More head coaching appointments will be announced soon.
Tony DiCicco, Head Coach Boston Breakers
Tony DiCicco has a long history of involvement in women’s soccer. He is the Chair of the Technical Committee and the head coach of the Boston Breakers. The former National Team head coach served as the WUSA’s COO in 2001 and it’s Commissioner in 2002 and 2003 and as the Chairman of the re-launch committee in 2004.
For six years DiCicco was the head coach of the United States Women's National Team, accumulating an impressive record of 103-8-8, making him the all-time wins leader in U.S. National Team Soccer history. DiCicco was the head coach of the 1999 Women's World Cup squad that changed the face of women's athletics forever, winning the championship over China in front of the largest crowd in women’s sports history (90,185 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on July 10, 1999) and a worldwide television audience. In 1996, he led the U.S. team to the first-ever gold medal in Olympic women's soccer. He also guided the U.S. team to a third-place finish at the second FIFA Women's World Cup in Sweden in June of 1995 and championships at U.S. Women's Cups in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998. DiCicco and the USA Women’s National Team also won the Goodwill Games Gold Medal in 1998. The 1996 Olympic Gold Medal team has recently been inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Before becoming the head coach of the U.S. national team, DiCicco had served as the squad’s assistant coach since 1991, working with the goalkeepers during the USA’s triumph at the first FIFA Women’s World Cup in China in 1991. He also served as the goalkeeper and assistant coach for the 1993 Under-20 Men’s National Team when it finished in eighth place at the 7th FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia.
DiCicco played five years of professional soccer in the American Soccer League with the Connecticut Wildcats and Rhode Island Oceaneers, where he was team MVP and captain. In 1973, DiCicco played for the U.S. National Team.
In 1981, DiCicco founded SoccerPlus Goalkeeper Schools, which has grown to over 20 camps nationwide, and started the SoccerPlus FieldPlayer Academies in the summer of 1998. He currently serves as the Director of the NSCAA Goalkeeping Institute. He holds both the U.S. Soccer “A” license and the NSCAA Premier Diploma.
DiCicco founded the FSASoccerPlus Football Club in 2003 and serves as the club’s Technical Director. He is also coach of the U12 girls; the U17 boys and SoccerPlus CT Reds of the WPSL (Women’s Premier Soccer League). The Reds won the U23 National Championship last summer.
DiCicco is the Technical Director to adidas ESP, a program that every summer brings in the top 100 youth female players for a unique learning and competition experience.
DiCicco, is also a member of the FIFA Panel of Instructors and Lecturers visited Santiago, Chile recently to help promote the FIFA U20 Women’s World Championship to be held in Chile later in 2008. He has authored three soccer DVD series, Goalkeeping, the DiCicco Method; The 3 front System 4-3-3; and Champions Soccer Series featuring Brandi Chastain and has completed a book, along with Dr. Colleen Hacker entitled “Catch them Being Good”.
DiCicco was an ESPN television analyst for the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. He has also served this capacity during the 2003 Women’s World Cup and with NBC for the 2000 Olympics.
DiCicco has also recently started SoccerPlus Education Center, a non-profit company that provides seminars for young student athletes. Seminars range from “Life Skills…balancing a checkbook, managing a credit card, establishing credit” to “Adolescent Development…an Emphasis on Teen Depression” to “Leadership and Sustaining Excellence.”
He received a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Springfield College in Massachusetts and a master’s degree in physical education from Central Connecticut State University. DiCicco lives in Wethersfield, Conn. He and his wife, Diane, have four sons: Anthony, Andrew, Alex, and Nicholas.
Jim Gabarra, Head Coach Washington Freedom
Prior to his appointment as Head Coach of the Washington Freedom in August 2000, Gabarra, was head coach of the World All-Stars during the 1999 and 2000 Toys "R" Us United States National Team Indoor Victory Tour. Gabarra's extensive background in soccer includes head coaching tenures with the Washington Warthogs in the CISL from 1994-1998, head coach in the adidas Summer League, 1998, and stints as the player-coach for the Milwaukee Wave of the NPSL from 1992-1993 and Louisville Thunder of the AISA from 1985-1987.
Gabarra was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1986-1989, earning 14 caps, and played for the U.S. Olympic Team at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. He played indoor and outdoor soccer professionally from 1982-1994 in the ASL, AISA, MISL, CISL, and NPSL. Gabarra was the U.S. National Indoor Team captain from 1986-1996, and played on the team achieving the highest tournament finish ever by a U.S. Men's National Team at FIFA's Indoor World Championships - capturing the Silver medal in 1992 and the Bronze medal in 1989.
