The National Soccer Coaches Association of America is joining the Women’s Sports Foundation, Gatorade, the MLS and more in honoring the 40th anniversary of Title IX this Saturday, June 23. Title IX, which has given women equal opportunity to participate in sports at the high school and college levels, is largely responsible for the increase of women in sports since its inception 40 years ago.

Despite the incredible increase in women in sports, there is still a trend for girls ages 12-15 to drop out of sports due to other pressures from society. To raise awareness, the Women’s Sports Committee is asking people to change their personal Twitter and Facebook profiles to them as a kid in sports and use the hashtag #keepherinthegame.

NSCAA is taking part in honoring this anniversary by highlighting some of the amazing women in soccer in our organization. These women have held some of the highest positions in coaching in the country and have been directly responsible for furthering the game. Their success is largely due to their dedication to women’s sports since a young age. Furthermore, these women are all members of the Women’s Committee, an organization established in 1991 to be a powerful voice in the NSCAA and to promote the women's game and to represent all levels of women in coaching, from youth to the national level. The committee is dedicated to all coaches of women's soccer through recognition, education, leadership, communication and cooperation with other organizations.

If they had walked away then, they wouldn’t be where they are now. Here are some of their amazing accomplishments.

Janet Rayfield

Janet Rayfield is set to enter her 11th season as the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at the University of Illinois. In that position, she has accrued the most overall victories, conference victories, single-season victories and NCAA Tournament appearances in school history. In addition to her successful collegiate coaching career, Rayfield served as President of the NSCAA and holds the NSCAA Premier Diploma, where she stood out as one of the best coaches in the course. She also holds her USSFA ‘A’ License. Furthermore, Rayfield has served as the U.S. National Staff Coach for Region II and the U-19 and U-16 National Team Assistant Coach.

Rayfield also had an outstanding college career as a player at the University of North Carolina. She led the Tar Heels to the 1981 AIAW National Championship and a 23-0 record in only their third year. That season, Rayfield took home the Nike Player of the Year award, All-America honors and was named one of the top 10 soccer players in America (male or female). In 1982, she led the Tar Heels to the first-ever NCAA women's soccer championship. That championship would be the first of 18 NCAA national titles in the storied history of the North Carolina program.

During her career at North Carolina, Rayfield was a captain all four years and led the Tar Heels to an overall record of 73-9 in that span. She inked her name all over the Carolina record books. Today she still ranks in the top three in seven different offensive categories, including holding the school records for most goals in a game (6) and most points in a game (12), both set against the Chapel Hill Club in 1979. She also currently ranks second to Mia Hamm in career goals with 93, third in career points with 223, third in single-season points with 74 in 1981 and tied for third in single-season goals with 30 in both 1979 and 1981.

April Heinrichs

April Heinrichs was among the first players on the United States Women's National Team, and was captain of the U.S. team which won the first ever FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991. She finished her international playing career with 47 caps and 38 goals. In 1998, she became the first female player inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Heinrichs is a 1986 graduate of the University of North Carolina, where she was named National Player of the Year twice and earned All-American First team honors three times. As a college coach, Heinrichs has held positions at Princeton University, University of Maryland and University of Virginia, where she recorded a 52-27-7 mark in leading the Cavaliers to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. She led Virginia to a 13-10 record, including a trip to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament in 1999 season.

She joined the U.S. Women’s National Team as an assistant coach in 1995. She became the team's head coach in 2000. Heinrichs led the United States to wins in international tournaments such as the Algarve Cup, 4 Nations Cup, Gold Cup and of course the much celebrated return to the podium by winning Gold in Athens. Heinrichs also led her team to the Silver Medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics and the Bronze Medal in the 2003 Women's World Cup. Heinrichs' 5 years at the helm lead to an 87-17-20 record. She resigned as coach on February 15, 2005 and became a consultant for U.S. Soccer. Today, she works with the U.S. Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Louise Waxler

Louise Waxler has been a member of the NSCAA since 1991 and has served in several distinctive positions within the organization, including President, Women’s Committee Chairperson, Youth Representative and Board of Directors. Louise is widely recognized and respected for her experience running youth and professional sports as well as soccer events. 

