Playing it forward: Women’s soccer coach brings years of experience to UCLA

From her childhood in Annandale, Va., playing soccer with
her four brothers, to captaining the
University of Virginia Cavaliers to an NCAA Final Four run , all signs seemed to point toward an eventual career in soccer for Amanda Cromwell.

But growing up, the UCLA women’s soccer coach wanted to become a doctor. Ironically, it was pursuing a career in medicine that opened the doors to the career she has today.

“I was playing with the national team at the time, and I just really wanted to stay in an environment where I could play. I was a graduate assistant (at the University of Virginia), I was taking organic chemistry at the time, finishing up my pre-med stuff and was there for two years,” Cromwell said. “I didn’t plan on coaching for a career; it just worked out that way.”

After a multiyear stint with the United States women’s national soccer team, a training session with the team brought Cromwell to Orlando, Fla., in 1999. After receiving news that she wouldn’t be a part of the ’99 World Cup team, she decided to dip her toes into coaching once again, taking over an open coaching position for the University of Central Florida.

Fourteen years, 11 NCAA tournament appearances and nine conference titles later, Cromwell left Orlando ranked among the top 30 coaches in NCAA history for most career wins, ready to begin the next chapter of her playbook in Los Angeles.

Cromwell first paid close attention to UCLA in 1999 after Jillian Ellis, a friend from her days in Virginia, was appointed head coach of the program. After Ellis relinquished her post in 2010 to become the U.S. women’s national team’s new development director, Cromwell’s years of tracking the Bruins transformed into an interest in filling the vacant spot left by her friend.

However, when UCLA decided to hand the reigns over to then-assistant coach B.J. Snow, Cromwell thought her chance to land an ideal job had come and gone. But two seasons later, Snow too left Westwood for the U.S. under-17 women’s national team, and Cromwell finally took her shot.

“It just came as a surprise that it opened up just two years later after all that happened, and it was always one of my top three programs in my mind that I would like to be at, and so I let them know,” Cromwell said.

And just as Cromwell can thank a friend for first piquing her interest in the UCLA job, Cromwell credits another familiar face from her past – fifth-year assistant coach Louise Lieberman, who was Cromwell’s teammate on the Washington Freedom – for helping her find her feet when she first started her new job at UCLA.

Eight weeks after she first displayed a team-signed game ball with the words “AMANDA’S 1ST WIN!” in her office, Cromwell steered the Bruins to a 12-1-1 record. And after being the first UCLA coach to beat Stanford in the last seven attempts, her team also currently sits at the top of conference standings.

Although she doesn’t completely agree with the Pac-12 Network labeling her a “defensive-minded coach,” one of Cromwell’s biggest impacts on the Bruins’ game this season lies on the defensive end of the spectrum.

“I want to score goals and get shutouts, so I think I’m equally defending and attacking. But I’m huge on the shutouts. … If you have the best defense and you get shutouts, all you need is one goal,” Cromwell said. “I just think it’s so important to be organized defensively and just have the confidence that we know we can get a shutout against anybody. That goes a long way.”

All that focus on shutouts seemed to inspire the team defensively; UCLA has yet to concede more than one goal in any of its games this season, and the team currently boasts the nation’s top-ranked defense in terms of average goals allowed with 0.347 a game.

Although Cromwell has spread her influence beyond coaching and has held positions within organizations like U.S. Soccer, the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition and the NCAA, it seems like it’s here, at UCLA, that she’s most appreciated.

Cromwell brings to UCLA a wealth of experience amassed over a career that has landed her a spot in the Virginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame. These personal experiences allow Cromwell to connect with her players on another level, whether it’s empathizing with the ordeals of dealing with an injury, discussing aspirations about going pro or even giving firsthand accounts on how to better fulfill their roles on the field.

“She definitely helps me try and get better with my position … but I think it’s her overall personal experience with these things that us players are going through, it’s awesome, and just another reason why she’s the perfect fit for our program,” said junior defender Abby Dahlkemper.

Though most people may think a coach’s purview is only limited to athletics, Cromwell has made it clear with her open door policy that there’s no problem, big or small, she won’t help a player with, whether it’s more about team chemistry or organic chemistry.

“She’s been really supportive of the fact that with the interviews, I’ve had to miss practices,” said redshirt senior goalkeeper Alana Munger, who’s currently in the process of applying to medical schools. “She took the MCAT while she was with the national team so she knows what it takes to study; she knows the entire process, so she was really helpful with knowing the amount of time needed to do the interviews.”

After five years of playing under Cromwell at UCF, goalkeeper coach Aline Reis knows all too well the special bond that Cromwell and her players share. And as Reis transitions from being a trusted shot-stopper to a trusted colleague, she says she sees a new form of trust and respect that Cromwell has shown for her and her budding coaching career.

“I love how when I’m on the field, I feel like she trusts me with the goalkeepers and she doesn’t look at me like I’m a player anymore,” Reis said. “It’s good to feel that trust and feel like she gives me enough freedom to do what I need to do with the goalkeepers. She trusts me and trusts my work. That’s very encouraging when you’re still young and you’re trying to get into coaching.”

Whether it’s the extra effort she puts in getting to know her players’ parents, the emphasis on a greater bond between teammates or even just how she views her relationship with her players, it’s clear that her addition to the UCLA women’s soccer family, has made it just that – a family.

“We just want the parents to feel secure that they sent their daughters to us, and they’re not just players to us; they’re part of our family,” Cromwell said. “When people are like, ‘Do you have kids?’ I tell them, ‘Well, I actually have 33 of them.’”