Canadas women's national team head coach Bev Priestman has been removed from the country's Olympic soccer team over a scandal involving the use of drones to spy on opponents' practice, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) announced Thursday.
The COC said it made the decision after Canada Soccer decided to suspend Priestman for the remainder of the tournament. The episode began earlier this week when Canada's opening opponent, New Zealand, complained to the International Olympic Committee's integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions.
"The Canadian Olympic Committee has removed the Canadian Women's National Soccer Team Head Coach Bev Priestman from the Canadian Olympic Team due to her suspension by Canada Soccer," the COC statement read. "Assistant coach Andy Spence will lead the Women's National Soccer Team for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games."
The announcement followed a report from TSN that Canada's women's and men's soccer teams have used drones to record opponents' closed-door training sessions for several years, including during the women's gold-medal winning Tokyo Olympic tournament in 2021.
"Over the past 24 hours, additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games," Canada Soccer CEO and general secretary Kevin Blue said in a statement.
"In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer has made the decision to suspend Women's National Soccer Team Head Coach, Bev Priestman for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and until the completion of our recently announced independent external review."
Priestman was hired in November 2020 to succeed Kenneth Heiner-Mller and had been working on a rolling contract. She led Canada to a gold medal at the 2021 Olympics, but was eliminated in the group stage of last year's World Cup. She has coached the team to 28 wins, nine losses and 10 draws.
Priestman spent five years with the Canadian Soccer Association in a variety of coaching roles before returning in June 2018 to her native England, where she served as coach of the women's under-18 team and assistant coach with the senior women's team. Before that she spent 4 years as head of football development in New Zealand before leaving in June 2013.
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We've been at the cutting edge of soccer coaching since we launched in 2007, creating resources for the grassroots youth coach, following best practice from around the world and insights from the professional game.
In 2017 I became chairman and soccer director of the USL League Two franchise in Chicago and have been doing that since. In four years, we have had more players drafted in North American professional level than any other amateur team.
In addition, I have done consulting work for a number of expansion MLS clubs and in 2022 became the managing partner of the Peoria City FC USL-2 side. During my past 20 years of work, more than 200 players have advanced to the professional ranks.
Putting things in compartments led to destructive behaviors. I was not being honest about my true self to most everyone in my professional life and a large group of my straight friends. I was not being honest with my gay friends as they thought I was more out than I was.
But it was my professional life that got me to compartmentalize. In sports, there is such an emphasis on strength and masculinity that being gay has been perceived as a weakness. Anyone who is an athlete, coach or involved at some level with a male sports team understands that. And it terrified me to know that my sexuality was at odds with the culture.
A few days after I was telling friends in soccer about being gay, I went to meet one of my friends at a pub who already knew, to go watch Liverpool in a Champions League Match (as a Man United fan, it might be harder to tell people that I watched a Liverpool game than coming out).
As someone who has taken the journey, no one should ever worry about being their own true self in the soccer world. The culture of soccer here in the U.S. stems directly from our fan base, with some of the most diverse and forward-thinking fans in any professional sport here in North America.
I truly believe that our fans are the most inclusive of any sport here. But the locker room mentality still makes it difficult for players, coaches and others to come out, so we all have to remember to get out of that box we put ourselves in when we are in sport.
I hope the story of my journey can help anyone who may have some of the same feelings or thoughts that I did. As someone who has been a mentor to many players and coaches, I would love to help anyone who needs someone to talk to.
Schaeffer's coaching career spans over a decade, with notable positions including first assistant coach for Penn State Harrisburg men's soccer team from 2018 to 2021. There, he contributed to the team's first-ever NCAA tournament appearance and North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) championship. His collegiate coaching experience also includes serving as the goalkeeping coach for Millersville University men's soccer team from 2015 to 2018. He also has held the positions of head coach and general manager with Hershey FC of the Women's Premier Soccer League.
Schaeffer is a 2011 graduate of Elizabethtown College and holds a bachelor's degree in Information Systems. He also holds a United Soccer Coaches (USC) Goalkeeping Level 3 Diploma, as well as the Advanced National Diploma.
I have become a coach who really invests a lot of time into teaching my players the details of how to play together as a unit and most importantly the WHYs behind things. When players know WHY they are doing something, they are way more likely to get behind it.
Great motivation, however getting the chance is the problem because the bias is out there and is not going anywhere. We all know there are great players who make horrible coaches. And as you say there are potential coaches who followed other paths, perhaps other sports, who would be a godsend.
About me: I am a former newspaper photojournalist who loves downtempo electronic music, guacamole and books of every sort. And of course soccer! On days off you can find me researching tiny farms in Portugal , tossing a frisbee for my dog, or tending to my growing collection of indoor plants.
Travis Sobers was named the sixth head coach of the Wright State women's soccer program history on August 4, 2021. Sobers has been with the Raider program since the fall of 2013, most recently serving as the associate head coach prior to his promotion.
Since joining the women's staff in 2013, Sobers has been a part of seven Raider appearances in the Horizon League postseason, including a trip to the 2015 Horizon League Championship game. Along with his position at Wright State, Sobers was also the head coach for the Ohio Galaxies 99 Elite girls, who were the 2018 State finalist and a regional participant. He also coached the Ohio Galaxies 03 girls to a 2017 President Cup Championship and regional finalist title.
Sobers guided Wright State to an 8-7-3 overall record and a 5-2-3 mark against conference opponents in 2022. The Raiders earned a spot in the Horizon League Championship before falling to Youngstown State in the tournament quarterfinals. Marcella Sizer became the second Raider in program history to earn Offensive Player of the Year honors, while Olga Massombo (First Team), Lauren Borchert (Second Team), Elise Canter (All-Freshman Team), and Kaylee Pham (All-Freshman Team) joined her as All-League recipients. In addition to conference honors, Massombo was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-North Region Second Team.
Sobers led the Raiders to a 5-10-3 record in the fall of 2021. WSU opened the year with a 2-1 double-overtime win over Marshall, which marked Sobers' first victory as the head coach of the women's soccer program. The Raiders added three victories and two draws against Horizon League competition. Olga Massombo and Destiny Johnson received All-League accolades following the 2021 season, while Olivia Mace earned Horizon League All-Freshman Team honors. Massombo went on to earn a spot on the All-Ohio Women's NCAA Division I team by the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association.
Sobers is a 2003 graduate of Wright State, where he was an essential piece of the Raiders' men's soccer program from 1998-2001. Sobers was a member of the 1998 Horizon League All-Freshman Team and a Second Team recipient the following season. Sobers capped his collegiate career with back-to-back Horizon League First Team nods in 2000 and 2001. A three-time All-Mideast Region performer and three-time All-Ohio performer, he was the 2001 Ohio Player of the Year. His six total points and three goals for the Raiders in the 2001 Horizon League Championship game are still League records. Following his career with the Raiders, he went on to play professionally with the Cincinnati Kings in 2005.
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In her first season at the helm of Baylor soccer, she helped shape the team into an attacking style of play that gave the Bears more chances. She helped the team defeat six-time NCAA tournament team LSU and UTSA in preseason exhibition matches before taking over a high caliber schedule that included a nonconference matchup against North Carolina who has won 21 national titles. BU also played host to reigning Big 12 champion TCU. The Bears defeated Florida, future Big 12 foe Houston and picked up Big 12 Conference wins over Kansas and Iowa State.
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