soccerNM.com Duke City

ALBUQUERQUE - Two years ago, the Belen girls reached the State Tournament.

To better their chances of getting there again, many of the Eagles recently spent a week together training at the University of New Mexico women’s camp.

“We wanted to learn to play better together as a team,” said senior midfielder Rebecca Rivera, whose mother Celina Rivera is Belen’s head coach. “We want to develop and be tougher.”

The Eagles have plenty of motivation to improve after a disappointing season last year.

“We want to prove to everybody that we’re good even though we’re a young team,” Rivera said. “We want to make back to the tournament because we have a lot of potential.”

The camp run by UNM coach Kit and Jorge Vela is in its 10^th season and has seen growth every year. This year, nearly 150 local girls participated in the camp, but Belen was one of the few high school squads that attended as a unit.

That’s something the Velas hope to change as they continue to grow the Lobos’ program.

“If we get enough high school teams out here, we can have them play each other,” Kit Vela said. “And that would be good for them.”

Belen senior forward Kristin Moore said the session has helped her grow as a player and helped the team grow as a unit.

“It’s really helped us with our ball skills,” she said. “And we’re able to communicate better.”

Improving those individual skills has been a big help, said senior forward Marisa Carrasco.

“We haven’t got all the fundamentals down and this really helped us with that,” she said. “I think we can win the district and help us get back to state.”

Celina Rivera, who is entering just her second year as head coach, attended many of the sessions, helping to improve her own coaching abilities

“I wanted them to go through it together as a group so they could see what it takes to be a player at the D-I level,” she said. “And as a coach, a lot of this is still new to me so it’s been an amazing learning experience. I’ve been observing their drills and how they coach and I’m learning a lot.”

Acting as a resource for the local soccer community is something the Velas have tried to establish and they’re hoping more teams take advantage in the future.

“We encourage coaches to come out and watch,” she said. “Nobody is good enough that they can’t continue to learn. We’re always learning when we to other places. That’s how you get better.”