In part I of our "Women in Soccer" series, we spoke with the University of Washington Head Women's Soccer Coach, Lesle Gallimore. This August, Gallimore will start her 19th season on the sidelines for the Huskies, looking to take the program back to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time during her tenure. Besides her passion for coaching, she is also an avid fan of the game, with the Seattle Sounders and Tottenham Hotspurs, two of her favorite teams. Follow Gallimore on twitter @CoachGallimore
Soccer Banter: What are your current thoughts on women's soccer recruiting, which currently has players as young as 15 making a verbal commitment to a college?
Lesle Gallimore: I’ve really come to dislike where recruiting has gone; I don’t mind the work, or having to walk the tightrope of recruiting rules, it’s more that we are recruiting kids without the opportunity to really get to know them as people as well as we used to. And, for certain, there isn’t as much academic information to go on. I really don’t see it swinging back the other way any time soo, and if there are rules put into place to try to slow the process down it will only be a matter of time before coaches (college and club) find a way around the rules to speed it back up again…that and players are getting pretty aggressive about the recruiting process.
SB: Recently Lindsey Horan chose to forego her college eligibility to sign a professional contract with PSG in France. Do you believe this will be a growing trend in women's soccer or just a one off exception?
LG: I’m happy for Lindsey, I think it’s a great opportunity, it’s sad that it’s in another country. Financially it seems as though she, her parents, and her coaches really weighed the pros and cons and she fully intends to get an advanced education, it’s just not going to be while playing college soccer. I guess if I coached at Carolina I might feel differently, but I do think that a young female soccer player getting this type of opportunity is outstanding. It could possibly be a growing trend if the European leagues in particular start looking at younger players in America and can entice them with these kinds of contracts. I’m just not sure how many clubs have money to spend.
SB: On the topic of professional soccer, to date the United States has had two pro leagues (WUSA & WPS) fail, and now many top American players are looking to play overseas. Do you believe that a women's professional league can stand the test of time in America, and if so what needs to be done differently in order for this to happen?
Soccer Banter: What are your current thoughts on women's soccer recruiting, which currently has players as young as 15 making a verbal commitment to a college?
Lesle Gallimore: I’ve really come to dislike where recruiting has gone; I don’t mind the work, or having to walk the tightrope of recruiting rules, it’s more that we are recruiting kids without the opportunity to really get to know them as people as well as we used to. And, for certain, there isn’t as much academic information to go on. I really don’t see it swinging back the other way any time soo, and if there are rules put into place to try to slow the process down it will only be a matter of time before coaches (college and club) find a way around the rules to speed it back up again…that and players are getting pretty aggressive about the recruiting process.
SB: Recently Lindsey Horan chose to forego her college eligibility to sign a professional contract with PSG in France. Do you believe this will be a growing trend in women's soccer or just a one off exception?
LG: I’m happy for Lindsey, I think it’s a great opportunity, it’s sad that it’s in another country. Financially it seems as though she, her parents, and her coaches really weighed the pros and cons and she fully intends to get an advanced education, it’s just not going to be while playing college soccer. I guess if I coached at Carolina I might feel differently, but I do think that a young female soccer player getting this type of opportunity is outstanding. It could possibly be a growing trend if the European leagues in particular start looking at younger players in America and can entice them with these kinds of contracts. I’m just not sure how many clubs have money to spend.
SB: On the topic of professional soccer, to date the United States has had two pro leagues (WUSA & WPS) fail, and now many top American players are looking to play overseas. Do you believe that a women's professional league can stand the test of time in America, and if so what needs to be done differently in order for this to happen?
LG: Tough question because I think a lot of intelligent, passionate, good people have tried twice to make it work and it hasn’t. There are TWO pieces of the puzzle that I think can HELP it work: dove-tailing off of MLS teams, and playing the game in their practice venues (smaller stadiums) like Starfire where the Sounders Women played here in Seattle. Also, regionalize the league completely (a lot like the WPSL and the W-League) to save costs and make the championship at the end of the year a big to do. Like the MLS, if we can get the model right and hit that 10-year mark, I think it could be here forever.
