RENO, Nev. - First-year head coach Missy Price announced the addition of Kirk Nelson and Lauren McAdam to her staff as assistant coaches.
"Kirk and Lauren bring a wealth of various experiences and I'm thrilled to have them on staff. They both are passionate about coaching, developing exceptional student-athletes, and building our soccer program," Price said. "As assistants, they will be integrated into all aspects of the program including on-field coaching and administrative responsibilities. Additionally, Lauren will take over coaching and developing our goalkeepers. We're excited about the future of Nevada Soccer and I'm pleased to have Lauren and Kirk on board every step of the way."
Nelson, who spent one season as an assistant coach at Washington State University, comes to Nevada from Arizona where he spent the past three years at Hamilton High School (Chandler, Ariz.) as the head girls varsity soccer coach and an honors math teacher. Prior to coaching at Hamilton High School, Nelson coached at Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix. During his tenure at the high schools, he guided his teams to a pair of 5A State championships games and recorded 175 overall wins.
Nelson spent the 2004-05 season as an assistant coach at Washington State University. During his tenure with the Cougars he served as the recruiting coordinator and helped secure the 37th recruiting class in the nation for the 2006 season. Other duties included stat and video analysis, community relations, game preparation, team conditioning and team training.
Nelson has also served as an assistant coach for the W-League's Arizona Heatwave and the WPSL's Cheetahs from 2004-08 and served as the associate head and assistant women's coach at Scottsdale and Mesa Community Colleges. He also has coaching experience with the Region IV and II Olympic Development Programs and college soccer camps including Arizona State, Oregon State, Washington State, California, Pepperdine and North Carolina.
He played collegiately at Virginia Tech and earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland in finance in 1993. Nelson holds a USSF National A License and an NSCAA Goalkeeping Diploma.
"I am excited to have been provided this opportunity to join the Nevada family. The team, coaching staff, administration and facilities are exceptional," Nelson said. "I want to thank Missy Price and the University of Nevada for bringing me into the program. I am looking forward to helping the vision of Nevada soccer come to fruition."
McAdam comes to Nevada from UCLA where she was a volunteer assistant coach during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. While working with the Bruins, McAdam was responsible for the goalkeepers in addition to helping with scouting reports, film and team travel. UCLA also made two NCAA Final Four appearances.
McAdam has served as a camp counselor at several camps including the University of Miami, SoccerPlus, University of South Carolina, Duke and Soccer Academy.
McAdam played collegiately at the University of Miami where she helped lead the Hurricanes to a number 25 national ranking and a NCAA tournament appearance. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Miami in 2008.
"I'm excited to be a part of the Nevada Wolf Pack family and work at such a supportive institution," McAdam said. "I look forward to being involved and building relationships with the Reno community while continuing to develop the soccer program under Missy's leadership."
