(Note: Yes, I’m still writing about the USWNT and WPS. If you’re into it and want to see the WPS Sky Blue this Saturday, tweet at me, I’m going!)
ABBY WAMBACH ABBY WAMBACH ABBY WAMBACH ABBY WAMBACH
That was the only thing I could say, think, tweet, or text to my mother when she scored her game-equalizing head goal against Brazil. Has anyone ever seen a better or more necessary goal in their life? In their entire life… of watching soccer? I used to be all about Hope Solo (and credit where credit is due, she’s still the best goalkeeper in the world), but after the WWC, I’m all about Abby Wambach. Abby Wambach Abby Wambach Abby Wambach Abby Wambach.
Wambach was and still is undoubtedly the talk of the USWNT in the Women’s World Cup. Her dramatic late game goals embodied the never die spirit of the team. She plays with such hunger. Such heart! And while Wambach is an animal for sure, she also has incredible composure that I swear I can feel through my TV screen. I love watching her do the small stuff: collecting the ball with confidence, passing to space, making the right runs, etc. She plays consistently and plays smart, and pulls through in the clutch. Her presence amps up the level of intensity and she inspires her teammates to play better. Her leadership is visibly undeniable on the field.
Now, she’s taking that leadership a step further. Upon returning from the frenzy of the WWC, Wambach’s transitioning her role from player to player-coach for the WPS’s magicJack for the remainder of the season. Seems there has been some controversy with magicJack owner/coach Dan Borislow. He’s bullied and intimidated players, making them feel threatened and uncomfortable to the point that he’s been banned from the sidelines. Sounds like an awful dude. Thankfully, he will no longer be coaching the magicJack, and when the team was searching for a qualified and capable coach, they looked to Wambach. Yes yes yes yes, I thought to myself.
An unrelated-but-sort-of-related story: When I read this news, I thought of my freshman year playing soccer at NYU. Obviously very different from Women’s Professional Soccer. However, we had ourselves an experience with a coach who was also an awful dude, and we banned him too. Our coach, Jon, made one of my teammates uncomfortable, and once she came forward, a few other players did too. I wasn’t involved and to this day don’t know the details, but he was accused of harassment right before the weekend of our final two conference matches, our most important games of the season. I remember it so well: We were in the airport to fly to Ohio, walking towards security, as we watched our captains tell him he couldn’t come with us to Case Western. He left, furious, without saying goodbye. So, we coached ourselves for that weekend. Our assistant coaches were there, but we weren’t playing for them. We were playing for each other. We were playing for the women who felt harassed and for our captains who stood up for them. We played together. And we played some of our best soccer, clinching the conference title.
Jon finished out the season with us, though most of us felt awkward around him. After that, he was fired.
When I look back on that incident, I don’t dwell on the fact that we had a maybe-inappropriate coach. I think about the respect I had for my teammates and captains and smile that we won on our own. Sure, that was just Division III soccer, but it’s not unlike the WPS League:
The league has precedent for a player-coach. U.S. captain and magicJack defender Rampone temporarily took the reins of Sky Blue FC in 2009 and led the team to the first WPS championship
Leaders win games! Of course there’s more to coaching that being an inspirational leader, but that goes a hell of a long way. Ultimately, players play best for people they respect- players or coaches. People respect the hell out of Abby Wambach. I predict she kills it.