The Ladies of Hotspurs: International Women’s Day 2020 Edition

Did you know…

Between our 50 teams, more than half (62%) have a woman manager/co-manager! 

We have 5 female coaches — and based on our phase model, all of our girls work with a female coach at some point during their training!

Both of our First Teams are managed by women.

38% of our players are girls! (We have the full ambition to continue to grow the girl’s numbers to match the boys! Starting soon with girls teams at our North location!)

Each of these women makes our Hotspurs Family what it is –and we cannot thank you enough. Really, THANK YOU! 

In honor of International Women’s Day, here’s a closer look at 7 of the ladies in coaching and leadership roles within our club:

Kelly Myers

• Role: Club Manager, Uniform Coordinator, Team Manager
  • What that actually means… “I work with the team managers and phase leaders to make sure that each team has all of the information and instructions needed for games, tournaments, and scheduling. I work with the parents to gather the information needed for uniforms and forward them the requirements and instructions for ordering. I help with the Awards Night and setting up our spiritwear.”
• Years with Hotspurs: 6
• I love…

“I love being able to watch my kids and their teammates develop and grow together as a team on the field and as friends off. I love being a part of the Hotspurs family.”

Chrissy Ovenden

• Role: Player Accounts, Bookkeeper, Club Shop, Awards Night
  • What that actually means…“I help to register players in Teamsnap, process payments, payroll, budgeting, run the Club Shop and help to organize the Awards Night.”
• Years with Hotspurs: Well…I’m Tommo’s wife, so I’ve been involved in soccer since the day I came to America way back in 2007….pretty much 24hrs a day, 7 days a week! 🙂 I learnt my lesson the hard way early on that redheads on the sidelines need a lot of sunscreen!  

 I’ve never played soccer, but I love the business aspect, which is what makes us a great team. I love working with everyone on the shared vision for Hotspurs. and it really does feel like one big family.

• I love…

“… English tea and spreadsheets….oh, and supporting our favourite Hotspurs teams (of course, I particularly like the fast pace of Futsal games). We also enjoy going to tournaments, Jack and Connie love to spend time with the youth players, and it is honestly heartwarming seeing how they interact with their smallest cheerleaders!”

Marissa Salisbury

• Role: Girls Foundation Phase Coach – Head Coach 2009 Girls
  • What that actually means… I work with the foundation phase girls to help prepare them for the youth development phase where they’ll play 11v11. 
• Years with Hotspurs: One year of coaching this month! Played for 18 years. 
• I love…

“…soccer, coffee, spending time with my family, and working out!”

Jordan Daloisio

• Role: Girls Youth Development Phase Leader, WPSL Team General Manager
  • What that actually means… As phase leader, I get to work with all of the girls in our club between the ages of 13-15. I work with the coaches in my phase to make sure we are putting each kid in the best environment for where they are at right now in their soccer journey. We all share the same goal of doing everything we can to give all of our players the skillset, knowledge, and confidence to reach whatever their highest level in the game is! It’s a lot of moving players from roster to roster each week, either to give them an opportunity to play up, to get them extra playing time, or just to fill in and help out if a team needs a few players. I also spend a considerable amount of time sending and responding to emails.
  • For the WPSL team, my role is basically to work with Marikaye, Tommo, and Chrissy to get everything organized for this summer’s season. Most importantly, I am the point of contact for our current and prospective WPSL players. Although my role within this team has changed a lot over the past 6 months since we brought the team over to Hotspurs from Steel City FC, it’s been a fun challenge to find my place and to learn how to work with more people on this project. I have more opportunities now to connect with the awesome players on our women’s team than I did before, and I’m so grateful for this!
• Years with Hotspurs/Coaching: 4th year with Hotspurs, 7th year coaching
• I love…

“…going to see live music, hanging out with my friends and family, kayaking, being outside, pretending to understand TikTok so my players think I’m cool, juggling a soccer ball, being top dawg at my neighborhood pickleball courts, playing cards and traveling to fun new places.”

Mikaela Meechan

• Role: Girls Youth Development Phase Coach – Head Coach of the 2006 & 2007 girls white team and assistant coach to the 2006 & 2007 girls blue teams. 
  • What that actually means… This includes the running and organization of the practices and games, as well as being a good role model for the girls I coach.  
• Years with Hotspurs: This is the 1st year; Has been coaching 5 years in the USA in over 15 different states. 

“I love to see the progress I make with all my players from the start to the end, in my spear time I love to watch soccer on TV and in person — especially my team West Ham United. I also love to travel the world learning about different places, going shopping, and hanging out with friends.”

Brea Thrower

• Role: College Prep Phase Coach
  • What that actually means… Helping to prepare and run sessions for our 2004 and 2003 teams.

• Years with Hotspurs: This is the 1st year; Has been coaching for 9 years
• I love…. “

“With soccer, I love when players begin to make those connections on the field with one another and you see their success on their faces. In my life, my dogs are my best friends and I couldn’t live without them!”

Marikaye DeTemple

• Role: Foundation Phase Coach, Marketing & Operations Director 
  • What that actually means…
    • The coaching hat: Primarily, I work with the Foundation Phase Girls (U12 and younger).
    • The marketing hat: Marketing is what I’ve done all of my professional life! So for the club, I manage our social media, our website, our newsletters, and club-wide communications. In the past 2 years, as the club has grown, it’s been exciting to help shape the brand and really define our #homegrown #hotspursway along with this #hotspursfamily! 🙂

    • 

      The operations hat: I work closely with Tommo, Peter, Troy, and Chrissy to make all the wheels turn of the club. From planning events, organizing schedules, brainstorming new ways to make soccer free/affordable (longterm goal) — any of the fun and big ideas Tommo comes up with, I try to help see how they can happen. (Fun fact: This hat probably has me on the phone or meeting with any combination of these great humans every day!)

I also actively manage the Men’s First Team (schedules, travel, registration, etc.), work with Jordan on admin tasks for the Women’s First Team, and work closely with our North site on all things fields and scheduling! 

• Years with Hotspurs: 3rd year with Hotspurs, 17 years coaching
• I love…

“…planning and fixing things – finding solutions in a perfectly logical color-coded spreadsheet or how to maintain possession when faced with a 3v2 disadvantage. Both get me downright giddy!

With coaching especially, I love the ‘ah-ha’ moment – when a kid achieves something they were practicing or when they get the confidence to try something they thought they couldn’t do. 

I love traveling, going to concerts, and the beach when I can squeeze it in.  And I definitely love coffee! 

Most importantly, I love having my best little buddy Max by my side  any time I’m not at the fields!”