New UNM Lobo soccer coach gets surprise soccer dad visit

Soccer moms and dads log thousands of travel miles in the name of being there for their kids.

Sometimes, it may seem to go unnoticed by the children — the ones shining in the spotlight thanks to that support, guidance and, frankly, just being there throughout the journey.

Tuesday at UNM's Tow Diehm Center, it was about 15 seconds into Karley Nelson's first public news conference as the new Lobos women's soccer coach before her prepared remarks came to a halt and the look on her face made very clear she noticed, and she was thankful.

"Sorry," Nelson said, trying to contain her emotions as a huge smile beamed from her face when she looked to the back of the room.

There, beyond the gathered reporters facing her was Scott Nelson, hands in pockets, decked out in a cherry red Lobos shirt, grinning and gliding into the room with the undeniable strut of a proud father. Nelson had just completed a 571 mile "soccer dad" trip from Lehi, Utah, to surprise his daughter at her introductory news conference.

"Worth every bit of it," he told the Journal afterward when asked about the years of taking his daughter to soccer games, practices and more growing up and since she's been in coaching, including 10 of the past 11 years as associate head coach with the Lobos.

"She's earned it," dad added. "And she's going to be terrific."

Karley Nelson joked that reporters would have to cut out that initial part of the presser when she momentarily lost her train of thought and got emotional. As it turns out, some girls never grow out their fathers lovingly embarrassing them.

Last week, Karley Nelson was named the successor to the popular Albuquerque native Heather Dyche, who left to become the coach of the U.S. Women's National Team's U-23 developmental team.

"Eleven years ago," the new coach said of the old, "(Dyche) brought me here and allowed me to have my hand in almost every area of this program, which has proven to be invaluable experience, and I'm grateful for her mentorship and for the years that we spent working together."

While the hire seemed like an obvious one to most, first-year Athletic Director Fernando Lovo said he and a search committee of five fellow administrators did launch a "thorough" — yet admittedly quick — search for the new coach, which included plenty of communication with the players on the team and members of the soccer community — in New Mexico and around the country.

"This program has championship level expectations, and Heather built a program here where we can't ever afford to take a step back," Lovo said. "... Around every corner, around every step, she just completely, just blew away the search committee. She's everything that we want and more. And she's obviously helped build this foundation, and we couldn't be more excited that she's going to continue to lead this program moving into the future."

Karley Nelson was quick to thank Lovo and Dyche, but spent the most time Tuesday trying to convey how taken aback she was by the lengths players on the team went to make sure Lovo knew their choice for the program's new coach was already on the team.

"I've been in charge of recruiting since I've been here, and the great part of that is that I get to build relationships with them beforehand," Karley Nelson said. "I know them two years before they get here. So we have great relationships, and I'm confident in those relationships.

"I know that there's a mutual respect. And to say those things is one thing, but when you see those words put into action, when you see them meeting with Fern, when you see them putting presentations together and reaching out to players that don't even go here, I mean, it's just incredibly humbling ... it was emotional."

Surprise, surprise

In hindsight, maybe Karley Nelson shouldn't have been so caught off guard by dad's surprise appearance. After all, she had a surprise "travel" appearance just last week that brought out plenty of emotion, too.

Lovo told her of her hiring last Tuesday night, leading to an agonizing 20 hours or so of her having to keep it a secret until the AD called a meeting with the players to update them on the search.

In that meeting, one caught on video that has since gone relatively viral on social media, the young women of the team sat around a table in a large conference room as Lovo said he had decided on their new coach.

"Sometimes in life, things happen faster than you think. They just happen," Lovo told the team. "And I'm happy to say things have happened faster than I first anticipated. The good news is you guys don't have to hear from me anymore. You don't.

"And the even better news is that we've been able to get your new head coach to travel here today. Things, they escalated quickly. You guys are tired of hearing from me. You want to hear what's next? You can hear what's next from your new head coach. Let me go step out and see if I can introduce you to your new head coach."

He then walked to the conference room door, opened it and Karley Nelson walked in as the room erupted with cheering, crying and hugs around the room.