Heinrichs Is in Hurry to Make Impression
As a soccer player, April Heinrichs was forthright and decisive. Those traits stood her in good stead when she captained the U.S. national team to victory in the first women’s World Championships in China in 1991.
Not much has changed. It has been only three weeks since Heinrichs was named to replace Tony DiCicco as national coach, but already she is starting to stamp her imprint on the team.
It took only a few days for her to show that she is unafraid of making changes. Sentiment, apparently, will play no part in her decisions.
In naming a 35-player squad to prepare for today’s game against Norway at Lockhart Stadium, Heinrichs dropped three players from the 1999 World Cup-winning team--goalkeeper Tracy Ducar, midfielder Tiffany Roberts and forward Danielle Fotopoulos.
Heinrichs is a North Carolina graduate, but that didn’t stop her cutting fellow Tar Heel alumnae Ducar and Roberts.
Nor will simple statistics impress her. Fotopoulos is the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader.
All three moves, she said, were coaching decisions, nothing more. Roberts, however, has since been called back into camp after an injury sidelined Cindy Parlow.
On Friday, Heinrichs named her longtime “mentor” John Ellis as her assistant coach.
Ellis, 60, is from England. For the last 20 years, he has coached youth teams in the Washington (D.C.) area, winning regional and national championships with both boys’ and girls’ teams.
A former player and staff coach for the English Football Assn., he has gained international experience working with youth and senior national teams in Trinidad & Tobago, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
“What I love most about John Ellis is that for the last 40 years, he has worked in soccer every single day,” Heinrichs said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and wisdom to our staff as well as a worldly approach to coaching the women’s national team. He will be a tremendous asset to myself and the team.”
Ellis, who worked alongside Heinrichs with the U.S. under-16 national team, lives in Manassas, Va. His daughter, Jill, is the women’s soccer coach at UCLA.
“It’s a great honor to have come to this country and in a sense lived the American dream,” Ellis said in a prepared statement. “I’ve had the opportunity to help pioneer many aspects of the game, from working with youth clubs, to development of soccer complexes and long-term player development programs.
“Now, to work with the best players in the world is every coach’s ultimate dream and challenge and one that I am looking forward to tremendously. I’m hoping my experience in this supporting role will contribute to the continued success of this team.”
Today’s game has no significance beyond being Heinrichs’ debut. For her, it is the first step not only toward the Sydney Olympics but toward achieving what each of her predecessors accomplished.
Anson Dorrance coached the U.S. women to the world championship in 1991 and DiCicco did so in 1999.
In 2003, Heinrichs will have her chance. Before then, she and Ellis have to rebuild a team that is getting a little long in the tooth. Today’s starting lineup will provide the first indication of where changes might be made.
There are 17 World Cup ’99 veterans in camp. The 18 newcomers include seven Californians: goalkeeper Lakeysia Beene of Gold River, defenders Lauren Orlandos of Lake Forest and Danielle Slaton of San Jose, midfielders Aly Wagner of San Jose and Nikki Serlenga of San Diego, and forwards Mandy Clemens of San Diego and Veronica Zepeda of Riverside.
