Training Staff Bios

    Chad Bridges

Chad Bridges is the founder and Director of Training & Development for the Next Level Soccer Academy. Bridges has been a coach at the youth soccer level since 2000.  He holds his National D coach's license as well as an NSCAA Advanced Regional Diploma. In 2010, Bridges was named head coach of The Pennington School Boys Soccer team. Prior to founding NLSA he worked with several club soccer teams in Mercer and Bucks County. Bridges is also a frequent staff member at several college showcase camps on the east coast.

Bridges was a four-year starter for Lenny Armuth’s Drew University Rangers and captained the team to its second consecutive NCAA tournament in 1999. He earned numerous all-conference and all-region accolades during his junior and senior years while also being recognized as one of the fiercest defenders in the nation. Bridges currently ranks 8th on Drew University’s all-time assists list. Following his success at Drew University, Bridges spent a period of time in Europe, training with semi-professional teams in Ireland.  Bridges played high school soccer at The Pennington School where he earned all-area and all-conference accolades during each season of his four-years as a starter.

Bridges earned his B.A. from Drew University in 2000 and is currently teaching middle school social studies at The Pennington School where he formerly served as head of the middle school soccer program. During Bridges five years at the helm of the program, his teams had a combined record of 34-7-4 including an undefeated season in 2006 and two one loss seasons. Bridges' club coaching resume includes a NJ State Cup championship, Disney International Cup championship and a top 5 NJ state ranking. Bridges works with all of the teams within NLSA and remains actively involved in the college recuritng process for all juniors and seniors of the club.   

   Michael Grillo

Michael Grillo is the head coach and trainer of the NLSA United.  Grillo holds a New Jersey Youth Soccer license and has been coaching youth soccer at various levels in Mercer County since 2000.  He has served as a staff trainer for the Lawrence Hamnett Soccer Association, training a number of Lawrence’s travel teams and assisting in coach education.  Grillo spent a year coaching in the boys program at Hopewell Valley Regional High School, has been a coach for the Jersey Area Girls Select program since 2002 and served as a New Jersey ODP evaluator in the fall of 2005.  Most recently, he was the head coach of the Hopewell Valley Avalanche before joining the staff at NLSA.

Grillo was a four-year starter at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA and captained the Greyhounds in his senior year.  An exceptionally technical player with a dangerous left foot; Grillo helped the Hounds to 4 straight appearances in the MAC Commonwealth Conference playoffs, including a trip to the final in 2002.  Grillo tallied 10 goals and 13 assists in his four years, spending the majority of his time as a playmaking central midfielder.  As a youth, he played for the nationally ranked Hopewell Cyclones, one of the most accomplished local club teams in recent history and earned multiple all-area and all-conference honors at The Pennington School.

   Everard Lavington Lewis
 
Everard Lewis, founder and director of Phenoms Soccer, is the trainer and head coach of the under-14 NLSA Rangers and the new under-14 NLSA Soca Warriors.  He brings over 35 years of soccer experience to the Club, including having played semi-professionally in Trinidad & Tobago and Long Island, NY.  In addition to holding a D license with the United States Soccer Federation, Lewis has a coaching license through the Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation (TTFF).  Beyond his licensing, Lewis trained under Alvin Corneal, a FIFA Instructor, in the TTFF Youth Development Program and he is the Athletic Director of the Schafer Gymnastic & Athletic Center.  Locally, Lewis has trained several successful and high-level youth programs, including teams within WWPSA, Lawrence Soccer Association, Hopewell Valley Soccer Association, German American Kickers (GAK), Hibernian Express and Ewing Girls Soccer.

   Kylee Rossi
 
Former University of Tennessee Lady Vol & All-American Kylee Rossi is the newest addition to NLSA's professional training staff and she brings with her an outstanding soccer resume.

Kylee returns to the area, where she was a four-year star at the nationally ranked Pennington School. From there, Kylee went to the University of Tennessee, where she finished her career as the schools all-time leading scorer. In addition, she was an all-Central Region and all-SEC selection for all four years, she led the Lady Vols in scoring all four years (the only player to ever have done so), and she was a Soccer Buzz All-American her junior year. She also served as a Student Assistant Coach on the staff following her senior year.  Kylee was also a member of the United States U-23 Womens' National Team.

