Rory Dames, dean of NWSL coaches, steps down as Chicago Red Stars coach
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Nov 22, 2021
His announcement came less than 48 hours after the Red Stars fell in the NWSL championship game for the second time in a row. Of the 10 NWSL head coaches who started the 2021, just one is now still on the job: James Clarkson (Houston).
"For 11 years, I have dedicated myself to help build the Chicago Red Stars into one of the top international clubs," he said in a statement released after midnight. "Effective today, I'm refocusing my attention to my family and future endeavors, and I am resigning as coach of the Chicago Red Stars."
Dames, the only American-born head coach when the 2021 NWSL season began, took over as head coach in 2011 when the Red Stars joined the Women's Premier Soccer League from WPS. They were a NWSL founding member in 2013 and set a record in 2021 when they reached the playoffs for the sixth year in a row.
Dames also serves as the director of coaching and player development for Chicago’s Eclipse Select Soccer Club, which has been one of the nation's top girls programs.
6 comments about "Rory Dames, dean of NWSL coaches, steps down as Chicago Red Stars coach".
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the Red Stars announcing at midnight
Question: What is Soccer America's definition of a ?top program"? -- When I volunteered in Washington State many years ago, a good program was one that got a lot of players involved and educated in soccer on a per capita basis. I still look at it this way today. Am I wrong?
I still think the up and coming "top women soccer programs" such as Lyon or the Manchesters etc are not coming close to per capita achievements in the U.S. We used to reefer to it as "grassroots" and "mass-participation/recreational" and looked upon it as prerequisite for success in performance-oriented soccer back then.
The real reason he resigned -
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/11/22/rory-dames-chicago-red-stars-resigns/
Thanks for that. Danes is one who never learned that winning does not requiire contolling everything just the things that matter. Motivation is nuanced not my way or the highway.
Anki, that url doesn't say anything.....
"The real reason why he resigned"????????????? I"m still trying to figure what he did, specifically.
For if it is that bad, than why haven't the women come out and fully explained what he did in order to learn from it of what not to do.
"Press said she first spoke up about Dames in 2014, during a meeting with Sunil Gulati, then the president of U.S. Soccer, and other U.S. Soccer officials. She remembered telling them that Dames had created a toxic environment on the team, yelling at his players in a way that seemed like “harassment. Gulati dismissed her concerns, Press recalled, by saying Dames’s behavior was normal for a professional coach." Nowhere was it mentioned inappropriate touching or sexual behavior, as that would have been the headline. So it appears he's a "Screamer", a type of coach that motivates players with high volume verbal persusion. This is all standard, normalized for boys and parents don't bat an eye. If it's not a good idea for females, why is it acceptable for boys? "Because players and kids tolerate it" would not seem to be an adequate response. Perhaps it's acceptable in the professional ranks?