VILLARREAL NEBRASKA ACADEMY - Key Persons
Adam is from Lincoln, NE. He attended his first two years of High School at Pius X where he played for the Bolts then transferred to Lincoln East High School where he played center mid for the Spartans for 2 years. He is not new to the VNA family Adam has played for Jorge for 3 years on the HS Ultra team prior to graduating high school. He has joined the VNA coaching staff to help coach the 2010 Elite Girls, Yellows and Submarines. Adam is also a certified referee.
Adam also works full time at Campbell's Nursery.
Alisha is from Lincoln, NE. She played club soccer in Lincoln and graduated from Lincoln Southeast High School. Alisha played for Nebraska Wesleyan University upon graduation. She has coached micro to high school level teams. Currently, Alisha is the JV Girls Soccer Coach at Lincoln Southwest High School. She also has a daughter, Avryn, that is part of the Groguets program.
Is a native of Lincoln and played soccer when girls/women's soccer was just taking off in Nebraska. She attended Lincoln High School, after attending Lakeview Elementary and Everett Jr. High Schools. At Lincoln High she was on Student Council and held several officer positions, she participated in cheerleading and intramural athletics and Varsity Girls Soccer. After High School she attended UNL and double majored in Accounting and Marketing with a minor in Psychology. Amy worked at Hallmark Corporate in Kansas City upon college graduation. She worked with a marketing staff for the Kids Birthday Cards, then Stationery. When she returned to Lincoln she managed and owns Klein Survey Systems Inc. She now is the Managing Director of Villarreal Nebraska Academy and manages Nebraska Sports Center in addition to Klein Survey Systems Inc.
Her coaching experience began in college, Amy first volunteered at the YMCA to coach 3rd grade girls. She took a break from coaching when she was at Hallmark Corpo9rate and then began a family. In 2008 she began coaching young girls again because she is passionate about showing young girls that women can be active and have a role in sports throughout their lifetime. Amy completed 7 half-marathons and several other shorter races with her best half at 1:54 in her late 30s after 3 children. She developed her knowledge of the game by investing in coach training, parent education, assistant coaching constantly. She has head coached many players from Minis to 2005s and has been an assistant coach for girls teams up to 18U. She has held licenses from the former Youth Level 2, F-License, E-License, several certificates from the United Soccer Coaches. She believes soccer is a beautiful game that allows players to think, make decisions, and problem solve.
Angela grew up in a military family so moved around a lot. She has attended several universities, but played at the University of South Alabama Mobile. She started the women's soccer program at West Craven High School in North Carolina. Angela then took over the women's program at Arnold High School in Florida that had never won a game, where they never had a losing season under her direction. They made a multitude of state playoffs and won districts, sending players to college on scholarships and trainings with the U18 USWNT. She then moved on to coach her son and has been coaching at the youth ages since.
Brad played youth years with Bellevue Soccer Club, select years with Gladiator Soccer, and a further 5 years of ODP for Nebraska. He received All State Selections in 86' 87' and 88'. Brad went on to play UNL Club and has since been coaching developmental teams going on 12 years.
Cainan is from Bermuda, playing center midfield for Blue Mountain Academy, high school, and college. He is currently the head coach for Union College and College View Academy, and has worked with all ages at the youth level. Cainan has his USSF license D and is currently working on his National Diploma. He is married with one son and a dog.
Catherine is from Lincoln, NE. She attended Pius X High School where she played outside midfielder for the Bolts for 4 years as well as playing for the VNA. Cat also played for the UNL Women's Club Soccer Team. While playing for them she played outside midfield and outside back.
She has been coaching for VNA since she was in high school. This spring she coaches the Submarines and Yellows.
Chris is from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He began coaching since 2016 in Papillion and Springfield NE and joined the VNA coaching staff in 2020 as one of the Omaha coaching staff. Chris has coached ages U6-U15. Eggertsen is married and has 2 daughters, one daughter Jenna plays for the VNA Omaha 2006 Elite Girls. Chris also works a full time job at Applied Underwriters.
