The former U.S. women’s captain, who was a member of the 1991 World Championship-winning squad, is now an assistant coach on the national team as well as the head coach at the University of Maryland.
“[Playing in the Olympics is] probably the one dream I haven’t been able to realize as a player. The next thing is to do it as a coach.”
SOCCER AMERICA: Do you expect North Carolina to be anything near as dominant as it used to be, considering it lost 10 seniors from last year’s team? Will they win the NCAA title again?
APRIL HEINRICHS: They will continue to assert their dominance in women’s soccer, absolutely. [As far as a championship] it’s too early to tell … Notre Dame, Portland, Santa Clara, Stanford, Duke will all be good.
Do you see the balance of power in the ACC changing?
No. I think the power will still be in the top three teams, Duke, Carolina and Virginia. After that, it starts to become a coin toss. There’s greater parity, and I think it will continue to be that way this year.
How good will your Maryland team be?
We have a nice core of players returning. Although we had a tough year last year [with a record of 7-10-3], these players are hardened to playing in the ACC.
Who’ll be the top college players this year?
Natalie Neaton [William & Mary], Staci Wilson [North Carolina], Shannon MacMillan [Portland]. Natalie Neaton — she’s so hard to mark, she dominates games. It’s harder for Staci to dominate games as a defender. To take over and be a threat, that’s what dominance means to me. [Notre Dame’s] Holly Manthei might be able to do that.
Have your national team duties taken much of your time from your college program?
It’s taken away the balance from my life, but I have a tremendous assistant coach [Jillian Ellis] here in Maryland. She takes my place when I’m gone.
Have all the new women’s programs watered down the collegiate player pool? To be honest, I think all the money makes it more difficult for the established programs to get the top player, makes it difficult for the budding young programs on the verge of the Top 20 and makes it difficult on the new programs. I do think the player pool is there for the right type of money. As coaches we have to do more work because there are kids right now all over the country. What these programs have done is made recruiting, and finding players, more and more difficult. But it’ll make it better in the end because there will be more parity.
Being an assistant coach with the national team gives you a chance to see young talent from other countries. Have you taken advantage of that opportunity to recruit foreign players?
You don’t think those types of things when you’re out there. We don’t need to go abroad to have success here in Maryland.
What exactly are your duties on the national team?
Assistant coach, renaissance woman. Pregame preparations, scouting teams, scouting opponents, training … It’s really divided up, depending on what we’re doing at times.
How surprised were you that the U.S. lost to Norway in the World Cup?
Whenever our team loses, it is a bit of an eye-opening experience for us. When we lose, we go into a period of self-evaluation. That’s what Tony [DiCicco], Laurie [Gregg] and I have done the last month.
Would you like to be national team coach someday?
I can’t say that it hasn’t entered my mind, but I’m in no hurry.
Do you see yourself on the U.S. coaching staff in 1999?
That’s a long time away. I can’t say I don’t know. I’m definitely not in control of that.
What would have playing in an Olympics meant to you?
It’s probably the one dream I haven’t been able to realize as a player. The next thing is to do it as a coach.
Does the U.S. need to do start a competitive professional women’s league to ensure the national team is among the best teams in the 1999 World Championship?
There are a lot of things that we as a soccer community have to do to refine the national team. That is one of those things we could do … Right now, our primary goal is to be competitive in the Olympics for the gold. In order to do that, we have to play as a team, we have to be able to play our best soccer when we get to these tournaments. We’ve found if we don’t play well we’re vulnerable.
Like in the 4-2 win over Australia in the U.S. Women’s Cup in which the U.S. was tied twice?
Exactly.
Did the U.S. play as well as you thought it would in that tournament?
No, not really. I feel we have to hit another level. I hope when we get together in January, we hit that level.
by Soccer America Associate Editor Dean Caparaz