April Heinrichs Named Technical Director and Jill Ellis Development Director for USWNT

An excellent organizational step by US Soccer.

Atrocious hirings, in my opinion.

 

I think this says a lot about our current squad and more importantly Pia's inability to do this herself.

 

Apparently since Heinrichs and Ellis didn't kill the program dead enough in their first reigns over their respective teams, they're being given a second opportunity to FINISH THE JOB.

I shudder at the future.

 

Every one of you guys said exactly what I was thinking.

I'm glad that US Soccer is going in that direction.
But, for Pete's sake, they couldn't find better candidates for the jobs?

I actually like April, but this isn't for her.

And Ellis? Could you find a more "piss-down-your-pants" coach in the country?

Great idea USSF. Poor selection of coaches.

 

My reactions to this announcement as they happened.

A) April. Interesting. Would have liked to see her coaching a club before returning to USSF coaching. But I can deal provided she really has learned & improved her skills since 2003 -- at least her writings about the recent U20 cup indicate she's seen the value in skillful possession & "new" tactics.

B) Wow. Shocked that Ellis would leave UCLA for this particular job. They must be paying a lot better than I thought they would. Did she really leave? Is Tarpley going to be a UCLA assistant?

B) Please do not let Ellis be the next WNT coach.

C) No, really. I don't want her to be the next WNT coach.

D) Ellis who ran out of ideas and poorly prepared the recent U20s? At least she won't be the next U20 coach. Oh, wait. She's going to be the U17 coach.

E) I wonder if this means Leroux is thinking about leaving UCLA early. It is a thought that's been in the back of my nogging for a month or two.

F) Really? April AND Ellis? Is Jennings-Gabarra really going to spend her entire career at Navy? And aren't there some other former USWNT players doing good coaching elsewhere that could have been integrated into the system?

A) How do these hirings say a d@mn thing about the current WNT squad? It seems super popular around here to blame the USWNT players for pretty much everything. I don't think these moves say anything about the current squad.

B) Not sure what you're getting at w/ respect to Pia. Many (most?) top level national team programs have coaches *other than* the head WNT coach in the roles April & Ellis will hold. Neid is not the U17 & U20 coach in Germany. Nor does she oversee the other DFB programs.

C) But yes, it does seem that Pia doesn't want to be CEO type manager and would rather be a "coach." Different coaches have different desires/approaches.

 

My first reaction: haha! haha! I'm still chuckling..

Sorry.

Seriously, though, I don't see how this is good for the future of the USWNT.

 

Ok. So, the reactions I listed all happened after I had a couple of Really! No. Really? moments.

I am most surprised that Ellis would be hired given the very poor U20 she just had. I figured she'd not see a USSF gig again until she got the monkey off her back and won a nat'l championship. While I think some of the criticism of her as an NCAA coach is OTT and I'd hire her for an NCAA gig, she did such a poor job this summer w/ the U20s (imo) that I want her far, far away from the USWNT and Uxx teams.

I do think it shows that the USSF suits aren't particularly interested in changing development for girls soccer and aren't particularly interested in women's soccer -- we fans won't be seeing better marketing and/or promotion/communications. Neither April nor Ellis are going to ruffle feathers w/ the suits.

 

A) Well, I think it means the current squad doesn't have youth integrated into it. That's why the governing body created two new positions who's purpose is to develop, watch and integrate this youth...(that's not currently on our national team) into...the national team.

B) I'm not sure you understand what the position is. They are not coaches of any team. They are two new positions for technical development and integration into the national team

"April Heinrichs is returning to the U.S. Soccer Federation as technical director of women's national teams.

In addition, Jill Ellis was hired Thursday as development director of U.S. women's national teams. She had spent 12 years as head women's coach at UCLA and coached the American Under-21 team in 2000 and 2005.

Heinrichs will provide direction for the national team and oversee the Under-20 and Under-18 teams. Ellis will oversee the Under-17, Under-15 and Under-14 teams."

 

I think you pretty much explain the reason for this with your statement below

I do think it shows that the USSF suits aren't particularly interested in changing development for girls soccer and aren't particularly interested in women's soccer --

Those were my thoughts exactly. So, how long will it be before we see Greg Ryan brought back into the mix?

 

I don't think that's really what's going on (for the most part). The TD for the various youth teams has been coming for a while (just w/ unknown candidates) and is a tad closer to what's going on on the men's/boys' side with full time coaches for U20, U17, the DAs, Reyna's new TD position, etc. Given the failure of the U17s in qualifying and the U20s in the U20 WWC, changes were going to happen.

The WNT part has April involved as a TD in partnership (it seems) w/ Pia. How that'll work out isn't clarified and will be interesting to see. And, since it's a WWC year, terrifying. There's no margin for error right now. But perhaps Pia & team f#ck!ng up qualification meant Pia lost some control.

What remains to be seen is whether April really has changed her thinking (and approach) since she was WNT head. She wasn't exactly willing to look at a large variety of players back then. The 99ers that got so much crap here about not wanting new players (which was crap) had to practically hold a gun to her head to get Boxx onto the team when it was clear to everyone else that Boxx was kicking most everyone's @ss in WUSA.

In her writings as a member of the Technical Committee for the U20 WWC, she sings a different tune than I remember her singing back in the day. I wanted to see her coach a club team to see if that was really true in practice.

Re-read the announcement. April will be the coach of the U20 and U18 teams. Ellis will coach the U17s and below. That's what "guiding and directing" mean. They are new in that they're full time positions and have a new name attached ("Director"). But both will be coaching the Uxx teams listed after their names.

