Will new U.S. Women's Directors keep USWNT from losing the #1 spot?

In what is a clear sign that somebody within U.S. Soccer is still buying what former USWNT head coach Tony DiCicco selling, Sunil Gulati announced appointed April Heinrichs as the Technical Director and Jill Ellis as the Development Director for the U.S. Women's National Teams.

In an interview with National Soccer Examiner DiCicco rightfully called out U.S. Soccer for failing to produce top quality players. DiCicco said:

On the girls’ side our players are not smart players, they lack sophistication, they’re not technical enough.

By appointing Heinrichs and Ellis as directors, 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, the USWNT is at least attempting to stop what has seemed to be a downward slide from its seemingly permanent #1 spot in international women's soccer.

The quality or lack of quality in the women's program was most evident after placing third at the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying tournament in November of 2010. Faced with a must win scenario versus Italy to simply make it into the 2011 World Cup in Germany.

Many soccer pundits, fans, and coaches began questioning if the USWNT had lost its edge in international play and if so, why.

Having won both an Olympic gold medal and a Women's World Cup, Tony DiCicco knows what it takes to develop winning players and teams. So when he told L.E. Eisenmenger:

Our players are not getting the foundations of the game. Our players are not technical.

U.S. Soccer, and specifically Sunil Gulati reacted.

April Heinrichs was head coach of the full Women’s National Team from 2000-2004, compiling a record of 87-17-20. On the perception that the world has caught up and, in some cases, overtaken the U.S. Women’s soccer program over the last decade Heinrichs said:

In a lot of respects the U.S. sports teams, all of our women’s sports teams, had a 50-yard head start in a 100-yard dash. Over the last 10, maybe 15 years, those other countries have spent time, energy and now their resources across all of our sports, including soccer. These countries have caught up and it’s a matter of us now saying, ‘Okay, where do we need to go now?’ and I think that’s what today’s announcement is about. What do we need to do to develop players to be prepared to play at the international level because we’re putting them on the international field at even younger and younger ages. It’s important to be competitive at every age group and develop the technical skills so that they can implement the tactics and we can put more and more complete players on the field in all positions.

As the saying goes, acknowledging you have a problem is only the first step. Heinrichs will be joined by Jill Ellis.

Ellis coached the U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team during two different stints in 2000 and 2005. She 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. Some might say this role is the most vital. On how the new philosophies will incorporate the technical aspects of the game into the current system which focuses on the physical aspects Ellis said:

We certainly have a lot of technical players in our midst, but now marrying that with a style of play that highlights that is going to be the challenge. As April has alluded to, it’s establishing a philosophy of how we want to play and how we want to develop players, it’s not simply identification. It really is development. We have tremendous athletes in this country and that begs the question, ‘Why can’t we have tremendous athletes that are tremendous technical players?’ That is ultimately what you’re trying to establish in developing players. I think there’s a place for everybody. I certainly have, in my college years and my selection of players for the national team, have picked players that play the game and understand the game and there has to be a certain variety of the types of players on the field and we can’t have everyone being a piano player, there has to be some piano carriers out there and I think that’s our challenge and our charge is to try and find those players, find a style of play that really marries our strengths as a country. We have athletes and we have technical players but I think ultimately we realize that we do need to further our development, technically, and that’s going to be a big push for us.

Will Heinrichs and Ellis be able to make a significant mark on the USWNT in time for the 2011 Women's World Cup? Although the team did struggle to qualify Mia Hamm said:

You can never write off the US. They had a tough time in qualifying, but I think that will serve them well in terms of experience and the awareness that every second counts out on the pitch.

The most important outcome from the naming of the new directors for the U.S. Women's program will be how if they can again produce a generation of technically advanced and developed players.

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