Potomac Storm: Join the Team

Who We Are
Potomac Storm is a select/traveling soccer team for girls (U16) living in the North Potomac, Gaithersburg, Damascus or Germantown Maryland area. It was founded in August 2001 and played in the Olney-Bethesda League as a "select" team. The team plays nearly year round in both outdoor or indoor soccer. In  Fall 2008, we will be playing in WAGS,U-17, Division 1 . A "select" soccer team brings together more-experienced players with good "soccer sense" in order to provide more in depth skill training and to have them play against other select teams. The team's coach is a professional coach, not a volunteer parent. During the outdoor soccer season, the team travels within the Washington-Annapolis-Baltimore region to play against other select teams. To join the team, we have an open tryout policy which means that all they have to do is contact the coach (Morillo1@aol.com) or call (301) 655-6500, and then come to a couple of practices.

Meet the Coach
Coach Pete Morillo
Pete Morillo is an excellent coach and role model for all young players. Pete is the head coach for Potomac Storm and the Potomac Thunder U14 WAGS team. He is director of coaching with One Touch Academy. He has been coaching children of all ages for 13+ years, and has coached Potomac Storm since the team's formation in August 2001. Pete attended American University and graduated in Law and has a USSF License.



Coach's Soccer Philosophy

My soccer philosophy is a very simple one. Soccer is a simple game made difficult by foolish people. Soccer is a wonderful game filled with skill, drama, love and passion. I love the game and everything that it teaches us. You need discipline, heart,
patients, brains, and skill to compete. As with anything that you build, you must start from the bottom and built a good foundation. The fundamental skills must be developed first. Eighty percent of the game is in your head while the other twenty is in the body. While training the body to perform the fundamental skills, you must educate the mind about the game. Positioning and movement can be taught and a simple picture starts to develop in the players mind. Building good soccer players is a step-by-step process.

My focus for my team is to ensure that my team enjoys playing. I have the ability to teach soccer and also make it fun. I want my players to go out and practice on their own. I want this to get done not because I say they have to, but because they want to do it. Soccer is fun and the fun shouldn’t be sacrificed for any reason. Soccer is a game; and that should never be forgotten. When people start to take the game too seriously it becomes a chore and no one likes doing chores.

That being said, I do take my teams progress serious and expect discipline and dedication from my players. I give them my all and expect the same in return. The team consists of my players, and myself but the parents are an important part of our support system. I need the support and dedication of the parents as well. I need parents to leave the coaching to me, but support the players and not focus on winning and losing. If we play smart simple soccer the winning and
losing will take care of itself. If the parents focus on the score then the kids will learn to do the same.

I am willing to talk to anyone that has questions concerning soccer or the team. I want everyone involved to understand and learn to love the game as I do. Soccer is the greatest game in the world. We are just starting to understand that in this country. It is a game that gets into your heart and holds you tight. My promise is this; my players will become better and will learn the game to progress to a higher level. And as a bonus we will have a great time doing it. After all even thought it is the best game in the world it is still just a game.