After Greg Ryan was unable to guide the heavily favored U.S. women’s national team to a World Cup title in China a month ago, U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati decided not to extend his contract beyond Dec. 31, 2007.
That move by Gulati has put UCLA women’s soccer coach Jill Ellis in the spotlight as one of the leading candidates for the job.
“It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the top position, essentially, in the women’s game in our country,” Ellis said.
Ellis’ resume is a key reason for her consideration for the new role, as she has established the Bruins as one of the nation’s premier teams while also helping to guide international teams to great success.
Ellis, a native of England, led the U-21 women’s national team to Nordic Cup titles in 2001 and 2005.
She is currently the head coach of the U-20 team that finished second in the Pan-American games after losing to Brazil’s senior national team in the final.
Ellis’ complete restoration and resurrection of UCLA women’s soccer came after she spent just two years at the University of Illinois, where she made her first big impact on the coaching level.
“Obviously she’s done the things that are necessary at the college level,” senior forward Danesha Adams said. “You know, we’ve gone to four Final Fours in a row, four or five Pac-10 championships since she has been here. She’s only been here for eight years, and we’ve done good things, so obviously it shows that she can come to a program and make an impact.”
Consistency has been a crucial ingredient during Ellis’ tenure at UCLA, and it will certainly be necessary if she is offered the national team job.
Not only was Ellis able to guide the Bruins into the top five, but also she has been able to maintain that success without any significant drop-off, as UCLA is currently the top-ranked team in the nation and is looking to capture a record fifth consecutive conference championship.
Ellis’ impact has gone beyond just the soccer program, extending to every player that has played for her.
“I think her intensity and passion for the game are her best qualities,” sophomore Lauren Cheney said. “It rubs off on everyone she comes in contact with. She knows what she is doing, and she’s not just a coach, she’s there for us off the field too.”
Although she is a top prospect for the job, Ellis still remains loyal to UCLA, citing the risk the program took when first hiring her. She will be focused on her current task at hand ““ coaching her team to the national championship, which would be the first in the program’s history since its inception in 1993.
“Honestly, at this point, I haven’t given it much consideration because all my effort and energy and focus has been on my team,” Ellis said.
“We have great coaches here at UCLA, and we have had coaches leave for the national teams. But I’m very happy with my role here and where I’m at, and really that’s all I’m focusing on.”
Ellis is pitted up against several other excellent candidates, including Pia Sundhage, who is expected to be at the forefront of the list.
Sundhage was also a top prospect for the job in 2005, when Ryan was hired.
Since then she worked under Marika Domanski-Lyfors as an assistant for the Chinese national team before recently resigning.
While Ellis, with her experience working with the national youth teams, is the candidate who is the most familiar with the young talent within the United States, she is persistent on focusing first and foremost on her UCLA team before looking elsewhere.
“At some point down the line, would it be something that I would be interested in? Potentially,” she said. “But I love what I’m doing here.”
With reports from Andrew Howard, Bruin Sports senior staff.