SB: Lead by one of your former players, Hope Solo, the United States is hoping to win their third straight Olympic Gold medal this summer. What are your own thoughts on Solo's rise from the Huskies to being the best goalkeeper in the world?
LG: I am happy for Hope because she is deserving. She has worked hard for a really long time to get where she is today. She went through the entire U.S. system, college included, and has seen it through to the full National Team where she has thrived. It all hasn’t been a bed of roses clearly, but whose professional sports career is?! Hope is good enough to hold that spot for 10 more years if she wants to, in my opinion.
SB: The Pac-12 is enjoying quite a bit of a success in women's soccer of late - Stanford were 2011 College Cup champions, and 10 of 18 players named to US Olympic squad are from the conference. What makes the Pac-12 one of the top women's soccer leagues?
LG: Clearly I’m biased, but I think the Pac-12 has a rich tradition of overall athletic and academic excellence with 12 campuses in super cool locations. Seriously, if you’ve never been to Pullman, WA you can’t knock it…it’s a quaint little place. The west coast has always been stacked with talented girl soccer players and a lot of those players are picking Pac-12 schools to attend because they can get the best of everything at our institutions.
SB: Lead by one of your former players, Hope Solo, the United States is hoping to win their third straight Olympic Gold medal this summer. What are your own thoughts on Solo's rise from the Huskies to being the best goalkeeper in the world?
LG: I am happy for Hope because she is deserving. She has worked hard for a really long time to get where she is today. She went through the entire U.S. system, college included, and has seen it through to the full National Team where she has thrived. It all hasn’t been a bed of roses clearly, but whose professional sports career is?! Hope is good enough to hold that spot for 10 more years if she wants to, in my opinion.
SB: The Pac-12 is enjoying quite a bit of a success in women's soccer of late - Stanford were 2011 College Cup champions, and 10 of 18 players named to US Olympic squad are from the conference. What makes the Pac-12 one of the top women's soccer leagues?
LG: Clearly I’m biased, but I think the Pac-12 has a rich tradition of overall athletic and academic excellence with 12 campuses in super cool locations. Seriously, if you’ve never been to Pullman, WA you can’t knock it…it’s a quaint little place. The west coast has always been stacked with talented girl soccer players and a lot of those players are picking Pac-12 schools to attend because they can get the best of everything at our institutions.
SB: Looking ahead to your season with Washington - what's your take on your own team and the upcoming season?
LG: I couldn’t be more excited about our upcoming season. We were disappointed last year in falling a game short of .500 and not getting in the NCAA Tournament after an Elite Eight run in 2010. There were reasons for it: injuries and lack of a consistent line-up, and a flat out lack of “grittiness” if you will. There is a time in a program where you have to find a way to win, whatever it takes, and we weren’t there last year. We have a lot of talent from top to bottom on our roster, our players have been working hard in the off-season and we have changed some of our training methods and revamped our overall model of periodization, so I’ll be very interested to see how that translates this season. It’s my favorite time of year and I always feel like this is my first season all over again, I just get giddy to get things going with the team!
SB: For those not from the Pacific Northwest, how have the Sounders been able to gather such a passionate fan base? What are your thoughts on their season and can Montero and Johnson lead them to MLS Cup?
