Celebrating Jan Smisek’s Impact on Women’s Soccer

At halftime of OL Reign’s game against the Orlando Pride on Sunday, September 26, legendary coach Jan Smisek was honored for her achievements and contributions to the women’s soccer community. Smisek retired from coaching for OL Reign Academy this May, but her impact will be felt for years to come. 

Smisek first became interested in soccer as a child, when all of the kids in her neighborhood began to play. At the time, there were no teams for girls, so she and her girlfriends would have to create their own opportunities to get involved in the game. From playing pickup in the neighborhood to stealing soccer balls out the coach’s bag while the boys teams were playing, the girls always found a way. 

Eventually, the girls’ parents started noticing and stepped in to help get a league organized in their area. This process seemed to repeat itself through Smisek’s journey, as she found herself a part of the trailblazing group in high school and once again in college. 

“At every level, I was at the point where it was the beginning of something, but the end of previous. The first time I ever got to go to soccer camp, in fact the first time that the camp would allow girls at all, was the summer between my junior and senior year of high school,” recalled Smisek. “There were 18 of us girls there and we stayed out on the field for extra practice every day. At the end of the week, when we realized it was last day and we had aged out of the camp, my best friend and I just broke down. The coaches noticed and told us that coaching was an option to stay involved in the game. So, they hired us the next summer to be counselors at their camp. That’s how I got to earning my coaching licenses and everything kind of fell into place from there.” 

Smisek is known for the being a trailblazer and creating opportunities for herself and other women when those opportunities did not always exist. Beyond that, she is known as caring and committed coach by athletes across generations. She coached for the Olympic Development Program and later served as a U.S. Soccer developmental coach for five years. She spent time with various club teams before finishing her coaching career with the OL Reign Academy. 

“In terms of breaking barriers and having some piece of paper to show what I did, my claim to fame seems to be becoming the first woman to receive the A level USSF coaching license. I did that in 1982. There was actually an age limit for earning your A level license. You had to be 26 years old or older and I was only 25. I decided to take the test anyway and thought it would be my practice run to see what it was like and everything, but I passed. Once I turned 26, I was awarded my license,” said Smisek. 

She continued to explain, “The other thing I’ve done isn’t so much a piece of paper, but the relationships formed over the course of my career. I have so many former players of all ages, male and female, who I count now as friends and colleagues as well. There are accolades and things like of Coach of Year and various Hall of Fame inductions, but it’s the relationships that really hold the worth. It keeps the stories going.” 

Throughout the process of establishing leagues for girls and being the first woman to earn her coaching licenses, Smisek was routinely the only female in the room or on the field. 

“Occasionally there might be one other woman that was at coaching school. For my B license, there was one other woman, but they split us up into two different groups and separated us to “make it even.” It was kind of lonely at times because I would never have a roommate or anything like that,” Smisek said. 

“On the field, I always had to prove myself. I had to be super good. I couldn’t just be average otherwise no one would even notice. Once I started playing, there was a lot more acceptance, but there were still all of the rude jokes and comments and the general uncomfortableness of guys saying stuff directed at me to belittle my presence or exclude me from the soccer world,” recalled Smisek. 

Aside from the comments made by male players, Smisek found that the men that surrounded her at the coaching school, particularly when she got her C license, would become her greatest advocates and mentors. It was not an easy journey for Smisek and her peers, but they pushed through because they had each other to rely on. She would encourage those who are facing similar challenges to do the same whenever possible. 

“If something is your passion and you love it, just do it,” Smisek said, laughing at how cliché that advice sounds. “There is probably someone else like-minded that needs a buddy to help push them forward. That’s what really helped me throughout my career. Once you have found others, you realize you aren’t alone, and you find a way. You become persistent.” 

Despite all of their hard work, Smisek’s generation often goes unrecognized when it comes to the development of women’s soccer. 

“I feel like we are kind of anonymous. Across the country, there were so many women doing things similar to what I did. We did lay the foundation for the next generation. People have the assumption that women’s soccer didn’t really get started until Mia Hamm was involved because that’s when the media started to really cover everything,” said Smisek. 

“In 1982, I was with a team in Seattle that had previous won two national championships. I joined the team when I moved up to the area and that year we went to Chicago and won our third national championship. The only people that knew it even happened were our families. However, there was a little one-inch article about us on the back of the sports page and that little one-inch article led me to meeting my eventual husband. He had seen the tiny article in the newspaper, and I was wearing my “Chicago ’82 USSF Soccer” t-shirt and he asked if I won the national championship to start a conversation.” 

Smisek continued, “It is always important to go back and appreciate the challenges that people were willing to embrace to do something that they enjoyed and felt like they should have access to. I wish we got noticed a little bit more, but it’s okay because we had a great time doing it all.” 

Smisek got involved with the OL Reign Academy thanks to the personal relationships she mentioned throughout the interview. She coached OL Reign founder, minority owner and Academy President, Teresa Predmore, when Teresa was in high school, on the Washington Youth Soccer ODP team, and a Lake Washington Youth Soccer club team. 

“We stayed in touch, so when they were expanding the academy program to include younger ages, Teresa wanted to reach out to me to see if I would get involved. I liked the prospect of an all-female club with a focus of having as many female coaches as possible to be role models for the girls. The men that were involved in the program were very supportive of girls as players and women as coaches as well, so it was really nice environment,” praised Smisek. 

“The OL Reign Academy also suited me in terms of addressing the whole person. Striving for excellence in soccer, but also understanding that in order to be excellent, you have to enjoy what you are doing and have some fun with it. It was very easy to say yes,” said Smisek. 

“Jan made an incredible impact me as a player and as a person at a time in my life where I really needed to see powerful female role models,” said OL Reign Academy president Teresa Predmore. “I always remembered and appreciated all she did for me and my teammates. When the Academy was looking for a fantastic coach that was aligned with our philosophy, I knew Jan would be a perfect addition to our staff. I am so glad that players in our academy had the chance to work with her. She is truly a legend.” 

Smisek shared that she often would get criticized for her sideline demeanor as a coach, as she was never one to yell at her players. 

“My philosophy as a coach is to use practice for my teaching and the game as a chance for players to show what they’ve learned and make their own decisions. I respect their instinct and decision making. If things don’t work, that’s okay. I’m not going to scream at you or pull you out of the game because you make a mistake,” said Smisek. 

She recalled a situation from her playing days, “I had one coach get upset with me and tell me I was trying to be too clever during a game. From that moment on, I didn’t want the ball anymore and that’s whole point of the game. That’s where the joy comes from. So why would I ever say something to one of my players that will make them afraid to have the ball or afraid to make a mistake? That’s just not the right environment to be able to play, learn and grow.” 

Smisek is very humble when speaking about all of her accomplishments, but the impact she has made on so many players, coaching colleagues and women’s soccer as a whole should not be downplayed. 

Lesle Gallimore, Commissioner of the Girls Academy, Pac-12 All-Century Player and 1994—2019 University of Washington Women’s Soccer head coach said, “Jan Smisek not only paved the way for players and coaches like me, but she actively grabbed you by the arm and took you with her. Jan has always led by example showing a passion for teaching, an undying love for the game and a commitment to the player and the people with whom she’s worked and mentored.  Her knowledge and ability to coach the game at every level, and to do it with integrity and excellence for over 4 decades cements her place in American soccer.” 

Smisek concluded with another humble statement. “A lot of what I did when I was coaching was going by feel and improvising. Just looking back, some of the comments that players made are about ways that I made an impression on them and it is usually things I didn’t think that were so important or would have such a lasting effect. It’s kind of nice to look back on that and realize I figured out some pretty good stuff.”