Coach David answers questions about her coaching career and Soccer Youth
This week’s Coach Spotlight features Daiana David. Coach David was born and raised in Brazil and started playing soccer around the age of four or five. She played soccer in high school and had an opportunity to play professionally around the age of 15. She was recruited to play for the u-20 team twice and played in Sao Paulo. Due to injuries, Coach David decided to move to America to play and go to school, in which she got a full scholarship to Murrow College. After Murrow, she transferred to Ryder University to play and graduated with a master’s degree. Coach David moved to Florida for her coaching career because injuries prevented her playing career from progressing further.
SY: So, when did you start coaching?
Coach David: “I was always involved in coaching. Even back when I was at Murrow, I had some internships based on being an assistant coach for a junior college. I was also a graduate assistant at the junior college and then at D-I with Ryder University. So, I was already building my resume with those two schools. After that, I got my C-license for coaching in the US and then I started coaching clubs, which brought me to Florida. I got an opportunity to start working at Southeastern University, an NAIA school, and that’s what I do now. I have my own (youth soccer) company that’s just for females, called ELLA Strong Performance Training.”
SY: Can you give me your overall thoughts on Soccer Youth?
Coach David: “Let me tell you, Soccer Youth is different. When I first started, I think in 2021 in Naples, I was unaware of it. I thought it was going to be some regular ID camp where kids come and don’t learn anything because that’s usually what happens. But, when I got there and started to understand what type of message they were giving to the players and the parents, that’s when I was like ‘this is different.’ It’s more than soccer – you get to connect with the kids and the family. You have a short time to get to know these players and at the same time try to make them better. Every time I go, it’s different. Players that I met two years ago are totally different now because they’ve all been taking it seriously and want to get better. These players come in and try to give everything they have because they know it’s the only time they can showcase what they can do until their next event. The experience, the connections, the environment, people coming from all over – it’s different. I’ve connected with people from Canada and they text me asking when I’m going to be at another event or ‘I’m going to be at this event, are you coming too?’ It just doesn’t even feel like I’m working, I love it so much.”
SY: Can you describe a normal weekend for you at Soccer Youth?
Coach David: “Oh, that’s difficult because I don’t think we have a normal weekend. A normal weekend at Soccer Youth, you’re going to find all the craziness possible. Every time we go, it’s a different place. And even though I’ve been to locations multiple times with Soccer Youth, each time there are different kids that come out, there are never the same exact kids as last time. So, that’s amazing, right? I think that’s what so interesting about Soccer Youth – the different competition every single time. I would say generally a normal weekend is getting there on Thursday, having a great performance training, and afterwards getting the kids ready for evaluations. I don’t think we predict too much on what each player is going to do because, like I said, every single time is different. You might have a player who came to a different event and they had a C rating, but this time, they might be an A. But, yeah, after evaluations we just have fun. We start playing soccer and we have the combine. The combine is fun because it gives players an extra opportunity to showcase what they’re made of. Then Sunday is the Championship. If you go to an event, then on Sunday you’re going to see me coaching in the Championship because I try to make it there every time. It’s a great experience for both me and the kids. I love it and it’s so much fun.”
Coach David, along with the other fantastic Soccer Youth coaches, will be at the All-American series throughout the summer. With eighteen events scheduled for the summer, Soccer Youth will be all around the country to help kids grow and realize their soccer potential!
