Former Royal Marine joins his ‘disciple’ as full-time assistant on U.S. national team staff April Heinrichs had been saying for years that if she ever became the U.S. national team head coach, she’d bring in John Ellis to be her assistant. He’d be the Mario Zagallo to her Carlos Alberto Parreira. But the appointment surprised Ellis. “I never ever expected April to bring me into that job,” said the Englishman, who at 60 is three years younger than Zagallo was when he sat on Brazil’s bench in the 1994 World Cup as Parreira’s assistant. “I expected her to bring in someone of her same age.” But Heinrichs couldn’t pass up the wealth of coaching experience that Ellis possessed. Especially when he was someone she trusted. Heinrichs has known Ellis for 13 years and brought him in to assist her when she was the U.S. under-16 coach. She sought his help during U.S. Soccer’s search for a head coach. Ellis and his daughter, UCLA coach Jillian Ellis, helped Heinrichs write her resume, cover letter and paper describing her view of the national team program. Ellis, who apprenticed with Leyton Orient, has spent most of his life coaching, albeit in an unusual manner. He was an English Football Association staff coach working in the Royal Marines. Ellis traveled to many of the now former British colonies to maintain the peace and develop soccer. He taught people to play and coach in places such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Trinidad & Tobago, New Zealand and Jamaica. He brought his wife, Margaret, son, Paul, and daughter, Jillian, with him on his journeys. After 22 years, Ellis retired from the Royal Marines in 1968 and, filled with wanderlust, decided to move to the United States. Jillian went on to become an All-American player at William & Mary, and Paul followed in his dad’s footsteps with the Royal Marines before joining the family in the United States. Meanwhile, Ellis got involved in youth soccer in suburban Washington. He led the BRYC Bluebelles to an under-19 national championship in 1984. Also that year, Ellis founded Soccer Academy, a soccer school in Manassas, Va., that trains players and coaches. Ellis is currently the president of the academy; Paul is the academy’s director of soccer education and training. ‘A young 60’
Heinrichs learned about Ellis from his daughter and former William & Mary star Megan McCarthy while working as an assistant coach at William & Mary in 1987. Heinrichs wanted to further her career in coaching, so she decided to pick Ellis’ brain. She worked at Soccer Academy for about 18 months before moving abroad to play for Italian club Prato. Heinrichs kept in touch with Ellis and, through the years, grew close to him and his family. Heinrichs often spends Christmas at the Ellis home. To the uninitiated, Heinrichs may appear to be an Anson Dorrance clone as national team coach, someone who will continue to spread the North Carolina way of life – from the type of formation she uses to the type of players she prefers. But she tries different styles, as Ellis taught her. “I had been under Anson as a player, and he was a structured, regimented coach,” Heinrichs said. “Being around John, I saw a different style – and a very effective style – and got feedback about myself as a coach. John didn’t know me as a player. The best reflection of me as a coach is John Ellis. “Anyone who’s ever worked with him is similar. People far more identify me as a North Carolina person, and I think I am, no question, as a player. But those of us who have coached for and worked for John Ellis are disciples.” Ellis will be Heinrichs’ assistant for one year, after which they will reassess the staff. He will probably be her only full-time national team assistant. Tracey Leone, who’s leaving Clemson to become the full-time U.S. U-16 national team coach, and other yet to be determined U.S. youth coaches will assist Heinrichs on occasion. Jillian Ellis probably will get the U-21 or U-18 job. John Ellis also will work with Project Gold, the Federation initiative to keep the United States at the top of the women’s game. “He’ll work with everything,” Heinrichs said. “We’ve divided Project Gold into a couple of sections. He will oversee the national staff coaches. With his last 20 years of youth and player development, that’s a real strength for him. “The other part of Project Gold is the other national teams, which I will oversee. They cross over each other.” Paul Ellis will assume many of his father’s responsibilities at Soccer Academy, but John Ellis, the president of the company, could always choose to return. Age won’t be a factor. Ellis may be a sage-like figure, but he’s not feeble. He has plenty of energy at what he calls “a young 60.” “When I was with the U-16s, he was demonstrating something, and he did a diving header,” U.S. midfielder Aly Wagner said. “You were so amazed this older guy was doing diving headers. He’s really enthusiastic for the game.” Jillian Ellis says her dad and Heinrichs are alike in that way. “When I was a player at William & Mary my senior year, and April came in as a coach, it was the first time I found somebody who had as much passion for life as my father,” Jillian Ellis said. “She was so energetic. She really did mirror my dad.”