Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer

Last night at the Philadelphia Union game, I had the opportunity to chat with Anson Dorrance as I just happened to be sitting next to him.  I've read all of his books and those written about him, as well as studied his coaching DVDs and I've heard him speak, attended field sessions where he was a guest featured clinician, and he was one of my instructors when I took the NSCAA Premier Diploma coaching course.  So I am well versed in Anson's philosophies and methodologies, and I subscribe to many of them.  You can only imagine how excited I was when he took the seat next to mine at the game!  

I found him to be quite personable, down-to-earth and very open to converse with me about the intricacies of the game, player development, the future of women's soccer in the United States and other topics.  It was awesome to be able to chat with the most successful coach in all of women's college soccer, the pioneer for the women's game and a world champion coach of the US Women's National team.  He is a coach for whom I have the utmost respect and truly admire for not only what he has accomplished on the field, but the impact he has made on the lives of so many young female soccer players.  

I was interested to hear about his thoughts on many topics, but wanted to respect his desire to watch the game and I didn't want to be a distraction.  He was very conversational and welcomed my questions with thoughtful answers and insights.  I asked him about the new curriculum recently rolled out by U.S. Soccer, which he totally embraces as it is supported by scientific research regarding social and cognitive development of children.  We also discussed the importance of young girls to become fans of the game and its players.  They don't watch the game enough and there needs to be a way for them to want to watch it, follow a team and have role models to emulate both on and off the field.  I also inquired about the state of the premier game on the female side with regard to ODP, the ECNL, and U.S. Soccer Training Centers.  He was very frank in his response that ODP has a place in his heart as it was part of his generation, but that he doesn't have the answer.  He told me that if I figure it out to let him know!  We covered so many different topics and I even had a chance to hear his comments on the Union game that was happening right in front of us just four rows from the field. 

Overall, it was an honor for me to be able to chat with Anson.  I walked away with so many other questions in my head that I wished I had asked him if I only had the time.  Nonetheless, it was amazing even if it was so short!