Coaches continue friendship at UCLA
By Erin Ng
Feb. 11, 2014 12:43 a.m.
Amanda Cromwell and Cori Close met over 20 years ago as volunteer coaches in Santa Barbara. Today, Cromwell and Close are reunited at UCLA as the coaches of women's soccer and women's basketball, respectively.
(Erin Ng/Daily Bruin)
“(Cromwell is) one of the best defenders in the world, literally. She’s a World Cup-level player,” Close said. “To follow her professional career, it was just fun. It was fun to support her; it was fun to be her little, psycho fan.”
(Erin Ng/Daily Bruin)
“When I was helping (Close) when she was in Tallahassee trying to find a place to live, she was a crazy person driving around. We’d be on the left side of the road, and she would see this sign for an open house on the right, and she would cross three lanes of traffic and fly in to see this one open house. I felt like we were just driving around like a bat out of hell. It was fun. We look back on that and laugh,” Cromwell said.
(Erin Ng/Daily Bruin)
In 2004, Cromwell would come to Close in what Close describes as one of her darkest moments, helping her run a basketball training camp at Florida State University. Close said from that moment on, she knew Cromwell was a lifelong friend.
(Erin Ng/Daily Bruin)
“(Cromwell) actually grew up playing basketball, like I grew up playing soccer,” Close said.” She grew up playing basketball, and I think just ended up being a little better at soccer and so she went that direction. I ended up being a little better at basketball and went that direction.”