Kylee is the director of NLSA's Girls Programs, including serving as the lead trainer for our girls summer camp and clinics and she is also conducting individual and small group training sessions for girls that want to further develop their soccer skills.

   Rod Ramsey

Rod Ramsey, a graduate of national JUCO powerhouse Mercer County Community College, as well as Alabama A&M University, brings more than a decade of youth soccer coaching experience to NLSA.  Prior to his involvement with youth soccer, Ramsey spent two years as an assistant coach at Alabama A&M University.  In addition to his collegiate experience, both as a player and a coach, he coached several summer Select teams and MAPS-level teams both on the boys and girls side.  In addition to holding an E license with the United States Soccer Federation, Ramsey has served for several years as a trainer with Phenoms Soccer, working under fellow NLSA trainer Everard Lewis, and as a trainer with Islander Soccer Club.

Anthony Delpeche

Anthony “Dele” Delpeche, a graduate of Rider University, brings more than 20 years of youth soccer coaching experience.  He started his coaching career in the Long Island Junior Soccer League in NY, several NJ summer Select teams and MAPS-level teams both on the boys and girls sides in Lawrenceville and Hopewell.  Dele also serves as co-director of the GE Healthcare company's annual soccer clinic for their employees’ kids.  Dele holds both an E & F license with the United States Soccer Federation, and he has attended several workshops in Trinidad & Tobago, under Alvin Corneal, a FIFA instructor.  Prior to joining NLSA, Dele served as a trainer with Phenoms Soccer, working under fellow NLSA trainer Everard Lewis.

Mike Bonacci

Michael Bonacci joins NLSA with a depth of knowledge and experience in both tactical and technical play.  He carries an E-license with New Jersey Youth Soccer and has worked with various camps over the years.  A Hopewell native, Mike played alongside fellow NLSA staff member Mike Grillo with the Hopewell Cyclones for ten years, which included State titles and an undefeated tour of several European countries.  Michael also helped lead Hopewell Valley Central High School’s varsity squad to a 2nd place finish his junior year.  He captained the team his senior year to a winning season.  As a developing player he was consistently involved with the Olympic Development Program as well as state-level select teams.  

Mike was privileged to have trained under nationally-recognized coach Patrick Murphy of the Pennington School for many years with the Cyclones squad. The experience of working with an excellent coaching staff taught him to value the impact a coach can have on the player’s development.  Having played most every position on the field, Mike is a well-rounded trainer for all players looking to expand their understanding of the game while developing superior technical ability.  Michael is currently a part-time student at Rider University majoring in Psychology while actively pursuing his continued coaching licensing.

    Randy Zapolski

Randy Zapolski joins NLSA as its full-time Goalkeeper Trainer.  Randy played for current NLSA trainers Anthony Delpeche and Rod Ramsey as a member of the Lawrence Hamnett Knights and he was also a 4-year member of the varsity soccer team at Lawrence High School.  From there, Randy was a 4-year member of the Rider University men's soccer team and was the starting goalkeeper his final two years.  He was also a member of New Jersey's U-'87 ODP team.  Randy graduated from Rider in 2009 with a degree in Business Marketing.

Jessica (Gonzalez) Pandolfini

Jessica Pandolfini is a highly recognized name in girls' soccer.  Having played the game for 14 years, her love, dedication, motivation and commitment towards soccer has earned her numerous awards as a player and coach.  Jessica has been involved with soccer for the past 21 years.  She is a professional Health and Physical Education teacher and coach in the Hamilton Township School District. Her accolades include being voted a 1st Team All-American in both High School (Hamilton High School North/Nottingham) and College (Trenton State College - now The College of New Jersey).  She was voted the female athlete of the year during her senior year of high school followed by Rookie of the Year during her freshman year at college.  For all four years of high school she was selected for the Mercer 33 Best 33 Players in Mercer County.  In addition, she played in the NJ Olympic Development program for 8 years and played semi-professionally for the NJ Wildcats.  Most recently, she has served as the Freshman and Assistant Varsity Boys Soccer Coach at Hamilton High School North and she has served as the trainer and coach for teams with the Hopewell Valley Soccer Association, Hamilton Township Soccer Association, Saw Mill Soccer, and the River City Renegades. She has also served as a coordinator and Director for the nationally-recognized JAGS Tournament.  Jessica is a certified licensed coach and personal trainer NASM, AFFA, NJYSA and she possesses her E coach's license.