Ciro is from Lincoln, NE. He played striker and center attacking midfield for Southeast high school. Ciro won several intramural champions while attending college at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. He started coaching through his cousin's U6 team and now coaches several youth ages for Villarreal. Ciro volunteers for the Big Brother and Big Sister program while working at Ultimus Fund Solutions as a fund analyst.
Cora is from Lincoln, NE. She attended Lincoln Southeast High School where she played soccer for the Knights as a fullback. While at LSE she also ran Cross Country and played Basketball. She also has played for the VNA Ultra girls teams. She is not new to the VNA family. Cora has been coaching Mini-Submarines, Yellows and Groguets for the last 3 years. In addition to coaching soccer Cora is also a certified soccer referee.
Cora is also working at Scheels, Scooters and Southlake Village as a CNA.
Cory Shepard is from Lincoln, Nebraska. He attended Lincoln Northeast High School where he played center midfielder and center back. He also attended Morningside College and played center midfielder. He started coaching in 2006 for Tristate Revolution and joined the VNA family in 2018. Cory has his D license. Cory works full time at Zoetis Animal Health.
Edgar Ramirez is from Grand Island, Nebraska. He attended Grand Island Northwest where he played fullback and center back. He also played for the GI Fireballs. He started coaching in 2016 for Magellan and has been with VNA from the start. Edgar has his Grass Roots Licence and is currently working on his D licence. Edgar is also a certified referee. Edgar also works part time as a preschool teacher at Academic Advantage.
Eli is from Lincoln, NE. he played for Lincoln East high school while playing through our academy for our Ultra team and progressed to play at Bellevue University. He returned stepping into coaching and administrative roles. Eli was an assistant coach for East's varsity season for the 22' season where he led the team to the stte semi-finals and an ooverall 15-4 record. He has received a multitude of different academic, all-state, and all-city while playing and now hopes to push others towards further success at the collegiate and professional levels.
Erin Hall is from Omaha NE and attended Omaha Westside High School where she played sweeper for the Warriors. She attended Nebraska Wesleyan where she continued her soccer career, playing sweeper and stopper for 4 years. Erin has been coaching on and off over the last 20 years with the YMCA, CSA, NFC, and at clinics for a variety of ages. Erin joined the coaching staff at Villarreal in 2021. She has all of her grassroots coaching licenses and is QPR Gatekeeper Certified.
Erin also works full-time at INSPRO, A Marsh McLennan Agency as the Benefits Team Manager. She is married with 2 girls, Hayden is a member of the VNA Yellows.
Jason joined the VNA coaching family in October of 2021. He has 10 years of experience coaching boys and girls in a variety of youth sports. Jason is from Lincoln, NE, graduated from Southeast Community College and works full time as a stay at home dad. He also volunteers at his children's school, Cathedral of the Risen Christ. Jason is married and has four children, three boys and one girl. His oldest son Riley(‘07), middle son Tyler(‘09), and only daughter Madilyn(‘13) all play for the academy.
Jerry is from Guide Rock, NE. He began coaching in 2008 with LSC Eclypse U15s and has also coached YMCA teams, holding both USSF E and F licenses. Jerry works for Van Sicle Paint and is married with two girls. One currently coaches in Omaha, and the other came through our academy, going on to play at Concordia University. He has a total of 11 years of coaching experience and has learned much through watching and being apart of classroom and field training sessions.
Job Titles:
- Director of Coaching - Girls
Jo Rosenberger is the Girls Director of Coaching and is also a staff member of MiSA. She has been coaching for 15 years in various capacities including Football in the Community, high school, club, ODP, id2 and college.
Originally from Bolton, England, where she played with the Lady Wanderers, she was a multi-sport standout but chose to come to America to play college soccer. She played at multiple levels ranging from NAIA to NCAA Division I and was a key player on all teams.
Jo has spent many years learning the MiSA curriculum and pedagogy and is considered one of the top female youth coaches in North America. Her strength is in her communication, vision, and passion for the game that transfers effortlessly into her students. Jo currently holds USSF and UEFA licenses and holds a MiSA National A license. Jo is married to Brett Rosenberger (Boys DOC) and they live with their 6 year old daughter, Jadyn.