A consistent presence in promoting women’s soccer in the U.S., Louise served as Director of the Washington Area Girls Soccer Tournament 1999-2001; and in 2006, Louise was elected as the 58th President of the NSCAA, serving as only the third female president in the 69-year history of the organization. In 2009, she was the Director of Operations for the WPS Washington Freedom and led the Philadelphia Independence as the General Manager in 2010. That same year, she was also the recipient of the NSCAA Women's Committee Award of Excellence.

Marcia McDermott

Marcia McDermott led the University of North Carolina to three national titles in 1983, '84 and '86, serving as co-captain in 1986 and earning All-America honors. She then went on to play on the U.S. Women's National team in 1986 and '88 before becoming an assistant coach at North Carolina-Greensboro.

From there, McDermott spent two years as head coach at Maryland, then three as the head coach of Arkansas while working with Rayfield. In 1994, McDermott moved to Northwestern University, where she had her most success as a collegiate coach, leading the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 in 1998 and earning Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year honors from the NSCAA in 1996 and '98. After seven years at Northwestern, McDermott became the head coach of the Carolina Courage, where she led the squad to a 12-4 record and a regular-season championship in 2002 before taking the Founder's Cup as the winner of the postseason title.

McDermott also is very active in the NSCAA, having served on the Women's Committee and Board of Directors prior to her current position on the Executive Committee. She also has worked as a scout for the U.S. Women's National team and is on the Chicago SCORES Board of Directors. 

McDermott also has an active past with NSCAA, having served on the Women's Committee and Board of Directors. She has also worked as a scout for the U.S. Women's National team and has held a position on the Chicago SCORES Board of Directors. 

Lesle Gallimore

Lesle Gallimore is a female coaching legend at the collegiate level. In her 18th season as the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at Washington University, the longest tenure of any coach in the Pac-12, she has compiled a 189-159-31 overall record that includes 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and a Pac-10 Championship. Gallimore has coached several players who have continued onto the professional level, including 2011 U.S. Female Athlete of the Year Hope Solo. In 2000, she was named the NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year award and the Pac-10 Coach of the Year.

In addition to early collegiate level coaching positions, Gallimore served as the Region IV Olympic Development Head Girl’s Coach for six years and coached the U.S. U-19 National Team to a second place finish at the USYS/adidas Cup. She has served as an at-large representative to the Board of Directors of the NSCAA and has been a national staff coach for the NSCAA since 1995.

As a player, Gallimore was a four-time All-American at California and led the Golden Bears to the national playoffs three out of her four seasons. She continued to play soccer competitively on the West team for the 1987 Olympic Sports Medal, earning a gold medal and a spot on the U.S. National B Team. She won the national club title with the California Tremors and a national amateur championship with the Ajax club team of Southern California.

She was named California’s 1976-86 Athlete of the Decade and was inducted into the California Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995 due to her of her accomplishments in soccer.

“If I walked away then, I wouldn't be the longest tenured women's soccer coach in the Pac-12; I never would have been a 4x All-America and Hall of Fame inductee at Cal, and I never would have had the opportunity to positively impact other young girls and women's lives through sport,” Gallimore said. “I'm so thankful that Title IX gave me these opportunities and that I am able to pay it forward!”

Nancy Feldman

Entering her 17th season at the helm of the Boston University women's soccer team, Nancy Feldman is a coaching legend in the American East Conference. Just recently, Feldman and her assistants earned the AE Coaching Staff of the Year award in back-to-back years, following two regular-season championship years. She had previously received the distinction on five other occasions (1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005) – the most of any AE coach. In the last 10 seasons, the Terriers have won seven America East championships, lost a total of just 10 conference games and won the only two NCAA tournament games for the league in that span. Feldman is currently 19th among Division I coaches in terms of career winning percentage (.697) and 15th all-time in wins (267). Feldman's success is as consistent as it is impressive.

