Roots and Return: Coach Naomi Rhodes on Grit, Growth, and the Heart of MCSA

Before there were 1,000 players, before there were 19 teams, there was a conversation—between three coaches who believed Mendocino County kids deserved something better. One of them was Naomi Rhodes.

In this episode, we sit down with Coach Naomi—MCSA co-founder, board member, and current U10 coach—for a powerful, wide-ranging conversation that stretches from her childhood in Ukiah and Willits to the Pac-10 fields of the University of Oregon, to playing pickup in the streets of Spain, to raising two kids inside the club she helped build from scratch.

She opens up about what it meant to walk on to a Division 1 team as an underdog, the moments that shaped her as a coach and mother, and why she insists on leading with love—and never lowering the bar.

Whether you’re new to the club or have been here since day one, this episode is essential listening. It’s a story about grit, return, and the roots of something much bigger than a soccer club.