Rachel Mercik

My coaching experience comes from a multitude of languages, countries, and teams. I coached in the many countries I played professionally in, as well as some stints in the USA.

- Volunteer Assistant Coach, Cal Berkeley
- Individual Soccer Trainer, 1 hour sessions, Walnut Creek
- Head Coach, Walnut Creek Surf Soccer Club
- Coach, Bjärnum Skola, Sweden
- Coach, American Academy Private School, Cyprus
- Coach, Lemasia Academy, Cyprus
- Coach, Cal Berkeley Women’s Soccer Summer Camps

Professional Career
- Played with the (UWS) Seattle Sounders and (WPSL) California Storm in-between college seasons
- Signed my first professional contract in the top German league (Frauen-Bundesliga) with Turbine Potsdam
- Then moved to Sweden for 2 years where I played in the top league (Damallsvenskan) with Vittsjo GIK
- Ended my career in Cyprus, playing in the top league (Cypriot 1st Div.) for 2 years with Apollon Ladies, and landing a spot in the UEFA Women's Champions League group stages

International Career
- Went to camps with the U.S.A. U-16, U-17, U-20, and U-23s
- Went to Argentina with the U-17 U.S.A. team , competing against Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina's Women's Teams
- In the U-17 Player Pool for the U-17 World Cup

College
- 4 year collegiate athlete at Cal, the University of California, at Berkeley
- Captain my senior year
- 75 appearances

For Online Chat Sessions: Let's talk soccer! Questions regarding club, college, professional, or international soccer etc. can be answered. Ask me questions relating to my time playing professionally abroad, how I got to a D1 college, what I do to prepare for games/trainings, what it takes to play pro/on the national team, eating habits, agents, mental health, you name it. I have over 20 years of soccer under my belt, and I want to help the future generation with any advice they need!

For Online Training Sessions: Train with me even if I'm not in your area! Maybe I send you some videos with exercises to try out, or maybe we do a session getting your heart rate up with a bunch of short/sharp touches on the ball in your living room. Send me a message and we can find something that works for you.

For On Field Sessions: I really like to understand what the client wants from me first. To sit down with them and see where they want to improve. This way I can combine what the client wants, and what I have to offer, into a nice package.

I think individual trainings should focus on 2 things...General techniques of the game, and position specific training. Depending on what position my client plays, I try to craft my sessions so they not only improve first touch, speed, agility, passing conversion, etc. but also to improve their finishing as a striker, positional awareness as a midfielder, or 1v1 defending as a defender (as examples).

For example, a typical session for a striker would look like this:
- 5 min dynamic warm-up
- 5 min specific juggling
- A few different drills working on first touch, passing, correct technique, etc.
- A few exercises working on striker specific movements on the field
- End with finishing techniques and going to goal