Born in Key West, FL, Gabarra currently resides in Annapolis, MD with his wife Carin, a member of the first U.S. Women's World Cup Championship Team in 1991 and current head coach at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, and their three children.
Emma Hayes, Head Coach & Director of Soccer Operations Chicago WPS
Emma Hayes was named the inaugural head coach and director of soccer operations for Chicago Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) on May 15, 2008.
Since 2006, Hayes has served as first team assistant coach and academy director at the FA’s Women’s Premier League’s top-ranked Arsenal Ladies Football Club in London, England. Hayes helped guide the Lady Gunners to an undefeated League record and won every competition England has to offer. Previously, she spent six years coaching in the United States, from the grass roots level all the way through the W-league and Division 1 college level.
Hayes also brings significant broadcast experience to Chicago WPS, most notably as the lead analyst for Eurosport during the 2007 Women’s World Cup in China delivering televised color commentary on the matches. She has been selected as a featured clinician at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) national convention the last two years, and has extensive youth experience working as a senior staff member of the Region 1 Olympic Development Program (ODP) since 2004.
As first team assistant at Arsenal Ladies, Hayes’ responsibilities included planning, organizing, conducting and evaluating all aspects of professional women’s soccer team including coaching games, running training sessions, recruiting players and scheduling.
During her tenure at Arsenal, Hayes helped guide the Lady Gunners to the following honors:
- 2007 UEFA Women’s Cup Winners
- 2007 FA Women’s Premiere League Cup Winners
- 2007-2008 London County FA Women’s Cup Winners
- 2006-2007-2008 FA Women’s Premier League Champions
- 2006-2007-2008 FA Women’s Cup Winners
- 2006 FA Women’s Community Shield Winners
As academy director, Hayes oversaw Arsenal’s elite 16 to 19-year-old residential program. She directed and developed all soccer training and hired and supervised assistants. She also championed the Arsenal Ladies Cup, England’s first and only all-girls international football tournament to be held in London.
Prior to joining Arsenal, Hayes served as head women’s soccer coach at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY. There she was responsible for delivering all aspects of the NCAA Division 1 soccer program including team training, tactics, video analysis, nutrition, fitness, health and wellness. She hired and supervised assistants, recruited elite college-bound athletes from throughout the United States, maintained the team’s budget, directed and organized youth tournaments, raised funds, managed media-relations, organized team travel and ordered equipment.
Hayes’ honors at Iona included the 2004 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year and the 2004-2005 MAAC Conference Championships.
Hayes also served as head coach domestically from 2001-2003 in the W-League with the Long Island Lady Riders. There she identified, recruited, developed, managed and retained the best female soccer athletes in the region for the first and reserve teams, worked with college coaches across the country, developed individual player programs, dealt with sponsors, managed media relations and organized travel.
The 31-year-old native of London’s Camden Borough was recognized for her efforts with the Lady Riders as the 2002 National Coach of the Year as the youngest female head coach in W-League history.
The bilingual (Spanish and English) Hayes is a 1999 graduate of the University of Liverpool with a BA in European Studies, Sociology and Spanish.
Ian Sawyers, Head Coach & General Manager New Jersey/New York WPS
Ian Sawyers was announced as Head Coach & General Manager on March 5, 2008.
The husband of former United States Women’s National Team star Julie Foudy, Sawyers boasts an impressive coaching résumé including a term as head coach of the San Jose Cyber Rays during all three years of WUSA’s existence from 2001 to 2003. He also led the Stanford University women’s soccer program to a highly successful run from 1993 to 1996.
Included in his long list of accomplishments is a WUSA Championship as the coach of San Jose in 2001 in the first year of that league’s existence. The WUSA Coach of the Year in 2001, Sawyers amassed a 26-24-13 record as head coach of the CyberRays. At Stanford, Sawyers racked up a 50-8-4 mark in his three years in charge of the Cardinal from 1993 to 1995 including a trip to the NCAA College Cup semifinals in 1993. He also coached the Sacramento Storm of the USWISL/W-League from 1993 to 1998.
Since 2005, Sawyers has assisted Foudy with the operation of the Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy and Foundation, which runs locally at the Peddie School in Hightstown in June. The academy strives to teach young girls and women life-long leadership skills through soccer. With Sawyers on board with Sky Blue, Foudy will also be involved initially as a consultant as well as an ambassador for the organization’s professional effort.