Feldman's stature in the coaching profession is evidenced by the leadership roles she holds on several important national committees. She has served as the National Chairperson of the NSCAA All-America Committee (`89-95) and with the NCAA Regional Selection Committee (`92-95). She is the holder of an Advanced National Diploma from the NSCAA and has received her USSF "B" License. Currently, Feldman is a coach in the Region I ODP and is on the staff for the NSCAA National Coaching Academy.

“If I had walked away then, I wouldn’t be coaching student-athletes today and I wouldn’t be a soccer coach,” Feldman said. “I don’t think I’d even be in athletics because I didn’t really want to be a physical education teacher and go down that avenue. I love the coaching and teaching of athletes at any age. I’m really passionate and committed. If I didn’t go into athletics, maybe I’d be a doctor, but I don’t think I’d be as happy. I was born to do this. I wouldn’t have been exposed to these opportunities without Title IX and I wouldn’t be as happy.”

Lynn Berling-Manuel

Lynn Berling-Manuel has been the Chief Marketing Officer for American Youth Soccer Organization since December 2007. As Chief Marketing Officer, Berling-Manuel oversees AYSO’s market position and branding, and communications to its volunteers and sponsorship. 

Berling-Manuel came to AYSO after more than 30 years in the soccer media and marketing industry, including 12 years as Chief Executive Officer of Soccer America Communications, publishers of Soccer America Magazine. She is acknowledged as one of the leading experts on the U.S. soccer market, having long consulted with soccer organizations and major corporations on their soccer marketing strategies.

Lynn currently serves on the Board of Directors for the NSCAA and the National Soccer Hall of Fame. She also served for six years as president of the West Berkeley Foundation, a community foundation that since 1993 has granted over $1.5 million to disadvantaged children, seniors and families in the community where Soccer America long had its offices. She is a two-term past president of the Professional Soccer Reporters Association and was a regular contributor to the marketing trade magazine Advertising Age. She is a two-time recipient of the NSCAA Merit Award and their Award of Excellence. A popular speaker who has frequently addressed corporate and soccer gatherings, Lynn is sought after as a leading voice in the U.S. soccer community. 

Laurie Whitsel

Laurie Whitsel is a science and medicine advisor for the American Heart Association and has worked with the AHA’s chief scientific officer on the Alliance for a Healthier Generation project, a partnership between the AHA and President Clinton and his foundation to address childhood obesity across the country.

Whitsel coached at the college level for several years and in 1999 became the first female president of the NSCAA. She represented the NSCAA at the men’s 1994 World Cup, the women’s World Cup tournaments in both Sweden and the United States and the 1996 Olympics. She also had the opportunity to travel to Italy with the women’s national soccer team as team administrator for the Mundialito Cup Tournament. For her work and research, she was named a Sports Ethics Fellow by the Institute of International Sport in 1999.

She frequently speaks at national and regional conferences on topics related to nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s State Task Force Addressing Adolescent Health and chairs the executive committee of Pennsylvania’s statewide coalition addressing obesity under a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

She has taught as an adjunct professor at Pennsylvania State University, Hamilton College and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of AHA’s National Scientific Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism and the American College of Sports Medicine. She received her Ph.D. in nutrition science from Syracuse University in 1998. Her research on nutritional supplementation and exercise rehabilitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was supported by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and Ross Laboratories. She received a doctoral prize from the College for Human Development recognizing her research and subsequently published work.

There are many women in the NSCAA who have contributed countless hours to the organization and to the game of soccer to ensure that the participation of females within sports continues to grow and their experience is of the highest quality. The NSCAA would like to extend our gratitude to all of them for everything they have done for the beautiful game and the young women across the country and the world. 

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