Robyn Jones

Robyn Jones has returned to the area after a stellar collegiate career and now serves as one of its Goalkeeper Trainers.  A 2003 graduate of the Pennington School, Jones earned countless awards including the Trentonian Prep Player of the Year, Trentonian 1st team All-Prep (4 years), Trenton Times 1st Team All-Area (3 years), 1st Team All-Prep (4 years), Star Ledger 1st Team All-Prep (4 years), NJGSCA All-State (2 years), Mercer “33” (2 years).  Even more impressive were her statistics as she posted a career record of 66-9-8, with an overall school record of 50 shutouts, and a .67 GAA.  She set a school record her junior year, posting 18 shutouts and her senior year was marked by allowing a school record of only 8 goals (and a .40 GAA) during a 17-1-2 season, with their only loss coming in the Prep A finals.  Between her junior and senior years, Jones was clearly instrumental in the squad's 37-game unbeaten streak.

Collegiately, she starred at Rutgers University her freshman and sophomore years and was named Big East Goalkeeper of the Week on multiple occasions.  In addition, she was named to the Soccerbuzz Mid-Atlantic All-Region Freshman 1st Team, was the Soccerbuzz All-Region Co-Freshman Goalkeeper of the Year, was on the Soccerbuzz National Team of the Week once, and was a Big East Conference Academic All-Star.  Following those 2 seasons, she transferred to Franklin & Marshall, where she posted 13 shutouts, a 1.01 GAA, was twice named to the Centennial Conference Honor Roll in 05’, and was named to the Centennial Conference Team Honorable Mention both years.

Most recently, she served as an Assistant Coach at F&M and played in the W-League, a semi-professional soccer league for women and girls that is currently the highest level of womens' soccer in the U.S.  Last season she was named the Eastern Conference Goalkeeper of the Year.

Katie Egan

Katie Egan comes to Next Level Soccer Academy with a wealth of playing and coaching experience. Egan began playing soccer at a young age, continued to play throughout college, and still plays in two different women’s leagues. She has been coaching since high school and has coached all ages and levels from recreational players to Division I college players.

In college, Egan played for the nationally ranked women’s soccer program at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). Throughout her tenure at TCNJ, the team was very successful and established an overall record of 72-9-4.  During that time, the Lions competed in four conference championship finals and earned three conference titles. They also competed in four NCAA DIII tournaments and finished in the Final Four once. In addition to team success, Egan served as a team captain and also experienced individual success while competing for TCNJ. During her career, Egan was recognized at the conference and regional level many times. She was also named an NSCAA 1st team All-American, an NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-American, and a CoSIDA/ESPN the magazine Academic All-American.

Katie Egan started her coaching career in high school by working with NJ Youth Soccer’s Recreational camps. From there, she continued to gain experience coaching at all levels. To name a few, Egan has been a coach for the NJ Olympic Development Program, East Carolina University, Youth Soccer Alliance, and most recently for the Hopewell Valley Soccer Association. 

Egan currently holds a US Youth Soccer National Youth License, a USSF National “D” License, and an NSCAA National Diploma. In addition, Egan has a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education and a Master’s degree in Sport Management. The coaching courses and college degrees have helped her to gain the tools necessary to be the most effective coach and trainer she can be.

In addition to her work with Next Level Soccer Academy, Katie Egan will continue to coach for the NJ Olympic Development Program. She also serves as the Assistant Athletic Director and Middle School Health teacher at the Pennington School. In addition, Egan recently began working at The Pennington Ewing Athletic Club (PEAC).