USL Feature

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

By NICHOLAS MURRAY

As a player, Danielle Fotopoulos achieved everything there was to in women’s soccer in the United States; NCAA national champion at Florida, professional champion in the WUSA with the Carolina Courage and World Cup champion for the U.S. Women’s National Team.

Now after a third summer as a player and assistant coach for the USL W-League’s Tampa Bay Hellenic, Fotopoulos is making her first move into head coaching at Division II Eckerd College where she hopes to build the cellar-dwelling program into a contender in the Sunshine State Conference.

As competitive still as she was in her professional days, Fotopoulos is excited to take the reins for the Tritons, who open their season this Friday on the road against Montevallo, and put into practice that which she has learned from the coaches she’s played for. Maybe the two biggest influences, though, will be former LSU coach and her husband George, currently the Hellenic’s head coach, and University of Florida coach Becky Burleigh, whom Fotopoulos both played for and assisted in Gainesville, Fla.

“I’ve always looked up to and gotten all kinds of advice from her,” Fotopoulos said of Burleigh. ”She helped mentor me and is a very respected person to coach under and learn from. I learned a lot from her managing and coaching.

“The one great thing about Becky is she uses all of her assets very well. I didn’t feel like I was an assistant coach there; she brought all of the coaches in and we discussed day to day what we’d be doing in practice, what does the team need? It’s not Becky’s way or the highway, we all got to get in there and really take part in the coaching part of the game.”

As much as Fotopoulos is looking forward to coaching the Tritons, don’t expect her to be hanging up her cleats for good any time soon. While not a full-time player anymore - she appeared three times for the Hellenic during the summer - the ability to still be out on the field is still something that Fotopoulos enjoys greatly.

“It’s always fun to play and be involved,” she said. “Part of the reason why I’m coaching is because I still get to get out there with them sometimes and jump in with them in pick-up and be involved. To share my experiences with them now as a coach is a great opportunity.”

Fotopoulos is also excited about the opportunities the W-League has offered women’s players, many of whom are looking to make the step into Women’s Professional Soccer. The Hellenic have already had players make that move, such as the Atlanta Beat’s Stacy Bishop and Mallori Lofton-Malachi, with Fotopoulos believing the W-League has been a big reason why.

“I think that for the college players it’s a great opportunity for them to have a place to play in the summer to prepare them for their season, but also give them a showing for the WPS,” Fotopoulos said. “The W-League does a lot of different things in that manner, not only preparing those younger players to continue to play, but also giving a goal and a chance for older players to get back into the professional realm as well.”

Such a move isn’t on the cards for Fotopoulos, but the memories of her career are still strong, as are the friendships she has developed through the sport. The camaraderie of the game, and the lessons it teaches away from the field, are the things that Fotopoulos hopes her new charges will carry with them long after their careers at Eckerd are over.

“Your teammates become your best friends and you really find people who you have a lot in common with, the same goals, the same aspirations,” Fotopoulos said. “I want them to experience a great college experience through playing as well as through their academics and their friends here at Eckerd.“