Today I learned that Jill Ellis, the U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach, will be stepping down following their victory tour. The end of this tour, October, has led to more controversy surrounding the team. The main question revolving the team is who will take the reins of leadership and be the new coach. This task has to be extremely daunting as Ellis is leaving as the most decorated US coach in World Cup history with an official record of 102-7-18. Not only does she have a fantastic record to leave a legacy with, she is also the first coach in history to win two Women’s World Cups.
Despite her success, Ellis has faced consistent criticism regarding her coaching skills. Many critics believe she is simply riding the coattails of the team’s world class talent such as Alex Morgan and Julie Ertz rather than truly leading the team herself. While she was fortunate enough to have an incredibly talented team, I believe she was an exceptional coach despite her questionable decisions at times. As a former player, there were plenty of decisions I questioned but at the same time, I have to remember that it is not my place to judge her decisions as she, ultimately, was the head coach and I was not. On another note, I greatly admired the way Ellis backed her players and allowed them to represent and stand up for themselves. She could have easily tried to subdue them and “make them know their place” as professional soccer players. Instead, she backed their decisions to stand up for equal pay and helped further athletic opportunities for girls and women in sports. While I am excited to see who will takeover as the USWNT coach, I will miss Ellis as she was a great influence on the team and has achieved insurmountable success in her five-year tenure as the national team coach. At this point, I am grateful to have seen her impact on American women’s soccer.
Farewell Jill Ellis.
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