Meet The New NWSL Coaches This Year
We’ve finally made it to the start of the 2023 NWSL season. It was a crazy offseason with a lot of movement around the league, including at the head coaching position. Five clubs head into the season with new head coaches. Here’s a look at all of the new head coaches this season.
Sam Laity – Houston Dash
Laity isn’t new to the NWSL, but this is his first stint as a head coach. He’s originally from England but has spent close to ten years as an assistant coach for OL Reign. During his time with the Reign, he did serve as the interim head coach for six games in 2021.
Introducing Head Coach Sam Laity 🤩#HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/pPPgnW4Q3O
— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) December 21, 2022
He has a talented roster and made a splash this offseason when he traded to acquire Diana Ordóñez. He’ll be looking to lead the Dash to their second straight playoff appearance and first-ever NWSL title.
Juan Carlos Amorós – NJ/NY Gotham FC
Amorós came to New Jersey after spending the second half of the 2022 season as the interim head coach of the Houston Dash. While with Houston, he led the team to a 6-3-2 record and the playoffs for the first time.
CLUB NEWS: Juan Carlos Amorós joins Gotham FC as Head Coach.
📰: https://t.co/LqEQL5d2I1 pic.twitter.com/JeeJIDWXLx
— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) November 1, 2022
He began his coaching career with Tottenham Hotspurs in 2011 and was a co-manager there until 2020. In 2021, he moved back to his home country of Spain and was the head coach of Real Betis.
Seb Hines – Orlando Pride
Seb Hines has been around the Orlando Pride organization for quite some time. Before switching over to coaching, Hines was a player for 12 years, including a three-year career with Orlando City.
The England native was promoted to an assistant coach position on the Orlando Pride staff in 2020. In 2022 he was named the interim head coach for the Pride before getting the permanent position at the end of the 2022 season.
Mike Norris – Portland Thorns
Norris took over the defending league champions and will be expected to continue that success this season. The England native has worked as a goalkeeper coach for various teams since 2007, most notably the Canadian Women’s National Team and the Canadian youth teams.
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He served as an assistant coach for the Thorns during the 2022-23 season before being named the head coach during the offseason.
Mark Parsons – Washington Spirit
Parsons is best known for the job he did with the Portland Thorns from 2016-21. But before joining the Thorns, Parsons was the coach of the Washington Spirit for three years (2013-15). In 2021 he made the jump to the international stage when he was named the head coach of the Netherlands Women’s national team but was relieved after the 2022 Euros.
Now Parsons is back with the team he began his NWSL career with in hopes to get the team back on track after a difficult last two years.
Featured image via @thornsfc on Instagram
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