I'll repeat that do not want Ellis near the WNT or U17 or U20 WNTs right now. I am shocked Ellis was offered the job. I'm also shocked that she left a cushy UCLA job to take it. I see that as evidence that she clearly has the WNT job in her sights.

 

Fraking 'ell. But you're right.

But it is true that pretty much any coaching staff type who has been outspoken and challenged the suits has not been retained. The re-hiring of DiCicco for the U20 run (on short notice) surprised me and made me think maybe things were changing on that front. Some of the (now retired) players get a lot of sh!t around here for contracts and the like but they fought the good fight and were battle hardened. Hamm basically had to pull the "fine. I'll retire and you can explain it to Nike" card during the strike to get proper compensation but the Fed got their pound of flesh so I'm not sure how much of a win that really was There are reasons certain "rumors" were floated by the powers that be and certain players put in a negative light.

 

CHICAGO (Jan. 6, 2011) – U.S. Soccer has appointed April Heinrichs as the Technical Director and Jill Ellis as the Development Director for the U.S. Women's National Teams. The hirings mark the first time U.S. Soccer has appointed full-time positions to oversee the women's youth national team program and the programs’ overall development.

Heinrichs will provide technical direction for women's soccer in the United States as it relates to the U.S. Women's National Teams with a focus on the Under-20s and younger, while overseeing the U.S. Under-20 and U.S. U-18 Women's National Teams. Ellis will be taking the lead on interacting directly with key coaches within the youth club environment while also guiding and directing the U.S. U-17s, U-15s and U-14s. Both Heinrichs and Ellis hold USSF "A" coaching licenses.

“I am extremely pleased that April and Jill have joined our women’s national team program,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “We have two vastly experienced coaches who have the knowledge and the tools to focus heavily on the development of girls’ soccer in the United States.”

Heinrichs and Ellis will work together to integrate all of the youth women’s and girls’ national teams, helping players and systems connect from one team to the next. They will also play major roles in leading the discussion on connecting the philosophies of the WNT head coach through all the youth national teams and especially to the massive amount of girls' youth clubs in the United States. Ellis especially will focus on the grassroots within the youth club environment to convey the goals and philosophies of player development in order to help produce quality players for the national team level."


-There is nothing in here that says they are coaching. As i mentioned, they have created two new positions. When they say "overseeing" I don't think this means coaching. They both have their respected age groups to oversee and help integrate our "new" tactics and philosophy,while being a liaison to the WNT, most importantly.

If they were coaching then this would be a cheap way actually get rid of numerous coaching jobs with-in our system. I see no way that April would coach all u18 AND u20 games/tournaments.

 

This doesn't concern me or anything...

I would hope that changes very soon. It'd be ideal if all levels played a similar system to ease transitioning. I understand she wouldn't really have a reason to pay attention to coaching styles since she's left, but I sure hope she changes that very soon.

 

It could be a good thing if she has been watching international soccer instead. That said you do have to know where you are to know where you're going or want to go.

The idea of this really makes me happy as a fan. I just want to see every player get a fair shot and know that the best of the best are playing. I also feel we're going to have to change our approach to keep up.

I dig the transition idea, I think it would lessen the gap for players if they do come into the senior level. Takes away the fear and trepidation, they'll know what's expected of them and can just go out and play.

 

This shows April is ratehr limited in her knowledge of Soccer.
Pia stared as a Forward and stayed one for most of her active years, but she played pretty much all position (except keper) before she left playing and started coaching.

 

What really is the criteria to work in the Pia regime? Have all men become unqualified? If this was reversed, folks would be crying foul and probably filing a discrimination lawsuit.

 

After sleeping on this news, I feel worse about the hire of April & Ellis for these two positions.

People around here can b!tch and moan about player selection and style of play and so forth. But that misses the forest for the trees. The problem isn't on the field it is at Chicago House.

 

Could not have said it better.

 

I think BrooklynSoccer has it right.

I understand people not wanting Jillian Ellis to be coach of the national teams but this sounds like a good position for her. The tag of not being able to win the big one will follow her, but she seems to have a good soccer mind and she's not being hired to coach. I've been fortunate enough to watch UCLA play some pretty damn good soccer the last several years. On the whole, her teams integrated and displayed a lot of the personality and individual strengths of the individual players.

 

From Quote Sheet: Sunil Gulati

"It’s possible that in the short to medium term they’ll also be involved in coaching one of our age group youth competition teams, in particular the U-17 and U-20 teams. Those decisions will be made shortly and with their input and involvement but that’s something certainly that we’re considering depending on time constraints and so on."

 

Either they are paying petty well for her to leave UCLA, or they got Pia on a very short leash and lining up Ellis for the job.

 

I refer you to my next two reactions in that post.

Ellis as WNT coach or April with a 2nd tour is bad news for the WNT.

 

I love them all but I actually wish half the senior team would step aside, and the coaching staff too. Congrats to Kris Lilly for her part in that. Sundhage should be the U20. She would have worked really well there with her knowledge of the seniors and she has a great demeanor and personality for working with young women.

Sundhage was the perfect foil for Ryangate. But that's done, she did it wonderfully, and it's already past time for the next logical piece of the puzzle - a tactical maestro with a strong vision for the contemporary game and a thorough understanding of how to pull it off.

And no, I don't believe there are any women who currently fit the bill.

 

ahaha. funny. You mean available women. Neid.

Aprils quotes are pretty funny as well, in all the wrong reason. I haven't really paid attention to the team the last 4 or 5 years? wtf.

I wonder if Tony was offered the job and turned it down.