Here's to the Coaches
A 'Thank You' from the parent of four children who have played the game
At first it's little kids running around, a busy, bee-like swarm of boys and girls following a black and white ball. The recreation leagues build from this, adding skills and the beginning of the game.
The Loudoun Youth Soccer Association's recreation league coaches:
- Jim Tiffany, a skilled junior college physical education professor, who played another son on the left for two seasons so he would develop his left footed skills. Thus Tommy learned to play with ease anywhere on the field.
- Patti Rasmussen, my wife, who coached all of our children in their first years in Loudoun Youth Soccer Association's house league, thus introducing the game to our daughter, Tori.
Some of these kids go on from the rec leagues to the higher level competition of select, or travel, soccer. Their skills rachet up and they learn the game.
The travel team coaches:
They are trained and licensed to coach the game. Some volunteer their time, some have their expenses reimbursed and some get paid--but all strive to build their teams to win. Some of the Loudoun Soccer Club's coaches to remember are:
- Sharon Murphy, who formed a group of fourth grade girls into Loudoun Soccer Club's Attack Pack.
- Patti Rasmussen, who earned her D Coaching License and took over the Attack
Pack when Sharon moved out of state. She
took the girls as far as she could and then recruited Ken Sullens to
take them to higher competitive levels.
When the Attack Pack disbanded due to losses from high school graduation, she became the assistant coach on the team the remaining girls joined to finish out their teen-years play.
- Ken Sullins,
who taught the Attack
Pack what it takes to compete at the top
levels. From Ken my daughter learned the game, learned to be tough
and learned what it takes to win at the highest levels. This travel
team formed the nucleus of the Loudoun
Valley High School girls' team that won the
Virginia AA 1998 Region II championship
and the 1999 Northwestern District Regular Season and Tournament championships
under coach Doug Livesay.
Ten girls who have played on the Attack Pack have gone on to play college soccer.
[return to Tori's resumé]
- Pete O'Neal, coach of the Reston Diamante, the Reston Soccer Association U-19 team that the majority of Attack Pack players joined after high school graduation thinned the Pack's ranks to the point it could no longer compete. Six of these players have gone on to play college ball.
- Strick Heilman, coach of our second oldest boy's (Dan) early select team, the Loudoun Bandits. Strick built a competitive core of players who went on to success on the U19 Loudoun Chargers and on the Loudoun Valley High School boys' team, which won the Virginia AA Northwest District championship in 1995 under coach Laird Johnson.
- Doc Yarborough and Bob Kimble, who built this same group into a very competitive NCSL Division II U19 Loudoun Chargers and whose coaching also contributed to that successful 1995 Loudoun Valley High School team.
- Geoff Lipsey and Tom Harbin, who kept the Loudoun Chargers going, enabling our third son, Tom, to hone the skills that led to several soccer honors in his senior year of high school.
Player skills development is augmented by professional trainers who have extensive experience in the game and whose living comes solely from training and coaching soccer.
The professional trainers:
- Darryl Gee
is the director and founder of the Darryl Gee Soccer Academy. He is
director of coaching and player development for Sterling Youth Soccer
and the Loudoun Youth Soccer Association and as such has built skills
in many Loudoun Soccer Club teams, including the Attack Pack.
Darryl is a product of Columbia [MD] Youth Soccer, becoming an All-American, captain of the US Youth National Teams, and member of the U.S. Olympic and National Teams. He played with Pele on the N.Y. Cosmos. He is an 'A' licensed coach.
[return to Tori's resumé]
