PVHS soccer coach Victor Vallin talks about the 2025 schedule

On Monday morning following the conclusion of practice, the Pahrump Valley Times had the opportunity to catch up with Pahrump Valley High School’s JV soccer coach, Victor Vallin.

Since the beginning of May, the girls program and a mixture of boys from the varsity program have been diligently putting in the work to boost their upcoming play for this new season.

Coach Vallin was asked the following questions before heading out for the day.

Q: How has it been at practice the last few weeks? Are you getting more boys to come out and if so, how is that a challenge to the girls on the defensive front?

A: The last few weeks, we’ve gained a lot of experience, especially with the boys here. It is challenging the girls a lot and we have quite a bit of kids coming out and giving out effort. I think there’s more effort this year than there was last, it seems, at least. But they are progressing, especially with the boys.

Has that been more of an emphasis on the returning varsity girls? Coach Amy Carlson said there’s only a few of them, but have they been leaders on this team so far?

That is correct. The varsity girls are being leaders. There are a lot of girls that are coming up from the JV level coming in from the junior high that are very skilled and motivated. They are hungry to play.

Talk about how these practices have been looking and what the emphasis has been so far.

The emphasis has been more on conditioning. We want to get these girls conditioned, to get them in real game scenario situations. And they’re progressing each week. We are making it a little harder, more difficult with with our running, and they’re picking it up with a lot less complaining, as we did last year.

How have the auxiliary indoor gym practices helped to give you guys a different look than being outdoors here on the field?

It was good at the beginning but I think the girls actually like to be outside instead of the auxiliary gym. They like to be on the field itself. And in the afternoons, it’s nice because we have the field all to ourselves, so we’re able to do a lot of different drills and a lot more real game scenarios. So we like being on the field better.

How has it been with sharing the field with the football team so far?

It’s been fine. I know this week is a little change, but it’s been fine. They’ve been great so far, and I don’t see it changing.

As the team prepares to transition into hotter simulated practices to replicate the season, how are the teams conditioning to prepare?

I can’t say for the boys, but for the girls program it’ll be similar to what we do now. Obviously, it would just be in the afternoons, and we will be doing a lot more team game scenarios, as far as trying to form the teams and start working on our plays.

What is something the soccer program is trying to tighten up?

What we’re trying to do is build a bond, because there’s a lot of young girls coming in this year and they’ll be here for the next four years. We’re trying to build that now and we’re getting the help of our seniors to build that core that will keep moving on for a couple years to come.

Where are a majority of players in the PVHS soccer program coming from?

A lot of them are coming in from the Junior Trojan Soccer Rec League, and a lot of them have played in that league and have been playing in that league since they’ve been little girls. And that’s the majority of them.

In smaller towns like ours, would you say that the local talent pool gives an advantage over other programs, like say Arbor View or even Bishop Gorman that have access to a bigger valley, but might not have as much homegrown talent?

I believe it does. It gives us an advantage not only with skill, but also with camaraderie. There’s a better bond with the girls knowing each other. Whereas if you have been in a bigger area, you have girls coming in from different areas. A lot of them haven’t played together, and it’s hard to mesh. Some of the girls have known each other while playing at the Junior Trojan level since they were little and I think it’s an advantage. It’s just further honing their skills and refining that I think they’re going to be pretty good.

Besides just physically, how have the boys been able to challenge the girls mentally on the schematics of the game?

I’m glad that they’re out here, and I hear a lot of communication. A lot of what the boys have is more vision and creativity in the game, where the girls are more skill set and set plays. So once they’re out there, you have the boys communicating with them and letting them know, hey, when I make this pass, if you see this space, do this and do that. And I think that’s helping them out a lot overall, just as a whole.

How would you say that the defensive approach is coming into this season? Are you guys looking to be more aggressive midfield?

I think we are more defensive-oriented team. A lot of the kids that are coming in again are very defensive and midfield oriented. I think we lacked that a little bit last year. And I think a strong defense creates a good offense. The girls’ conditioning is a lot better than it was last year at this point, and it’s just getting better.

Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@pvtimes.com. Follow @jaypowers__ on X.