Joe Holmburg is from Lincoln, Nebraska with 11 years coaching experience. He played soccer in high school for Lincoln Southest as an outside back. Joe joined the VNA soccer family in 2019 after coaching recreational and spirit soccer for the YMCA. He has coached various ages, genders and levels. Joe started coaching because of his love for the sport. Joe is also a certified futsal referee. He has volunteered for Lincoln public schools, Serositis Shrine and the YMCA. Joe is married and has two boys that play for the academy Luke and Landon. Joe graduated from SCC and works full time for Holmberg Construction.
John Hakari is a native of Green Bay, WI, where he grew up playing soccer. John has over 10 years of experience coaching soccer, from levels U8 through high school, boys and girls. John holds a U.S. Soccer National E Coaching License.
John formerly coached for the De Pere Select Soccer Club in De Pere (Green Bay), WI, for 5 years, ages U8 through U11 (boys and girls). John served as the boys and girls Junior Varsity head coach for Luxemburg-Casco High School in Luxemburg, WI, for two seasons before moving to Lincoln for law school in 2012. John has volunteered as a coach for various local organizations, including the former Magellan Soccer Club and the YMCA. He also currently serves as the Southeast Community Colleges head women's soccer coach.
John has played soccer for as long as he can remember. He played on various club teams at various levels throughout Wisconsin, as well as for his high school. John played NCAA Division III college soccer for St. Norbert College in De Pere (Green Bay), WI, where he was named First Team Academic All-Conference for the Midwest Conference in 2010. John graduated from the UNL College of Law in 2015, and is an immigration attorney here in Lincoln, NE. John speaks Spanish fluently, and has spent significant time in Mexico, where he attended the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Guadalajara, Mexico, and the Universidad de Guanajuato in Guanajuato, Mexico. John is passionate about soccer. His two main goals with every team he coaches are to ensure that the kids enjoy playing the game, and to help them play the game at a high level.
John Stallings is a native of Lincoln Nebraska, where he grew up playing soccer. He played for Lincoln East where he was a 4 year Varsity starter as a defender. John played college soccer at Nebraska Wesleyan as a midfielder for the Prairie Wolves. As a Lincoln native John won 7 State Cups and he was Nike All American.
John started coaching while in his 20's, he comes to us with 20 years of coaching experience coaching all ages, genders and levels. He has his Grass Roots License and D License. In addition to coaching teams at VNA John is active in our Submarines classes and Yellows- TEAM Curriculum Coordinator. John is married and has 4 kids Brycin, Will, Piper and Trip. Will, Piper and Tripp all play for the academy. He works/owns Stallings Construction. In his free time John likes to fish.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- DIRECTOR of COACHING, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
Jacob is from Lincoln, NE where he played for Southwest High School. He played under Coach Jorge since he founded the club, playing center midfield and attacking midfield. He recieved a 3 month trial to play for the official Villarreal Academy and is now going on to play for Wesleyan University. He will be coaching teams at the same time, where he says he is looking forward to contributing to the growth of young players.
Jose is from Humble, TX. Played for Texans Socer Club and Houston Dynamo Kingwood, and played centerback for Humble High School. He went on to play for York College where he was a starter within his freshman season. Jose coaches withn both the Groguets and Yelloes program for Villarreal.
Job Titles:
- Member of the USC Team Management Team
Kennis is from Grenada, a country in the Caribbean. He attended St Rose Modern Secondary School (SRMSS). He played left winger in high school. He attended The University of South Carolina - Akien where he played right back. He started coaching before moving to the states for SRMSS. Kennis joined the VNA soccer family in 2019. He has coached various ages and levels. Kennis works full time for Smart Chicken in Waverly.
Job Titles:
- Member of the USC Team Management Team
Matt is from Lincoln, Nebraska and attended and played soccer for Pius X High School for four years. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for undergraduate and graduate school. Matt played soccer for the university club team for a time, played on multiple intramural teams each season, and was a referee for you games at the University of Nebraska. Matt's coaching career began by assisting his father with his sister's YMCA team when he was in middle school. Matt has coached the Groguet boys at VNA since August 2018. Matt and his wife, Erin, have five children- three play for VNA. He is the Nebraska Medicaid Deputy Director- Experience Management & Provider Relations at the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services. Matt volunteers as a Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity Housing Corporation board member and at his parish, St. Teresa's Catholic Church.
