In continuing our commitment to become a top 25 club in the country, and in response to record player numbers, RISE Soccer Club is proud to announce the hirings of Kristina Corona Grimsley, Lindsay Vera, and Ryan Morris. Not only will these additions enhance the player environment at every level of the club, we are confident that they will motivate your player(s) to maximize their potential.

KRISTINA CORONA GRIMSLEY
‍Kristina is moving to Houston from Colorado where she served as the Director of Coaching for Colorado Rapids. Kristina holds a U.S. Soccer National A-Youth Coaching License and is a candidate for the U.S. Soccer Academy Director license. Once completed, Kristina will be one of the highest licensed female coaches in the country.

As a collegiate soccer player at the University Tulsa, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Kristina has over 13 years of coaching experience at the youth, collegiate, and professional levels. She has been recognized nationally by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as a top 30 coach, and recently accredited as a Level 1 Performance Analyst by the International Society of Performance Analysis of Sport.

“In hiring Kristina, we’ve added an outstanding citizen and coach. I had the pleasure of observing the quality of her work while completing my U.S. Soccer Federation Academy Director license,” said Vedad Hadzajlic, RISE Technical Director. “She can see the game through the players’ eyes and seamlessly position her players and teams to protect their deficiencies and capitalize on their opponents shortcomings”. “By attracting one of the top female coaches in the country, RISE will undoubtedly prove to be the destination for elite female athletes.” “At RISE we essentially have 2 programs which are of equal standing, a boys program and a girls program. The Girls Program at RISE, not only expects female coaches, but they expect female leaders. The additions we’ve made today clearly signal that we understand and appreciate the needs and desires of our constituency.”

“What attracted me to RISE was that there was a plan and vision to push the club into the top tier in the country by building the club around the player”. “One thing is reading something on paper and another thing is turning a vision into a reality.” “I identified with the vision and the more people I spoke to about RISE in the soccer community, I quickly realized that I wanted in,” said Kristina Corona Grimsley.

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LINDSAY VERA
‍Lindsay Vera, the Head Coach for the Division I women’s soccer program at Texas Southern University, is joining RISE. Lindsay began her head coaching career at the University of North Carolina - Asheville. At the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley she helped start a brand new, NCAA Division I program from scratch. She has worked at various levels of the game, including youth, college, and the Olympic Development Program (ODP). Lindsay played collegiately at North Carolina State University where she led her team in scoring for 3 of the 4 years she played. After a successful college career, Lindsay was taken in the draft to play professionally for the Boston Breakers. Lindsay is a native Houstonian and as a college coach recruited heavily in Texas so she is very familiar with the youth soccer landscape. She has a vast network of contacts at the collegiate level and this will prove to be invaluable for the Girls Program. Lindsay holds a U.S. Soccer National-B Coaching License.

“I am confident that I have the experience and knowledge to enhance the girls’ program at RISE as we work to become the number one youth club in the city, while striving to achieve state and national recognition”, said Lindsay Vera.

“In Lindsay, the Girls Program at RISE is getting a leader with an eye for talent who has not only had great successes as a player, but also as a coach,” said Vedad Hadzajlic.

Interestingly enough, RISE now has 2 former Division I college coaches with over 20 years of combined experience coaching in the collegiate game. This dynamic duo will help educate our families and players on the college placement process. They bring a unique perspective that will provide tremendous insight to RISE athletes who are looking to move on to the next level.

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RYAN MORRIS
‍Ryan comes to RISE from a local MLS Next Program where he was clearly a standout staff coach leading the U14 and U15 boys teams. At RISE, Ryan will be coaching our top age group team in the Boys ECNL Program. Prior to joining RISE, he developed his coaching acumen at the collegiate level. Ryan served as the Assistant Men’s Coach at Saint Peter’s University and most recently at the College of Charleston which are both Division 1 programs. He can also play. Ryan was a professional player for the 2nd division club Woden Weston FC in Australia. Ryan holds a U.S. Soccer National-B Coaching License. Ryan’s strengths lie in his meticulous attention to detail in team preparations both physically and psychologically. Ryan holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Nutrition and Food Science and is currently a student working towards a Master’s of Science in Sports & Performance Psychology.

“We needed to add a coach who was a difference maker in our ECNL Program, because the overall competition we will face in the newly formatted ECNL Texas Conference will be exponentially challenging”, said Vedad Hadzajlic.” We began to take note of Ryan’s talent when our team would play the teams he led.” “After conducting a nationwide search, the missing ingredient was coaching with a cross-town rival so we approached him and sealed the deal.”