- December 4, 2025
Pete Hald watches the players scrimmage on the first day of the Go to Goal camp. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Hailey Sammons and Zoe Almberg battle in a drill as coach Pete Hald watches in the background. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Lacie Clay and Kadyn Davis battle during a drill at FPC's Go to Goal Soccer Camp. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Gabby Guerrera takes a shot at FPC's Go to Goal Soccer Camp. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Paisley Billek watches a drill at FPC's Go to Goal Soccer Camp. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC girls soccer coach Pete Hald watches players on the first day of the Go to Goal Soccer Camp. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Natalie Neal makes a save in the net as players in the background line up to participate in a drill. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Kadyn Davis and Skyler Strickland battle during a drill at the Go to Goal camp. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Players carry a goal off the practice field at the end of day 1 of the Go to Goal Soccer Camp. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Aliya Padilla takes a shot on goal during a drill at the Go to Goal Soccer Camp at Flagler Palm Coast. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The start of Pete Hald’s Go to Goal Soccer Camp can mean only one thing — another Flagler Palm Coast girls soccer season is on the way.
This will be Hald's 35th season as the Bulldogs' coach. His goal, he said, has been to reach that milestone. At some point during the 2025-26 season he should reach another milestone. He’s currently eight wins shy of 550 victories.
But with every milestone that Hald reaches, another draws near.
Hald, a Florida Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame coach, can think of reasons to extend his career past this milestone season. He has a special junior class. Seven of them contributed on varsity as freshmen. There were games last season when eight of them started as sophomores. He’d like to see that group through their senior season in 2027.
And he’d like to present his son, Jacob, an incoming freshman, with his high school diploma in four years.
But mostly, Hald doesn't need an excuse to keep coaching. He loves it too much. As long as he’s teaching at FPC, he wants to coach.
I love teaching, but I love teaching soccer the most. I can’t see myself teaching if I’m not coaching.
— PETE HALD, FPC girls soccer coach
“Coaching, obviously, has become my life,” he said. “I love teaching, but I love teaching soccer the most. I can’t see myself teaching if I’m not coaching.”
The Go to Goal camp is all about learning fundamentals. The first evening of the four-day camp on Monday, July 14, marked another milestone for Hald. This is the 25th year he has led the camp, though he has been involved as a coach with the camp even before that.
Most of the campers are FPC players. Hald will also allow incoming seventh and eighth graders with high skill levels to participate.
Hailey Sammons, one of the rising juniors, has been coming to the camp since she was in seventh grade.
“I came in with one other (seventh grader), Ivy Chen. We were scared,” Sammons said. “But it gave me experience. It was a huge game changer.”
The Go to Goal camp is intense but fun, said senior goalkeeper Natalie Neal, who is participating in the camp for the fifth year.
The first two days of the camp are the hardest because they focus on skill development, Hald said. The third day focuses on shooting and finishing, which everybody loves to do, he said. And the final day is heavy on scrimmaging and combination drills.
“It's really good, especially because we don't play (games) that much over the summer, except for (the 7v7 league),” rising senior Eva Sites said. “This is perfect, because for three hours we’re playing. We're doing technical drills, we're shooting and then we scrimmage at the end. I would say this is kind of like a taste of what you'll get during the season for players who haven't played for him before.
“Coach Hald is one of the best coaches I’ve played for,” Sites said. “You can tell from the beginning, he’s no nonsense. I’ve learned a lot from him. Coming in after eighth grade and then after my freshman year, the difference was incredible. My skill level skyrocketed. So, he’s done a lot for me.”
Neal said even though goalkeeping is not Hald’s specialty, he’s taught her a lot.
“He brings out the best version of myself,” she said.
Normally, the Go to Goal camp is in June. But Hald underwent shoulder surgery on March 21 to repair his rotator cuff and a torn labrum and wasn’t recovered enough last month to run drills. He’s still not 100%, he said.
“I’m too old for this,” he laughed. “When I get here and get going, I’m happy, I’m excited. And when I finish up, I always think it’s a good camp. But I’m relieved that it’s over. Leading up to the camp I struggle a little bit, because I know it’s going to be four hot days.”
Heading into the camp, the Bulldogs had already done 30 team activities this summer including beach workouts, the 7v7 league against other teams, weight-room training and free play.
“I think they are prepared a little bit more. They’re acclimated to the summer heat, and so I almost think it's better doing it (in July),” he said.
Hald’s 35th season will be different. Madi Gaines, his daughter, will be joining his coaching staff. Madi was a member of Hald’s final-four team in 2014 and went on to play soccer at Florida Southern College.
Hald will now have two of his former players as assistants. Cat Bradley is entering her 15th year as FPC’s JV coach and varsity assistant.
Having his daughter on his coaching staff is yet another reason to reach for more milestones.
