Her Story
About MARIA
Maria Zamora serves as Director of Operations and founder of the Mora Football Academy in LaBelle, Florida. She opened the academy nearly two years ago to provide high-quality soccer training in her hometown after moving back from Miami, where she had lived for seven years. With about 10 years of experience in organized sport soccer/futbol, Zamora previously worked as a professor in the Exercise and Science Department at Barrie University and as assistant coach for the men's soccer team there. She also held the role of Director of Training and Performance for Youth Development at ADAPT in North Miami, Florida. Zamora earned her bachelor's degree in exercise physiology with a minor in coaching in 2018 and her master's degree in Movement Sciences with a specialization in Sport Biomechanics in 2020, both from Bayer University. She maintains current CPR training and previously held a strength and conditioning certification. Her academy was recently accepted into the United Nations Football for the Goals initiative, which supports global soccer promotion and sustainability goals. Zamora attributes her success to her enthusiasm for mentoring and coaching young athletes, a trait that carried her through her studies and continues to drive her daily work on the field and in program design.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with MARIA
01What do you attribute your success to?
My trademark is definitely my enthusiasm for what I enjoy doing. It is what has carried me through my studies throughout high school, all the way up until I was in college and I went through my bachelor's and my master's. And I mean, it's the thing that makes me want to wake up every single day and just be excited to come to work and see the difference that my energy brings towards the kids that I'm mentoring and that I'm coaching. And then, like, later on, whether it's months later or years later, come back and tell me that what they learned with me and through me really made a difference in their lives and impacted them for the better as people and as athletes.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
As I was moving through my master's program, I had a mentor who knew that my ultimate dream is to coach professionally in Europe, men's professional soccer in Europe. And he was very, very difficult whenever it came to how he would grade me and assess me, and it was always the same thing, it's just like, you are going to have to work twice as hard in a male-dominated field. So, I'm doing the best to prepare you for what the real world is going to be like out there. And because of how strict and hard he was on me, it made moving through everything I have went through from there on out so much easier for me to navigate. And of course, I also want to say that I grew up in a home that encouraged believing in oneself a lot for everything.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Even when it gets really difficult, and you're in the storm, and it feels extremely overwhelming, and like you're not gonna get out, that as long as you keep your goal and your dream in mind and in heart at all times, and continue moving forward despite the moment that you're in, you'll be able to achieve and get to that goal. But you have to continue moving forward.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The ones that I keep very near and dear with me with all of the kids that I've trained and all of the athletes that I have is, for sure, belief, believe in yourself, believe in your teammates, believe in what you're trying to create, believe in your authenticity. The other one is joy. Joy in everything that you do. Joy in being who you truly are. Joy in the way that you present yourself, in the way that you communicate. And honesty, right? That's that shows your true transparency, and people value that a lot more than trying to be someone that you are not.
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