Matthew is from Lincoln, NE. He went to Lincoln Northeast and graduated in 1988. He started the soccer club at Northeast, which was the last of the high schools to have a soccer club. The next year soccer was sanctioned by the city of Lincoln which happened to be Matthews senior year. He was two-time all-city co-captain and was also all-state selection his senior year and played attacking center midfielder. Matthew was inducted in Northeast High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019 for soccer.
In 1987 Matthew played for a Premier American Athletes team that played a couple of tournaments in Brazil where he got to meet Pele and tour his house.
Mike comes to us from Omaha, NE with 12 years coaching experience. Mike joined the VNA soccer family in 2019. He has coached various ages, genders and levels. Mike started coaching because his boys were involved in the sport. Mike is married and have three boys that all play for the academy. He also works full time for Fiserv.
Nish is from las Vegas, Nevada. He graduated from West Career and Technical academy, played for Palo Verde High School where he led the team their first ever state championship, and played for club LV Neon where he won state, regionals, and nationals. Nish went on to play for Doane University where he was starting keeper for all 4 years, team captain for 2 years, and still hold several individual records. He has since coached at Crete High School, Doane's women's team, and is currently the goalkeeper coach for both of Doane's teams. Nish is also currently an individual goal keeper coach and club goalkeeper coach for Villarreal He works at TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab in Omaha.
Raul joined the VNA coaching family the summer of 2019. He is from Chicago, Illinois. He currently has his 7v7, 11v11 and E licenses. Raul has been coaching soccer since 2005 bringing us 15 years of coaching experience. He has coached various ages, genders and levels. Raul started coaching because his friend was coaching a team and needed help in 2004 and enjoyed it so much that he has never stopped. Raul is married and has 2 boys, Raul Jr and Gael that both play for the academy. Raul also works as a truck driver for Universal Transit.
Job Titles:
- USC NATIONAL DIPLOMA, OMAHA HEAD COACH
Richard Day comes with 17 years coaching experience from recreational to college from 3 years of age to 24 years of age.
Scott Poppe is from Kearny, Nebraska. He attended Kearney High School where he played center midfielder and left forward. He attended Midland College where he continued to play center midfielder and left forward. He started coaching in 2012 as a micro coach for his daughter Addie when she was 5 yrs old. In 2016 he assisted the varsity coach for the girls program at North Star High School. Scott has also coached at Schoo middle school as a boys middle school coach. He has joined the Villarreal family as a mini coach and the 2007 girls Spring team. Scott is also a certified referee. Scott is currently engaged and has 2 daughters. One that plays for VNA. Scott owns a construction company called Golden Standard Construction.
Coach Goines is the Head Women's coach at Concordia University in Seward. Prior to stepping into his role at Concordia, he had several roles including Director of Coaching at Wilson Youth Soccer Association in North Carolina. In his time with WYSA, Goines worked with both juniors and seniors on both men's and women's teams and lead the Girls Youth Academy. He has experience as a high school coach, Olympic Development Program coach, NCAA Division III and Division II college head coach in addition to his playing experience at Concordia University-Wisconsin.
He comes to use with:
•9 years college coaching experience (D3, D2, and NAIA)
Job Titles:
- USSF and NSCAA Certified, BALL MASTERY and FOOTSKILLS SPECIALIST
Thomas has 14 years coaching experience from U6-College. His many experiences have including playing and coaching at Hastings College, and was a club soccer player from Lincoln. Currently, Thomas is the Head Girls Soccer Coach at Southwest High School. Thomas has certifications from USSF and NSCAA. He also has a Masters Degree in Physical Education.
Trinity is from Lincoln, NE. She attended Lincoln Southeast High School where she played forward and midfielder for the Knights for 4 years as well as playing for VNA HS Girls teams. Trinity currently plays for the Southeast Community College Storm as a midfielder. Trinity joined the VNA coaching family as a submarine coach and Yellow's assistant coach.
Zander is from Council Bluffs Iowa. He has played soccer since he was 3 years old.