Alyse LaHue of the Chicago Red Stars front office (center) and Aaron Burch of the League Office (right) take in a little R&R with a friend, Leisha Alcia – the assistant women’s soccer coach at the University of illinois, at a Greek Restaurant in Philly.
I honestly can’t believe the 2010 WPS Draft is behind us, the NSCAA Convention is over and the season is just around the corner. I’ve finally had a chance to sit down and think back on all the action over the past two weeks and wanted to share with you how invested and involved Women’s Professional Soccer and its teams were in the NSCAA Convention.
Thursday January 14
- Field Session: Creating a Realistic Training Environment for Goalkeepers, by Lisa Cole, Assistant Coach, Boston Breakers [Photo]
- Field Session: Team Offense: Recognizing the Opportunity to Attack, by Tiffeny Milbrett, FC Gold Pride player and NSCAA Women’s Committee Featured Clinician [photo]
- Classroom Session: Preparing and Developing Players for Higher Level Demands and Performance, A Panel Discussion. Presenters: Nancy Feldman, Boston University, Moderator, Tony DiCicco, Boston Breakers, Tony Faulkner, Blackburn Rovers Acadamy, Tiffany Jones, Sport Psychology Consulant
- The Social for Coaches of Female Athletes presented by the NSCAA Women’s Committee and the Philadelphia Independence. Speakers: Louise Waxler & Lori Lindsey of the Independence, Emma Hayes of the Chicago Red Stars
Above, ( L –> R ) Lisa Cole of the Boston Breakers coaching staff, Dawn Scott of the English Women’s National Team Coaching Staff, Louise Waxler of the Philadelphia Independence front office, and Marcia McDermott of the Chicago Red Stars front office.
Friday January 15
- Field Session: Growing the Women’s Pro Game Globally, A WPS Roundtable Discussion [photo]
- 2010 Women’s Professional Soccer Draft [video] [photos]
- PUMA Uniform Unveiling [video] [photos]
Above, ( L –> R ) 2010 NSCAA President & Red Stars GM Marcia McDermott announces the 2010 Bill Jeffrey is awarded to Cliff McGrath; 2009 NSCAA President & Notre Dame Head Coach Randy Waldrum presents the award. Jill Coy, Thom Meredith and Rachel Epstein set up the WPS Draft room just across the Convention Hall floor from Registration.
Saturday January 16
- NSCAA Women’s Soccer Breakfast. Presenters: Yael Averbuch, U.S. Women’s National Team and Sky Blue FC midfielder; Louise Waxler, Philadelphia Independence Associate General Manager [photo and transcript]
- Panel Discussion: Preparing Players for the Next Level, Presented by Women’s Professional Soccer. Panelists: Kelly O’Hara (FC Gold Pride), Leslie Osborne (Boston Breakers) and Yael Averbuch (Sky Blue FC)
- Field Session: The Importance of Ball Work, Ball Mastery, and Ball Creativity From the Youth Player to the Professional Player, by Paul Riley, Head Coach, Philadelphia Independence [photo]
Above, (L –> R ) Tiffeny Milbrett of the FC Gold Pride stops for a photo with NSCAA CEO Joe Cummings. Dean Linke, Jim Houghton, and Josh Roushkolb were busy capturing 2010 footage!
If you’re planning to attend the 2011 NSCAA Convention in Baltimore, check out some of the great deals you can get in on by signing up early! http://www.nscaa.com/annual.php
My blog, Soccer Science: The Neurotic Genius of Soccer in the Digital Age, takes a look at the new media technologies that are revolutionizing the way we see the beautiful game. I'm a web geek, former college coach, industry professional and sports fan. 
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The “friend” in the picture with Alyse and Aaron is Leisha Alcia, women’s assistant at the University of Illinois, in case you wanted to know :-)
Thanks! Sorry about that, I didn’t have it off the top of my head. Alyse wrote me too, I’ll fix it right now :-)