Lesle D. Gallimore (born October 17, 1963) is an American

sports administrator Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiza ...

and former

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 ...

who is currently the general manager of

Seattle Reign FC Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...

of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

(NWSL). From 2020 to 2023, Gallimore was the inaugural commissioner of the Girls Academy League. As a

, Gallimore coached the women's soccer program at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

and retired as the winningest coach in program history. Her career victories rank in the top 25 in Division I women's soccer history. Gallimore participated in 21 NCAA Tournaments, including three as a player at

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

(1983, 1984, 1986), three as an assistant coach at California (1986–1988) and 15 as the head coach at Washington (1994–1996, 1998, 2000–2001, 2003–2004, 2008–2010, 2012, 2014–2015, 2019).

Early life

Gallimore grew up in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, beach c ...

and attended South Torrance High School. Gallimore was a four-time All-American defender at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

from 1982–1985 and helped lead the Golden Bears to the national playoffs three out of her four seasons. She earned second-team All-America honors in 1983 and 1985. For her success as a player, Gallimore was named California's 1976–86 Athlete of the Decade. In 2015, she was named to the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Women's Soccer All-Century Team.

Coaching career

University of California, Berkeley

After graduating, Gallimore served as an assistant coach at California from 1986 through 1989.

San Diego State University

From 1990–1993, Gallimore was the head coach at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

ending her tenure with a 32–25–9 (.553) record. While at SDSU she also won the National Amateur tournament as a player and captained the West to the Olympic Festival gold medal in 1993. Under Gallimore's leadership, the Aztecs women's soccer program steadily gained prominence. San Diego State had just two games against Division I opponents prior to Gallimore's arrival in 1990, but by her second season they had a 9–6–3 record that included 12 Division I teams and five Top 20 opponents.

University of Washington

Gallimore was hired as Washington's second head coach in February 1994, replacing the program's inaugural coach, Dang Pibulvech. Her first team broke the existing school records for most goals scored, fewest goals allowed and most shutouts. It was also the first appearance for the Huskies at the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the regional semifinal, but losing to the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

, 6–5, on penalty kicks. On January 15, 2019, Gallimore announced that she would retire from collegiate coaching after the 2019 season, her 26th year at Washington. She led the team back to the NCAA Tournament and was named the 2019 Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Gallimore finished her career at Washington with a 270-218-49 overall record.

United States women's national team staff

In March 2001, Gallimore served as assistant coach to

April Heinrichs April Dawn Heinrichs (born February 27, 1964) is an American former soccer player and coach. She was among the first players on the United States women's national soccer team, and was captain of the United States team which won the first ever ...

for the U.S. Women's National Team at the

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...

in Portugal.

Sports envoy

In April 2012, Gallimore traveled to Morocco with former

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 ...

members

Angela Hucles Angela Khalia Hucles Mangano (; born July 5, 1978) is an American sports executive and former professional soccer player who is currently the president of women's soccer for the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She was ...

and

Marian Dalmy Marian Antal Dougherty (; born November 25, 1984) is an American retired professional soccer defender. She last played for Portland Thorns FC in the National Women's Soccer League and had previously played for the United States women's nationa ...

on behalf of the United States State Department working for the Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative. The group led soccer clinics and leadership training sessions for 104 young Moroccan female coaches as well as female coaches from Tunisia and Libya.

Administrative career

Girls Academy

In June 2020, Gallimore was appointed the first-ever Commissioner of the Girls Academy league. The league was formed as a replacement for the now-defunct

U.S. Soccer Development Academy The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league featured youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's mission ...

Honors

Gallimore was named the University of California's Athlete of the Decade for 1976–86 and was inducted into the Cal Hall of Fame in 1995. She was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 2000 and voted the 2000 National Coach of the Year in a poll of coaches conducted by Soccer Buzz. Gallimore was twice named NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year, in 1994 and 2000. Gallimore was named 2019 Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

References

External links

Washington coach profile

Interview with Lesle Gallimore
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallimore, Lesle American soccer coaches American women's soccer players 1963 births Living people California Golden Bears women's soccer players Sportspeople from Redondo Beach, California Washington Huskies women's soccer coaches San Diego State Aztecs women's soccer coaches Women's association football defenders National Women's Soccer League commentators Soccer players from Los Angeles California Golden Bears women's soccer coaches 20th-century American sportswomen