US Women's National Team Update: Coaching Change

Well, I waited a couple of days to see what the general response to US Soccer's decision not to renew Greg Ryan's contract would be, and as it turned out, there hardly was one. I was somewhat baffled at how quickly a supposed controversy could disappear from the radar. But I guess this isn't really all that surprising, as most of the media frenzy was centered around the cat fight between outcast Solo and the rest of the "girls of summer" gang.

Unfortunately for all involved, Solo's outburst took away from the larger issue, that of Ryan's ability to coach the national team. It is reassuring to see that while the rest of the world may have forgotten about Greg Ryan, US Soccer has not. Ryan, who had a lengthy, although not particularly successful, career as a college soccer coach, took the helm of the program with very little notice from the soccer community. It has almost been the assumption that the team is so great that victory will come regardless of who coaches the team. Perhaps fans were lulled into this false sense of security by the past two previous coaches: the skillful Tony DiCicco and the lucky April Heinrichs, or perhaps it was the fact that most fans only take notice of the team around major tournament times.

At any rate, US Soccer has made the right move. Depending upon who they replace Ryan with, they can show that they are serious about this team; that they are running the team as any powerhouse nation would manage their men's team. The focus needs to move away from idolizing the original heroes of the Women's game and realize that the team cannot survive on their legacy alone. The team needs to get serious about the Olympics: they're not anybody's heroes, they're not even the favorites-- they are simply one of the many that could mount a challenge, or on the other hand, fall very far short. So it is time to cast off those ridiculous gold jerseys, stop scheduling victory tours before the tournaments begin and bring in a new coach who will give the new women of the US National Team the leadership that they need.