Anson Dorrance: A legend reflects

“All of us know that your coaching legacy, if you want to win, is based on the calibre of the athletes you attract, and I attracted an overwhelming share of some of the best. 

 

“I’d be hard pressed to identify one or two that would stand out, because then, of course, you’re leaving the rest behind. 

 

“But we’ve had a remarkable privilege of bringing in some amazing athletes that not only have competed well for us, but also have competed well for [international teams]. So I’m certainly very proud of that.”

 

Dorrance is well positioned to assess international pedigree. He took on the mantle of USWNT head coach between 1986 and 1994, leading them to the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991. It was a remarkable achievement, considering their starting point.

 

“When I was hired to coach the US women’s national team in 1986, we had never won a game in international competition. Five years later, we were world champions. 

 

“And I know how we won. We won because we competed like hell. No one had seen a team compete the way we did. 

 

“Back in those days, everyone worshipped on the altar of 4-4-2 and it was this hands-off approach to how you were going to play. 

 

“Most teams were pressing with two and, so, we would allow the other team to pass the ball around the back for a couple of minutes, then they would send it back into midfield to create numbers up around the ball, and do the same thing when they were involved in the attack.

 

“I didn’t believe in any of that. I believed in reaching out, grabbing the other players on the other teams by their throat, and squeezing the air out of them. 

 

“So, we played a 3-4-3, and we didn’t let the other team breathe. It’s a system that strangulates the other team. They can’t play out of the back comfortably. They can’t play in the midfield comfortably. 

 

“The only space we’re giving them is the space over the top, because we’re going to have a 25- to 30-yard compaction between my number 9 and my centre-back. 

 

“You’re going to try to play through that, and you’re not going to be able to. I don’t care how good you are, I don’t care what country you come from, I don’t care how many quality players you have. 

 

“You’ve got one option, you’re going to knock it over the top, and my jack rabbits are going to win every ball.

 

“Our philosophy was not complex, but our effort, commitment and fitness was. That first World Championship, we shocked the world.” 

 

Having worked with so many big-name players, Dorrance has firm views on what a coach needs to do to inspire success – and it isn’t just ticking boxes.

 

“Speak to any of the elite coaches,” he said, “and they can tell you what their process is. 

 

“But just having a great process isn’t the answer. Can you inspire someone to commit themselves to the process? What is your leadership quality to drive performance? Are you motivational? Do you have high standards? 

 

“A part of having high standards, and getting that into the athlete, is that they have to know you believe in them and you want them to succeed. 

 

“That’s a part of your leadership core. Can you not only have extraordinarily high standards, but can you get the players to trust that you know the way and they should listen to everything you say? 

 

“The only way that happens is if you love these kids, and that’s the hard part for so many coaches. 

 

“They get very frustrated and angry with an incredibly talented player that doesn’t make it. Why? Because they see the qualities in this player that could send them to the top, and they just don’t choose it. 

 

“Maybe a part of it is the fault of the coach. Maybe a part of it is the coach doesn’t somehow communicate their incredible belief in their potential and their love for this kid. 

 

“Coaching is me helping you become the best version of yourself. And why are you going there? Because both of us think you can get there, and I am doing my damnedest to help you get there.

 

“That’s the evolution of what all of us are trying to do in the coaching profession, right now: to convince these elite players to have the process that will take them to where their dreams are.”

For Dorrance, coaching is not just about what happens on the field – it’s also about supporting players to become the best human beings they can be.

 

“What I considered the most important thing for a kid coming through my collegiate system wasn’t them becoming extraordinary footballers; it’s them becoming extraordinary human beings. 

 

“The top award at our annual athletic banquet at the University of North Carolina is not the MVP of the team, it’s the Kelly Muldoon award for character. Athletics is a unique area where you can impact on someone’s human evolution. 

 

“My ambition was to help every one of these young women that I recruited become the best version of herself, and not just as a footballer, although obviously we’ve produced some remarkable footballers.

 

“I also genuinely feel that your character is also going to impact on your evolution as a footballer – because I think this holistic approach is the best way for all of us to certify anything that we are doing in our lives.”

 

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The drive to thrive in the heat of the ’competitive cauldron’

Early in his tenure at North Carolina, Dorrance created the concept of the ‘Competitive Cauldron’.

 

It is a system that uses data across a set of categories, as a player development and motivational tool – but it is more than that.

 

“All of us that coach for a living coach through our own personalities,” Dorrance said. 

 

“The quality that I thought made me an effective athlete was my capacity to compete.   

 

“The cauldron was a result of who I was, because here’s what I wanted to know when I was playing: I wanted to know I was the most effective athlete in every single practice, every single day, of every single year.”

