Upper90 Management, LLC is a sports management and services company that provides training, guidance and direction  to individuals seeking to maximize their potential as athletes, particularly in the game of soccer.  Our goal is to help the young athlete achieve his or her goals and provide the highest level of guidance and expertise, with a focus on passion, integrity and understanding,  both on and off the pitch.

Upper90 Management, LLC is a locally based with international connections.  We offer the following services both domestically and overseas:

Upper90 Management has established a scholarship program that reflects the driving force behind our work. The Kicking to Dream Fund is dedicated to giving underserved and disadvantaged kids the opportunity to train and play soccer.  The incredible gift of allowing children to participate in an activity that they love is the greatest gift one can share.  Our goal is to help children all over the world have that chance.

Rico Laise, Managing Director

Until he immigrated to the United States at the age of ten, Rico Laise lived in an urban barrio (Iglesia Flores) in San Jose, Costa Rica. His upbringing was characterized by two things which would shape his life irrevocably; relative poverty and soccer. In a home with no TV, no telephone, no automobile, and few other modern distractions, soccer was his outlet. He grew up playing in the streets on a daily basis – without proper balls, equipment and fields. It is this personal experience that gives him special insight into urban soccer, underserved kids, and minority status. He would go on to play as a young man, both in the United States and his native Costa Rica (as well as a short stint in Mexico.)  Rico discovered that his greatest gift was not as a player, but as a coach. For 15 years, he has coached youth teams in Illinois and Tennessee winning 9 state championships in the process.

From 2006 through 2009, Rico was the Director of Coaching for the Nashville Metros FC, a club that he started while also serving as the Head Coach of the Nashville Metros PDL(Professional Development League) side. He also coached the Tennessee Rhythm in 1999 when the team was rescued from financial difficulties caused by withdrawal of a major sponsor. He has remained heavily involved in soccer, serving as director of player development for the Revolution Futbol Club in Dickson, operating the Rico Laise Soccer Academy for youth players throughout the region, and representing players as an agent.

Rico is also known as an innovator within the Nashville Hispanic community. He helped to start the Metros Hispanic Academy and his current teams carry a significant number of very talented Hispanic players.

Rico also has acted as Soccer Commissioner for the Nashville Metro Parks. His relationship with Dottie Hale, Metro Parks Sports Supervisor, solidified while he was managing the brand new Nashville Soccer Park (also known as the Dell Fields, a 2.5 million dollar facility next to the Dell Computer Plant.)

Rico was named as the new Director of Soccer Operations at the Harpeth Futbol Club and Harpeth Youth Soccer Association in 2009. He also served as the Outreach Coordinator for the Tennessee State Soccer Association, the nation’s first under-served community state funded program.

Most recently, Rico has created Upper90 Management, LCC. Upper 90,  is a local soccer management and services company with international connections. Upper90 provides training, guidance and direction, to individuals seeking to maximize their potential as athletes, particularly in the game of soccer.  The focus is on passion, integrity and understanding.  Upper 90′s goal is to help the young athlete achieve his or her goals, both on and off the pitch.