Anson Dorrance

Anson Dorrance is the head coach of the women's soccer program at the University of North Carolina. He has one of the most successful coaching records in the history of athletics. Under Dorrance's leadership, the Lady Tar Heels won 18 of the 25 NCAA Women's Soccer Championships. The Lady Tar Heels soccer record under Dorrance is an amazing 603-27-18 in the 28-year history of the program, or a .930 winning percentage. Other indications of his remarkable success as a women's NCAA soccer coach include an 101 game unbeaten streak and coaching 13 different women to a total of 20 National Player of the Year awards. The NCAA has recognized Dorrance as the Women's Soccer Coach of the Year seven times (1982, 1986, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006).

Early Career

Dorrance was born in Bombay, India on April 9, 1951, the son of an American oil executive. He spent his youth moving with his family throughout Europe and Africa. Of all the places he lived, three had particular influences on his later life. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he met his future wife, M'Liss Gary, the daughter of the U.S. Air Force attache to Ethiopia. He attributes his love of soccer to his years living in Kenya and finally, he gained his education from the boarding school, Villa St. Jean International School, in Fribourg, Switzerland from which he graduated in 1969.

After graduating from Villa St. Jean, he moved to the United States and attended a small community college in San Antonio, Texas. He transfered after the fall term to the University of North Carolina (UNC). His love of soccer led him to walk on with the school's men's soccer team, then coached by Marvin Allen, where he was a three time All-ACC player. In 1974, he graduated with a B.A. in English and Philosophy. That year, he also married his boyhood sweetheart, M'Liss Gary.

Under the influence of his father, Dorrance entered the University of North Carolina's law school, but dropped out in 1976, when Marvin Allen convinced Dorrance to succeed him as the UNC men's soccer coach. From 1977 until 1988, Dorrance compiled a 175-65-21 (.708) record with the team. His greatest success came in 1987 when he led them to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship and the NCAA Final Four. That year, he also won NCAA Men's Soccer Coach of the Year honors.

UNC Women's Soccer Team

In 1979, UNC expanded Dorrance's duties to include both the men's soccer team as well as the newly established women's team. It was this event which moved Dorrance into the limelight. Within two years, Dorrance had guided his Lady Tar Heels to the 1981 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIWA) title. When Dorrance began coaching the Lady Tar Heels, the NCAA did not have a women's soccer championship. When the NCAA showed no interest in establishing one, Dorrance and University of Colorado coach, Chris Lidstone, approached the AIWA, who proved receptive to the idea. After the AIWA led the way, the NCAA finally recognized women's soccer as an inter-collegiate sport and Dorrance's teams proceeded to dominate the sport. His teams won every championship from 1982-1984 and again from 1986-1994.

Dorrance's success comes from several inter related attributes. First, he has an eye for recruiting outstanding talent. Related to that is his emphasis on competitiveness. He noted early in his time as a women's coach that women seemed to have an inhibition against open competition. He decided to develop an atmosphere at UNC in which women were rewarded for having an aggressive desire to win. Finally, he noted from his work with both the men's and women's team that women tended to play best in an atmosphere which focused on relationships.

Dorrance was able to bring out his player's aggressiveness and competitiveness while also fostering an almost family sense of the team. Regarding the aggressiveness, Santa Clara University women's soccer coach Jerry Smith noted in a 1998 Sports Illustrated article, "When you watch them, you can see the edge they have. I'll go beyond aggressiveness. It's meanness. Anson has found a way to bring that out of his players." Mia Hamm added in the same article, "I grew up always good at sports, but being a girl, I was never allowed to feel as good about it as guys were. My toughness wasn't celebrated. But then I came here, and it was O.K. to want to be the best."

Players know Dorrance supports a high level of competitiveness and this has given him an edge in recruiting talented high school players. However, he also strives to create an atmosphere of family with his players. This includes the use of first names, including his own, and the traditional presentation of a red rose to each senior before their final home game. He also writes personal notes to his players complimenting them and thanking them for their performances.

Legal Problems

In 1998, it appeared that Dorrance may have overstepped the bounds of creating a close-knit environment. That year, a minor player, Melissa Jennings, sued him for sexual harrasment. Dorrance had just cut her from the team. Initially, it appeared the suit was retaliation against Dorrance. However, when Debbie Keller Hill, a former team captain, joined the suit, it gained greater legitimacy. In October 2004, U.S. District Court Judge N. Carlton Tilley, Jr., threw out the six-year lawsuit, stating the "behavior at issue does not constitute severe, pervasive and objectively offensive sexual harassment."^[1] In April 2006, a three judge federal appeals panel voted against reversing the judgement (2-1).^[2] Jennings appealed to the full court with oral arguments taking place in October 2006.^[3] Hill had earlier settled with the university for $70,000.^[4]

National Team Coach

His success at North Carolina led to the United States Soccer Federation hiring Dorrance as the coach of the United States women's national soccer team in 1986. He successfully juggled his duties to both the national team and UNC. In one extreme case, he went from UNC's championship victory in the 1991 NCAA tournament to the World Cup championship six days later. In that tournament, the United States won the first Women's World Cup, held in China. When Dorrance ended his tenure in 1994 with the national team, he had accumulated a record of 66-22-5 (.737) record.

In May 2005, Dorrance was elected as a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

External links

• Profile