 

An analytics team observes and evaluates every training session and tabulates the data.

 

Dorrance added: “I believe you can’t improve what you can’t measure, so I believe in measuring everything.”

 

That includes both athletic factors and soccer technique, but Dorrance also puts a great deal of weight on mentality, which he also says is quantifiable. 

 

“If there’s 28 different competitive categories, and that’s what we generally have at the University of North Carolina, you’ve got to be number one. 

 

“Now, are you number one in all 28? Probably not. In fact, certainly not. But you want to be high in enough of them to certify yourself as the ‘alpha’ of the team. Then you also want to be in, let’s say, the top 10 if you’re a field player.”

 

If a player is ranked high in several categories, Dorrance explains, their mentality is also excellent: “[The high rankings tell] me they’re working hard in practice, and they’re developing this mentality, so, for me, that’s certifiable.”

 

 

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‘IT’S SO GOOD, NOT JUST FOR WOMEN’S SPORT, BUT FOR HUMANITY’ – ANSON ON THE EVER-EXPANDING APPETITE FOR FEMALE SOCCER

Anson is delighted to see the evolution of the women’s game in recent years, with the valuation of NWSL franchise clubs hitting new heights, and top European clubs such as Barcelona selling out mega-stadia.

 

He said: “On the men’s side, it’s commonplace to see sold-out stadiums all over the world.

 

“To start to see it in the women’s game is a wonderful thing for all of us, because what that means is the women are going to get paid a living wage: in fact, beyond a living wage – they’re going to start to make some money for the first time in their collective athletic lives. 

 

“I think that’s so good, not just for women’s sport, but for humanity. 

 

“Anyone that studies business or leadership comes across these statements about ‘if you have a certain percentage of women on your board of directors, the bottom line of the company starts to go through the roof’.

 

So, for athletics to start to go in that direction as well, and certainly in women’s football, which is the most popular sport in the world, that doesn’t just bode well for the women, it bodes well for the world. 

 

“I’m proud to have played a part.”

ANSON’S REMARKABLE ROLLCALL – 70 FUTURE INTERNATIONALS

University of North Carolina alumnae, who have gone on to play for their country, include:

 

USA: Lauren Gregg (1981-82); Emily Pickering (1981-84); Stacey Enos (1982-85); Joan Dunlap (1983-84); April Heinrichs, Marcia McDermott (1983-86); Tracey Bates (1985-89); Wendy Gebauer, Lori Henry, Shannon Higgins, Carla Overbeck (1986-89); Louellen Poore (1988-91); Kristine Lilly (1989-92), Mia Hamm, Rita Tower (1989-93); Linda Hamilton (1990); Carolyn Springer (1990-93); Danielle Egan, Keri Sanchez, Tisha Venturini (1991-94); Tracy Ducar (1992-95); Debbie Keller (1993-96); Robin Confer, Staci Wilson (1994-97); Siri Mullinix, Cindy Parlow, Tiffany Roberts (1995-98); Lorraine Fair (1996-99); Laurie Schwoy (1996-2000); Meredith Beard (1997-2000); Danielle Borgman, Jena Kluegel (1998-2001); Jenni Branam, Susan Bush (1999-2002); Alyssa Ramsey (2000-01); Cat Reddick Whitehill (2000-03); Sara Randolph (2001-04); Kacey Burke, Lori Chalupny, Kendall Fletcher, Lindsay Tarpley (2002-05); Amy Steadman (2003-04); Heather O’Reilly (2003-06); Yael Averbuch (2005-08); Whitney Engen, Ashlyn Harris, Tobin Heath, Casey Lloyd (2006-09); Allie Long (2007-08); Meghan Klingenberg (2007-10); Merritt Mathias, Jessica McDonald (2008-09); Amber Brooks (2009-12); Crystal Dunn, Kealia Ohai (2010-13); Emily Fox (2017-20)

 

Canada: Carrie Serwetnyk (1985-87); Angela Kelly (1991-94); Robyn Gayle (2004-07)

 

England: Lucy Bronze (2009); Lotte Wubben-Moy (2017-19); Alessia Russo (2017-20)

 

Iceland: Rakel Karvelsson (1995-98)

 

Ireland: Emily Murphy (2021-22)

 

Jamaica: Satara Murray (2011-14)

 

Netherlands: Sarina Wiegman (1989)

 

New Zealand: Katie Bowen (2012-15)

 

Norway: Birthe Hegstad (1985-88)

 

Peru: Alexandra Kimball (2014-18)

 

Wales: Lois Joel (2019)