Women's Soccer Program In Good Hands
UNLV's first-year head coach is youngest in all of Division I
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Jennifer Klein knows she's young. But don't be fooled. That's not going to deter UNLV's newest women's soccer head coach. At just 25 years of age, Klein was officially handed the reigns to the Rebel program on June 15, taking over for the departed Kat Mertz. Now 26, Klein holds the distinction of being the youngest head coach in all of Division I women's soccer. And while coaching a Division I program may seem like a tall order for most people that age, Klein chooses to recognize the distinct benefits that come with coaching at such an early stage of life.
"I think I'll always face the challenge of being young," said Klein. "I don't see it as a disadvantage. I see it as an advantage. I've found it to be very helpful in relating to my players because I'm still very close to the experiences that they're going through. I think bringing a young energy has really helped out as far as getting the players going."
So how did Klein ascend to the position of head coach so quickly? It's best to start at the beginning. She says her and her twin sister were introduced to soccer around age five by their parents. After discovering a love for the game, Klein continued playing through elementary school and junior high. As a prep, she excelled in both soccer and cross country. On the trail she was named a two-time All-American after winning all but two races in her high school career. Nonetheless, Klein, who hails from Prescott, Ariz., elected to attend the University of Arizona on a soccer scholarship. During her time with the Wildcats, she served as a team captain in both her junior and senior seasons while also helping guide the team to its first-ever Pac-10 Conference championship in 2004. Nevertheless, the path of a collegiate soccer coach still wasn't a foregone conclusion.
"It's kind of funny," said Klein. "It was not my original plan. My original plan was to get into forensic science and be the whole CSI kind of person. I was a biology major and a chemistry minor."
So why is it that we now find Klein on the soccer field instead of the crime scene? She says her dad was a major influence in that decision.
"I coached camps (during college) in the summer to earn some extra cash and my dad was like `you'd be really good at it.' It finally kind of clicked towards the end of my junior year of college that maybe this would be something I'd like to do. I figured I'd give it a shot and got in as a volunteer assistant right out of college at the U of A."
After just one season as a volunteer assistant at Arizona (2006), Klein was brought on as the top assistant to Mertz at UNLV. After serving three years in that position, Mertz departed for the University of Texas and Klein was the logical choice to succeed her. Now in the midst of her first season as a Division I coach, Klein says her perspective on the game and her athletes has definitely changed.
"One of the best pieces of advice that Kat gave me as an assistant was to look at (the game) like a head coach. I thought I did but I realized I wasn't thinking the same way until I got this job. It's just trying to look at a whole season rather than game-by-game and strategy."
And coaching for a whole season means making decisions based on the Rebel's 18-game schedule not including the Mountain West Conference Tournament and other postseason play. Klein admits that can be challenging given she'll be making many decisions for the first time in her coaching career. But with age comes experience and Klein seems destined to obtain much of that. In the meantime, she remains focused on developing players and becoming a better soccer coach. On the field, the goal is simple.
"I want them to become soccer players," said Klein. "I don't want to be the coach that just gives them answers. I want to give them guidelines so they can learn through the game and make their own decisions and see what works and what doesn't."
Off the field, Klein's wishes remain similar. She says she wants her athletes to mature not only as soccer players but as people too. If she can do that, the rest will take care of itself. But if she's ever uncertain of anything of she's doing, she knows she can always turn to the man that helped get her started in soccer over 20 years ago ... Dad.
"He does a really good job of telling me to just have confidence in what I’m doing because I’ve already done so much at such a young age," said Klein. "He's my booster when I want to feel good about what I've accomplished."
And feel good she should. So should fans of UNLV. It's not often that coaches like Klein come around. Alumni, fans and students can all take comfort in knowing that the women's soccer program is in great hands for many years to come.
"I think I'll always face the challenge of being young," said Klein. "I don't see it as a disadvantage. I see it as an advantage. I've found it to be very helpful in relating to my players because I'm still very close to the experiences that they're going through. I think bringing a young energy has really helped out as far as getting the players going."
So how did Klein ascend to the position of head coach so quickly? It's best to start at the beginning. She says her and her twin sister were introduced to soccer around age five by their parents. After discovering a love for the game, Klein continued playing through elementary school and junior high. As a prep, she excelled in both soccer and cross country. On the trail she was named a two-time All-American after winning all but two races in her high school career. Nonetheless, Klein, who hails from Prescott, Ariz., elected to attend the University of Arizona on a soccer scholarship. During her time with the Wildcats, she served as a team captain in both her junior and senior seasons while also helping guide the team to its first-ever Pac-10 Conference championship in 2004. Nevertheless, the path of a collegiate soccer coach still wasn't a foregone conclusion.
"It's kind of funny," said Klein. "It was not my original plan. My original plan was to get into forensic science and be the whole CSI kind of person. I was a biology major and a chemistry minor."
So why is it that we now find Klein on the soccer field instead of the crime scene? She says her dad was a major influence in that decision.
"I coached camps (during college) in the summer to earn some extra cash and my dad was like `you'd be really good at it.' It finally kind of clicked towards the end of my junior year of college that maybe this would be something I'd like to do. I figured I'd give it a shot and got in as a volunteer assistant right out of college at the U of A."
After just one season as a volunteer assistant at Arizona (2006), Klein was brought on as the top assistant to Mertz at UNLV. After serving three years in that position, Mertz departed for the University of Texas and Klein was the logical choice to succeed her. Now in the midst of her first season as a Division I coach, Klein says her perspective on the game and her athletes has definitely changed.
"One of the best pieces of advice that Kat gave me as an assistant was to look at (the game) like a head coach. I thought I did but I realized I wasn't thinking the same way until I got this job. It's just trying to look at a whole season rather than game-by-game and strategy."
And coaching for a whole season means making decisions based on the Rebel's 18-game schedule not including the Mountain West Conference Tournament and other postseason play. Klein admits that can be challenging given she'll be making many decisions for the first time in her coaching career. But with age comes experience and Klein seems destined to obtain much of that. In the meantime, she remains focused on developing players and becoming a better soccer coach. On the field, the goal is simple.
"I want them to become soccer players," said Klein. "I don't want to be the coach that just gives them answers. I want to give them guidelines so they can learn through the game and make their own decisions and see what works and what doesn't."
Off the field, Klein's wishes remain similar. She says she wants her athletes to mature not only as soccer players but as people too. If she can do that, the rest will take care of itself. But if she's ever uncertain of anything of she's doing, she knows she can always turn to the man that helped get her started in soccer over 20 years ago ... Dad.
"He does a really good job of telling me to just have confidence in what I’m doing because I’ve already done so much at such a young age," said Klein. "He's my booster when I want to feel good about what I've accomplished."
And feel good she should. So should fans of UNLV. It's not often that coaches like Klein come around. Alumni, fans and students can all take comfort in knowing that the women's soccer program is in great hands for many years to come.