SF Elite Beyond The Pitch: Patrick Nolan | 2006

​This article was written by PrepSoccer staff writer, Matt Smith. Matt Smith is a special news and communications correspondent with SF Elite Academy and will providing viewers with an inside look into SF Elite and what makes our club so special.

When Patrick Nolan is on the soccer pitch, the match is free-flowing, and passes are being pinged around; he would rather be nowhere else in the world.

Nolan, who plays the attacking midfield position (but can also play the No. 7 and 11), loves when he has the ball at his feet, and his team has their ears pinned back and are going forward into the attacking third.

"I love how it feels when I have the ball at my feet," Nolan said. "I feel in control at that moment. It feels so good when passes are connected. It feels like poetry."

If it is indeed poetry, consider Nolan to be Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, or T.S. Eliot. He loves being the creator of said poetry.

​"I love how it feels when I have the ball at my feet. I feel in control at that moment. It feels so good when passes are connected. It feels like poetry. I just love to have control over the game," Nolan said. "More touches for me is better for the team because it leads to more meaningful possession." 

​- Patrick Nolan, 2006

​"I just love to have control over the game," Nolan said. "More touches for me is better for the team because it leads to more meaningful possession."

Nolan plays for the San Francisco Elite 2006 Boys Blue squad and also plays his high school at Sacred Heart Cathedral. He joined SF Elite six years ago from Thunderbirds and felt like it was a good move for him.

"It's a well-run club, and it was a good change for me, even though when I came in, I didn't know if I would make it or not because they are such a good club," Nolan said. "I believe they are well-run and will help me get looked at by colleges."

Nolan certainly wants to play in college, and playing and attending UC Berkeley would be his dream. However, he is also considering the University of San Francisco and San Jose State University.

He has played with and against players from those schools and UC Davis and Cal Poly Pomona, which has given him the confidence to play at the next level.

Despite supporting Liverpool, it is Arsenal's Martin Odegaard that he loves to watch and compares himself to because they are good at contributing to play inside the opposition's box, and they both love to assist on goals and score them.