About Amanda

Hi, my name’s Amanda. Thanks for taking a few moments to find out a bit more about me.

The Big Picture

As an athlete, coach and businesswoman, I’ve been extremely fortunate to travel the globe and experience many cultures through the unique lens of soccer. From coaching the New York Ramblers in the IGLFA tournament in Denmark, to watching an explosive come-from-behind victory at River Plate in Buenos Aires, my travels have undoubtedly influenced my perceptions of both the world and of myself. I’ve walked the Real Madrid training grounds in Spain, flown a 2-seat glider plane over the Netherlands to view the dirt pitches, and cheered with the Swedes against Paraguay at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin at the World Cup. Soccer has given me unique perspective, memories, friendships, and struggles for which I am truly grateful.

Gettin’ Down to Business

On March 1, 2011, I started working as a social media strategist for Major League Soccer (MLS). More to follow as this amazing opportunity unfolds.

I was with Women’s Professional Soccer from 2008-2010, first as the Director of Online Marketing, Website and Camps at the Chicago Red Stars, where I determined a strategic direction and long-term vision for online marketing and social media programs, and I helped to build a foundation for the Red Stars camps business.

In December 2008, I returned to California to work as the New Media Manager at the WPS league office. My job was to maintain womensprosoccer.com as the leading source for women’s soccer news in the world, while educating and remotely training the web managers at nine markets across the country in areas such as the content management system, e-newsletter campaign, social media marketing and search engine optimization. I developed and implemented the league’s social media marketing campaign including the WPS Fan Corner, Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, YouTube and MySpace pages. I also designed, coded, sent and tracked the performance of our e-newsletter campaign, the WPS Insider.

July 2010 brought a change to my career path as I launched my own business, Vandervort Digital. Based in San Francisco, Calif., Vandervort Digital helps sports leagues, teams, universities, small businesses, executives, athletes and coaches learn how to maximize public exposure while minimizing risk. You can check out our client list at www.VandervortDigital.com/clients.

The Glory Days

I was a four-year scholarship goalkeeper for the University of Wyoming Cowgirls, from 1997-2000. I was selected team captain as a junior and senior, was voted the teams Most Inspirational Player in 1998, and earned the 2001 Pokes Strength Award.

I studied Communications with a focus in Technology Education, making the President’s Honor Roll and the Dean’s List and the 2001 Outstanding Undergraduate Award for Communications. I was also the computer lab manager for the College of Education, and interning with the Wyoming Women’s Business Center, a non-profit arm of the Wyoming Small Business Development (SBD) that focused exclusively on women in business, certainly gave me valuable insight for my career today.

My Coaching Career

After college, I moved east to work as the Graduate Assistant Soccer Coach at The College of New Jersey, where I assisted with recruiting, scheduling, traveling, fund raising, and practice/game planning and coaching. We made it to the NCAA Elite Eight as Mid-Atlantic Regional Champions and NJAC Champions. I earned my Master’s Degree in Educational Technology and while working as a licensed Real Estate Agent for Weidel Realtors in Pennington, NJ.

From 2003-2007, I was the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at New York University, where I was responsible for planning, organizing, conducting and evaluating all aspects of NCAA Division III varsity women’s soccer program including recruiting, scheduling, coaching, ordering equipment and hiring/supervising assistant coaches. I also worked as Region 1 ODP senior staff while I was on the East Coast.

I’m currently on the NSCAA Board of Directors and work as the Chair of the NSCAA Women’s Committee. I hold my USSF B Coaching License and NSCAA Premier Diploma.

Hands-On Education

I live in the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco with my boyfriend, Ethan Hays. He was my original inspiration for Soccer Science, which was born back in 2007 (my archives only go back to 2008 b/c of a major domain migration) as a way for me to learn multiple facets about the art and science known as SEO, content management systems (WordPress baby!), Thesis, and Google for Publishers (Adsense, Analytics, etc.).

I’m a bit of an idealist, too, as I truly believe in the power of both soccer and technology to bridge divides between people, races, genders, cultures and countries. Please don’t hesitate to send me a message if you want to talk WPS, MLS, NSCAA, social media, content, design, SEO or really anything soccer-related.