Paris Coleman: Athlete started playing soccer at 4

Born into a family with a rich history of sports, Paris Coleman had some big shoes to fill as she was growing up.

Coleman was born and raised in the town of Pahrump to Danny and Aubrey Coleman. She is the middle of three siblings, with an older brother, Tristan.

“It has its perks,” Coleman said of growing up in a small town. “Everyone knows everyone. I’ve grown up with all of the people that I’ve played (sports) with my whole entire life. It’s kind of small sometimes, like, when it comes to things to do, there aren’t many options.”

This reporter jokingly told Paris that those options open up once she turns 21 and can go into the casinos, but the junior at Pahrump Valley High School still has quite a way to go before reaching that age.

Coleman began playing sports at the age of just four years old.

Her first sport was soccer and she fell immediately in love with it. She started playing after a couple of years of watching Tristan play.

Coleman would attend his games and practices, even getting to participate in the occasional practice. Paris got her love of defense from watching her brother play.

When she began playing, as most kids do at the age of four, the kids just wanted to score. But not Paris.

“From the start, I loved it,” Coleman said of playing soccer. “At that young of an age, it’s pretty much just kick it right in front of the goal. Everyone always wanted to score, but I never really cared about that. I wanted to stop them from scoring. My goal was to get the number as low as possible for the other team.”

Coleman began her soccer career as a defensive player and she hasn’t changed her mind.

Through all of her hard work over the last 12 years, she has become a decorated soccer player at every level.

I have no doubt that Coleman would have matched her brother in making the varsity team as a freshman, however, due to the coronavirus, the 2020 soccer season, which would have been her freshman year, was canceled.

Paris has since made the varsity team in back-to-back years as a sophomore and a junior.

In her sophomore season, Coleman and the Lady Trojans won the first state championship under head coach Julie Carrington.

Paris has been one of the anchors in the back line for Pahrump Valley during her two years on the team.

In addition to being a star defensive player for the high school, Paris also plays on a club team in southern Nevada.

This past summer, Coleman and the rest of her club teammates qualified for the national tournament after finishing in second place in the western regional tournament.

“It was a great experience, playing against the best clubs in the United States,” Coleman said. “It was the high level that we needed to see. We were at that level. We competed with every team that we played against.”

Coleman and her team made it all the way to the quarter finals of the tournament. Combining club and school teams, Coleman is a 3-time state champion.

During her junior year, Paris was nominated for the “all-teams” at every level for her work on the pitch for the Trojans.

She was voted to the first team all-league, all-region and all-state.

“I always wanted to be first team all-state,” Coleman said. “It’s a running joke in my family that my dad’s always been first team all-state. When his team went to state in high school, they only made it to the quarterfinals, but he was the only person on the Trojans to make first team all-state. So he would always say, ‘Don’t talk to me, I’m first team all-state.’”

It appears, now, that Mr. Coleman won’t be able to use his joke against Paris, she’ll have a pretty good comeback lined up.

Following her soccer seasons, Paris plays basketball during the winter months.

Coleman got into basketball during her elementary school years. Her physical education teacher at Rosemary Clarke Middle School was Mrs. Toomer, who happened to be Coleman’s mother’s basketball coach when she was in high school.

Mrs. Toomer was the person who suggested to Paris that she should try out for the school’s baseball team.

Paris has been playing basketball ever since third grade, with the exception of the two seasons she lost due to the pandemic.

Coleman currently plays the guard position for the Lady Trojans. Despite not being a tall player, Paris’ aggressiveness and the ability to be smart and physical has helped her become the team’s leading rebounder this season.

This season, Paris is averaging 6.4 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game.

After a trip to the state playoffs last season, she and the rest of the Pahrump Valley team are hoping to get back there and be able to take home some hardware.

Coleman had some high praise for her head basketball coach, Bob Hopkins.

“I’ve always wanted to play for coach Hopkins,” Coleman said. “I have pictures from when I was at his 500th win game. Everyone knows who coach Hopkins is. I’ve always joked around, I’ve always wanted to be yelled at by coach Hopkins. Knowing that he cares enough to yell at you. Getting yelled at by him, it’s amazing.”

Hopkins led the Lady Trojans to a 26-3 record last season and currently has the team at 5-2 heading into their holiday tournament that got underway on Tuesday, Dec. 27.

During the spring months, Paris participates on the school’s track and field team.

Her favorite events are the throwing events, shot put and discus.

Coleman has many family members around the country that help her and give her advice for her throwing techniques.

Paris has two cousins that hold state records in West Virginia, one of whom works as an assistant coach for throws at Ohio State University.

Coleman also loves running the 4x800 track event. Two of her three running mates in the event also play on the Pahrump Valley soccer team. One of those teammates is fellow defender Emily Lewis, who is the other center back along with Coleman.

The fact that they not only play two sports together, and they’re also best friends, has helped them with their chemistry in both areas.

Following high school, Paris is hoping to continue her soccer playing career in college. One of her dream schools to attend would be Cal Baptist University.

“When I went to one of their camps, it just felt like home,” Coleman said. “It was really down to earth and it just felt like I was in an environment that I had been in forever. It felt normal to me.”

After college, Coleman would like to become either an animal conservationist or a veterinarian. She has always wanted to become a veterinarian, but the vast amount of opportunities for conservationists are starting to sway her to that side.

You can follow along with Coleman and the rest of the Lady Trojans by going to MaxPreps.com and you’ll be able to follow along with her track &field season on athletic.net.

Contact sports writer/editor Danny Smyth at dsmyth@pvtimes.com. Follow @the_dannysmyth on Twitter.