Vela Soccer Academy
Meet The Velas
We BELIEVE in whole player development, at every level we have coached.
Any player, of any talent level, who has the love, passion and work ethic for the game, WILL develop in our environment!
Vela Soccer Coaches: Kit & Jorge Vela
Soccer is life, in the Vela household. When reading the accomplishments of both Kit and Jorge Vela, it is obvious that what they do, they do with passion and love, for the game of soccer and for the overall development of the children and young adults they coach. Both Velas believe in the “whole” player, which translates to the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of their players. They maintain a vested interest in their players and believe in creating a family environment. This abbreviated biography is to reveal their experience, their level of coaching and their educational background. What is difficult to show on paper is their intensity, passion, and love for the game, which is expressed in their training sessions, camps, and clinics. Young players leave the Vela Soccer environment with a better understanding of the game along with a higher level of technical ability – which is stressed at every session – in addition to a higher tactical understanding. Both Velas have, over the years, researched top soccer countries for their philosophies and methodologies in developing their youth players and then adapt those concepts to our American players and environment. They also believe, as a wise quote was written, “if you’re not learning every day, you’re done living!” Their players, at every level, are infused with passion and love for the game, while winning is secondary, and yet a byproduct of the level of training and care given every day.
Vela Boys
We take great pride in our family and our players!
Our best "calling card" is our own two children, who love the game of soccer, almost more than we do! They love to play and love to compete, on and off the field! They both came through our coaching/mentoring system (they are now 18 and 12) and playing for Academies under the direction of great coaches and staffs. They also thoroughly enjoy being mentors to young players, as they were once mentored in our family system! We are incredibly proud of their work ethic and their passion to play and to live life to it's fullest! We are beyond excited to watch them continue to grow, teach and lead on their own journeys The Vela4, the Vela Clan.
Kit Vela, Co-Director
Kit Vela has been a pioneer in the women’s game, playing since she was a young girl in the 1970s. She was in one of the first groups to play AYSO in Southern California; one of the first groups to play competitive club soccer; one of the first groups to play ODP (then called State Select with only two age groups); one of the first groups to make a paper National Team pool; part of the first groups to be recruited and to play collegiate soccer (there were only 85 Division I teams in 1986 when she went to play, compared to the 327 DI programs now); part of the first groups of female coaches to coach competitively in club, then Division I; one of the first groups to believe in and practice the mental game of sport; and then one of the smallest groups to be a Division I head coach while also raising a family. Kit has continued to pave paths for the young female players of today. With that being said, with two young male soccer players in her house, she has enjoyed coaching boys as well, as the challenges are similar but different. Soccer is soccer, and passion for the game is the same, young or old, male or female!
Kit started coaching at 22, right out of Brown University, where she lettered in two sports (soccer and softball) and won 5 Ivy League Conference Championships – 4 in soccer and the first ever in softball!! From there, and lots of other amazing opportunities, she coached/developed players at the Southern California Club level (first female coach in the premier division), at the Pac-10 (now Pac-12) Division I level, as well as the Mountain West Conference Division I level, when the conference was still top 10 in the country, boasting big money schools like BYU, Utah and TCU. (Please see drop down of Player Successes) She, along with Jorge Vela, took an unknown UNM Lobos Women’s Soccer Program from 240/286 nationally, and bolstered the program into a top 20 program, conference Champion (2010 and 2011) and 2-time NCAA Play-off participant! With those WINS on the field, she also created/developed a program with an academic Expectation of being at the top in Academic awards, as a team as well as individuals. Those WINS in the classroom became a tradition for years to come. Kit was named Mountain West Coach of the Year in 2001, 2010 and 2014, with an overall winning record of 122-103-44, with a winning percentage of .750 from 2005-2014, once she created the winning mentality, day in and day out. Her athletes successes continue to reach around the world, as 100% of her graduates are champions also in their respective communities.
All of these accomplishments reveal Kit’s coaching breadth and depth of ability. Her knowledge and passion for the game are tremendous, and her players continue to reach out to Kit after graduation. In fact, Kit believes that her greatest professional achievements, above and beyond her incredible winning ability at a program that had never won before, are all of her graduates who have gone on to postgraduate programs, doctorate programs, or careers and have become confident women who still love the game of soccer and are giving back to the communities they live in. And, through the Pateadores soccer club, she continues to imprint her athletes in soccer and life, having given every one who has come through the doors, opportunity to play in the college ranks!
Jorge Vela, Co-Director
Jorge Vela came to the United States as a top goalkeeper from his native country of Guatemala in 1988. At 19 years old, he had already been with the Guatemalan U20 and U23 teams and had signed a professional contract with Guatemalan First Division Comunicaciones. Unfortunately, civil war violence forced Jorge and his family to emigrate from Guatemala and they started a new life in Southern California. Jorge then played on the California State Western Regional Team and was on the Cal-South Under-23 team that won the 1993 national championship. From 1993-1998, he played professionally with the Valley Golden Eagles of the United States Interregional Soccer League.
One of the most renowned goalkeeper coaches in the United States, Vela is a director of the Vela Soccer Academy, which has produced some of the finest keepers in America. (Please see the drop down, Successes for players developed under his tutelage) He also made one fantastic Assistant Coach, as he and Kit Vela created something out of nothing, at the University of New Mexico, from 2001-2014. Before that, Jorge coached at USC and developed two top GK’s there, Loyola Marymount, and Cal State Northridge Men’s soccer, where he also left a significant imprint. As the Vela’s left Southern California to take on the challenge offered at UNM, he left many disappointed young GK’s and a track record of excellence, in a state of huge talent and opportunities! Once in New Mexico, Jorge not only coached at UNM, but he also coached some talented young GK’s and developed several club teams within Albuquerque, both boys and girls. Players he mentored went on to top colleges/programs, including his own, as he and Kit created a competitive environment at UNM. The only key to who they kept in NM were their non-negotiable philosophy of Hard Work, Passion, and love for uncomfortable situations, which still holds true today, as he also co-directs the Pateadores NM, a branch of the nationally famous and highly successful club, the Pateadores of Mission Viejo.
With more than 50 years of combined coaching experience at the collegiate and club levels, playing experience at top 10 collegiate, professional, and regional or national teams, Jorge and Kit Vela are an incredible team and asset to young soccer players here in New Mexico. Their affinity for coaching combined with unrivaled passion for the game produces impressive physical and mental development in the athletes they work with. Jorge and Kit’s expertise includes soccer and futsal training; goalkeeper and striker coaching; and mental conditioning and college preparation seminars. They coached the first Men's Semi-Professional Futsal team in New Mexico, the New Mexico RoadRunners FC, who competed in the Major League Futsal (MLF) in 2015 and the Vela's took them to the play-offs in their first season. It was an exciting first season creating excitement for Futsal! And now, the Vela's Futsal training has blossomed (ages 5-18) and the Vela's were able to work with and become a chapter of the very prestigious Pateadores of Southern California, as the Pateadores NM. www.pateadores.org, drop down of branches, New Mexico.