"NEWS: Quakes Analyst Danielle Slaton joins historic broadcast" (SJEarthquakes.com - Thursday, 8/16/18) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Danielle rules! She did the women's soccer games at the last olympics. She's brilliant, and perseptive, and I bow down to her superior soccer accumen. All hail Daniells Slaton!! Go Quakes!! Go Danielle!! - Mark
I'm on board with that. She's brilliant. (I haven't heard Aly Wagner do announcing or analysis.) I think that Danielle would be a better coach than Dim Stahre. My only question there is whether the players would listen to her or not. I think most of them would and simultaneously be honored to play for her. But I can't say for certain. Oh, and Danielle needs her own thread because she's freaking awesome!! Go Quakes!! Fire Stahre!! - Mark
I think its cool how DCU has the first-ever all-female broadcast team calling the DC United New England Revs game!
The Women's pro league has a game of the week broadcast on, I think, the Lifetime channel. Aly is a regular announcer there, but took a break from that to do the World Cup.
Before they played at together at Presentation High School (where they were coached by ex-Quake Mani Hernandez) they played club ball together. Aly's mother Vicki Wagner coached Aly on an Almaden club team called the Mercury. Danielle lived in the Evergreen League area, but they didn't have a strong girls' select program, so she joined the Mercury. Danielle was always very fast, and also had a positive personality and leadership ability. (Her father was a track coach at Silver Creek High and her mother was a high school teacher in a different district). The Mercury had a very strong team and had players from other league areas on it. The Almaden League got some complaints that too many non-Almaden were on the team, so the team moved to the San Jose Central Valley League and stayed intact. Phillipe Blin, an assistant coach at Santa Clara University, was the team trainer. The Mercury always played up a year against older competition in Select league competition and in tournaments (and usually won). Then in State Cup, Regionals, and National USYSA competitions they played in their own age-group and dominated. They won something like 4 national championships. Most of them went to Division I colleges. Aly, Danielle, and Anna Kraus played for SCU, and along with Brooke O'Hanley (who played for Clive Charles at Portland), played for WUSA teams. Aly and Danielle played for the USWNT. Nick Arellano of Soccer Magic wrote this article when Danielle and Aly were playing U-13 Select soccer for Almaden.
When the Brazilians were hanging out in Los Gatos during the 1994 World Cup supporting the Brazilian national team who was staying at Villa Filice, I remember many of those youth team girls playing pick up ball with the many fans. I remember how the Brazilian fans were cheering all of them on in Portuguese. Aly went on to say, that always stayed with her and inspired her to continue playing on. I think Danielle was there too.
I think a lot of fans congregated at or near Willow Street Pizza in Los Gatos, and I know some youth players who brought a ball downtown at that time. BTW, when the Mercury players were young Vicky Wagner had them practice juggling. She took a yardstick and clothespins or clips with players' names on them and those were placed on the yardstick to show how many consecutive juggles they had done during warmup before practice. I don't know how many Danielle could do but Aly led the team in that area. I'd be willing to bet Aly was doing some juggling for those Brazilians. She was always hyper-competitive and devoted to soccer. She was a center mid and became an expert passer, which is something she brought with her to the USWNT. I think she had several knee procedures (including at least one ACL in High School) so arthritis may be a factor for her in later life. BTW, a knee injury ended Danielle's playing career, after which she got into coaching.
Happy for the well deserved success Danielle is having, but it's really sad that her success is the best part of this season for anything related to the Earthquakes.
The only thing she is lacking in is some insight and game day analysis. Then again, the same can be said for most MLS commentators, man or woman. If you can understand all the languages aside from the English ones, there is nothing like the european or South American game callers.
Even though Danielle caught the red eye flight to NYC after last nights game at Avaya, she looks a lot happier on today's DCU @ NYRB game on national TV. Maybe its because they are paying her more?
Received this today: "As a Season Pass Holder, there are two special opportunities that you can participate in during tomorrow's match: As a part of Women's Soccer Appreciation Night, join us for a pregame panel talk with former U.S. Women's National Team defender and current Quakes television analyst Danielle Slaton, as well as Quakes Academy and U.S. U-17 National Team midfielder Sophie Jones. The talk will take place in the Chairman's Club from 6-6:30 p.m. Register here today as space is limited!"
Saw Brandi a few weeks ago at Stanton field (the turf field outside the old Buck Shaw stadium (now names "Stevens Stadium") and she had just had surgery on both knees. I joked with her that this was probably the first and last time I could run faster than her!
They seem to be including Danielle in on the analysis tonight at home against Dallas. It doesn't sound too good....