guest he is. Let me just read a snippet of his resume to give you an idea. Jared began coaching at the age of 19 and became the Director of the Competitive Program for then Douglas County Blast, later renamed Real Colorado. He holds a USSF A license, the highest achievement in the US in coaching criteria, which he earned at the age of 26. He spent some time at Vanderbilt University as the women's assistant soccer coach, and here's something youth soccer fans everywhere can get excited about. You've probably heard of a young phenom by the name of Mallory Pugh, the 2015 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year, who this January became the youngest female player to be selected and play for the U.S. national team during an Olympic qualifying tournament. Jared coached her at Real Colorado when she was a U-11 and U-12 and has been front and center watching her develop into the player she is today. Currently, Jared is the Chief Operating Officer at Real Colorado, where his duties are accountability for managing the operating budget, implementing policy, and operationally leading Real Colorado in the direction determined by himself, the Executive Director of Coaching/President, and the Board of Directors.
We talk about all of this and more in this 30 minute interview. We talk about what it was like coaching Mallory Pugh, how she compared to other players at her age and how Jared thinks young players can and need to emulate about her development, as well as what players can't or shouldn't emulate. We talk about the recruiting process, what Jared views as the proper role of the club staff in the process. We also get into the thorny issues surrounding the ECNL and the Development Academy, what ECNL clubs like his are doing to prepare for the GDA in the next 6, 12, 18 months, how he thinks the situations is going to play out in that time and into the future. It’s a great conversation, I really hope you enjoy it, so without further ado, here’s my conversation with Jared Spires.