Kelly Ann Lindsey (born September 3, 1979) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and former defender who played for the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...

and the

San Jose CyberRays San Jose CyberRays was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Spartan Stadium on the South Campus of San José State University in San Jose, California. Stars included U.S. National T ...

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Uni ...

(WUSA). She is the COO and Head of Football Performance and Club Operations at Lewes F.C.

Playing career

College

Lindsey attended and played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. A tough defender with the Fighting Irish, Lindsey backstopped the team to a runners-up finish in the 1999

NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's natio ...

Club

From 2001 to 2003, Lindsey played for the

of the

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

. She was the number one pick in the 2001 WUSA supplemental draft. In

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

the CyberRays won the

championship game A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

, beating Atlanta Beat on a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. ''

Soccer America ''Soccer America'', the oldest soccer-specific media publisher in the United States, was founded in 1971 by Clay Berling in Albany, California. The magazine is headquartered in Oakland, California. History The magazine was founded by Clay Ber ...

'' magazine named Lindsey the 2001 Rookie of the Year. After the 2003 season, Lindsey reluctantly retired from professional soccer at the age of 23, due to persistent knee injuries.

International

Lindsey's first appearance on the

was on January 7, 2000, in an 8–1 win over

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. She collected a total of four

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

over the following two years, but was not included in the US squads for the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, or the

2003 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial championship of women's association football, women's national soccer teams organized by FIFA. It was held in the United States from September ...

Managing career

In 2003, Lindsey coached the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

to their first ever

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

tournament selection. Then she trained the University of Texas and Saint Mary's (2006–2008). In 2009, she took the lead of

Sky Blue FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 un ...

, part of the newly formed Women's Professional Soccer League after Head Coach Ian Sawyers was terminated. Lindsay resigned with two weeks left in the regular season without explanation and Sky Blue FC went on to win the Championship. Lindsey has also coached the USA U21 women's team as well as on the USA U14 national development program. In 2016, she took the role of Head Coach for the

Afghanistan women's national football team The Afghanistan women's national football team (Dari: تیم ملی فوتبال زنان افغانستان) was the women's national team of Afghanistan until the fall of Kabul in August 2021. They played under the authority of the Afghanist ...

. In February 2019, she was appointed as

CONIFA The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) is the international governing body for association football teams that are non-FIFA international football, not affiliated with FIFA. Competitions Men's competitions * CONIFA Wo ...

's first ever director of women's football. In 2020, she was named as the

Royal Moroccan Football Federation The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (; Tamazight: ⵜⴰⵙⴷⴰⵡⵉⵜ ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⵖⵔⴰⴱⵉⵜ ⵏ ⵜⵡⵊⴰ ⵏ ⵓⴹⴰⵔ) is the governing body of football in Morocco. It was established in 1956. It beca ...

women's football director and head coach of the

Morocco women's national football team The Morocco women's national football team () represents Morocco in international Women's football (soccer), women's football and is managed by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. The team played its first international match in 1998, as par ...

. She also worked as director for the national team with the hiring of coach

Reynald Pedros Reynald Michel Sebastian Pedros (born 10 October 1971) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He recently managed the Morocco women's national team. Early life and club career Reynald Michel Seb ...

. Lindsey later became the sporting director and head of performance at Lewes F.C. for two years, before joining

Saudi Women's Premier League The Saudi Women's Premier League officially the SAFF Women's Premier League () is the top flight of women's football in Saudi Arabia. History The first Saudi women's club were King's United based in Jeddah, and Eastern Flames in Dhahran. Bot ...

club

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

in July 2023. In 2024 Lindsey returned to Lewes FC as COO and Head of Football Performance and Club Operations.https://lewesfc.com/news/kelly-lindsey-coo-appointment/

Personal life

Lindsey was

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

d Boof by players and supporters, owing to her hairstyle.

References

External links

Profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsey, Kelly Living people 1979 births American women's soccer players 21st-century American sportswomen Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's soccer players United States women's international soccer players Women's United Soccer Association players Soccer players from Omaha, Nebraska San Jose CyberRays players Women's association football defenders Women's Professional Soccer coaches American women's soccer coaches Saint Mary's Gaels women's soccer coaches Afghanistan women's national football team managers American expatriates in Afghanistan American expatriate sportspeople in Morocco Expatriate football managers in Afghanistan Expatriate football managers in Morocco Colorado Buffaloes women's soccer coaches Texas Longhorns women's soccer coaches Gotham FC head coaches Lewes F.C. managers American expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate football managers in England American expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Saudi Women's Premier League coaches