LG: The Sounders joining the MLS was a no-brainer; anyone that knows anything about soccer in the GPNW knows that it’s a winner. The NASL Sounders/Timbers/Whitecaps had huge followings and a lot of those players still live and are involved in soccer in the area; we knew it would be big. Adrian Hanauer and company hit a homerun hiring Sigi Schmid; he’s an old friend of mine from back in the South Bay in Southern California and I think he is an outstanding coach, both from a tactical side and a management side. He does well at the professional level managing his teams - it’s fun to watch. Eddie Johnson has been a great pick up and Freddy Montero is going to need to figure out how to be a more consistent threat. The big disappointment for me this season, aside from no 100% Zakuani and Kasey Keller retiring, is David Estrada’s injury. He has worked his butt off and was on a tear at the beginning of the season. I’d like to see him back up front with Johnson and Freddy coming off the bench…which I think is good for him once in a while. I’m a fan of 1FCK, so I’m interested to see this new German guy Christian Tiffert. They’ll roll at seasons end and make a run at the Cup.
LG: I couldn’t be more excited about our upcoming season. We were disappointed last year in falling a game short of .500 and not getting in the NCAA Tournament after an Elite Eight run in 2010. There were reasons for it: injuries and lack of a consistent line-up, and a flat out lack of “grittiness” if you will. There is a time in a program where you have to find a way to win, whatever it takes, and we weren’t there last year. We have a lot of talent from top to bottom on our roster, our players have been working hard in the off-season and we have changed some of our training methods and revamped our overall model of periodization, so I’ll be very interested to see how that translates this season. It’s my favorite time of year and I always feel like this is my first season all over again, I just get giddy to get things going with the team!
SB: For those not from the Pacific Northwest, how have the Sounders been able to gather such a passionate fan base? What are your thoughts on their season and can Montero and Johnson lead them to MLS Cup?
LG: The Sounders joining the MLS was a no-brainer; anyone that knows anything about soccer in the GPNW knows that it’s a winner. The NASL Sounders/Timbers/Whitecaps had huge followings and a lot of those players still live and are involved in soccer in the area; we knew it would be big. Adrian Hanauer and company hit a homerun hiring Sigi Schmid; he’s an old friend of mine from back in the South Bay in Southern California and I think he is an outstanding coach, both from a tactical side and a management side. He does well at the professional level managing his teams - it’s fun to watch. Eddie Johnson has been a great pick up and Freddy Montero is going to need to figure out how to be a more consistent threat. The big disappointment for me this season, aside from no 100% Zakuani and Kasey Keller retiring, is David Estrada’s injury. He has worked his butt off and was on a tear at the beginning of the season. I’d like to see him back up front with Johnson and Freddy coming off the bench…which I think is good for him once in a while. I’m a fan of 1FCK, so I’m interested to see this new German guy Christian Tiffert. They’ll roll at seasons end and make a run at the Cup.
SB: Lastly, what are your thoughts on Andre Villas-Boas being named manager, and can Spurs realistically challenge for the EPL title?
LG: To be honest with you I’ve been too busy the last month or so to really sit down and look at how Spurs roster has ended up. AVB is an excellent young manager and I think it’s a good pick up. He won’t be as entertaining to read about and listen to as ‘Ol ‘Arry, but he is definitely a promising young manager that just didn’t have things fall his way at Chelsea - they had to change. I think if they get back to the system and form they were in at about mid-season last year, they are a great side to watch and cheer for. Love, love, love watching the EPL and Championship League games.
More "Women in Soccer" Interviews
Meabh De Burca - Republic of Ireland International
Kim Tate - Owner of Kim Tate Sports
Kristi Colvin - Cofounder of Women United FC
LG: To be honest with you I’ve been too busy the last month or so to really sit down and look at how Spurs roster has ended up. AVB is an excellent young manager and I think it’s a good pick up. He won’t be as entertaining to read about and listen to as ‘Ol ‘Arry, but he is definitely a promising young manager that just didn’t have things fall his way at Chelsea - they had to change. I think if they get back to the system and form they were in at about mid-season last year, they are a great side to watch and cheer for. Love, love, love watching the EPL and Championship League games.
More "Women in Soccer" Interviews
Meabh De Burca - Republic of Ireland International
Kim Tate - Owner of Kim Tate Sports
Kristi Colvin - Cofounder of Women United FC
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