Coronado Eagle & Journal
Nado Natterings by David Axelson
July 28, 2011

Manny Neves radiates a restless dynamism. It became apparent 15 minutes through our 75-minute combination interview and soccer-centric conversatio that Neves, the director of coaching for the Coronado Youth Soccer League (CYSL), was having trouble sitting still. He was clearly looking forward to coaching CYSL Team Camp in a couple of hours, where he would help instruct 65 kids, each roughly 10 years of age.

The elements that make him one of the best technical soccer instructors in the area don’t lend themselves to being confined in a booth at a local Coronado eatery. While using my laptop to take notes, at the outset of our meeting Neves embarked on a story about a former student Daniel Ross, who at the age of seven was able to juggle a soccer ball 467 times in five minutes. The story evolved as a kind of a stream of consciousness thought process that covers 10 single spaced lines and transcends several related soccer topics. It’s Manny being Many and talking about kids and soccer, the things that matter most to him.

“We do these technical skills, in a fun environment, with a little push from the coach and self-discipline from the kids and they succeed,” Neves said. > Read More