Michelle Ann French (born January 27, 1977) 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 ...

assistant coach An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ul ...

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 ...

. She is a former

player and received a silver medal as a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team.

Early life

Born in Ft. Lewis, Washington, French was a two-time Parade High School All-America at Kennedy High School in Burien, Washington.

Playing career

Collegiate

French attended the

University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Da ...

from 1995 to 1999 where she was a four-year starter for the University of Portland Pilots Women's Soccer Team. At Portland, she appeared in three

Final Fours This is a list of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four participants. Final Four by year From the first tournament in 1939 to 1951, the National Semifinals were also considered the Regional Championships, with the Nationa ...

and was a first-time All-American. In 1997 she was a nominee and a finalist in 1998 for the Hermann Award for the National Player of the Year.

Club

French played for the

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom may refer to: * Washington Freedom (cricket) * Washington Freedom (soccer) {{dab ...

in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) in 2001. She played with 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 ...

from 2002 to 2003. French played in the W-League with the

Seattle Sounders Women Sound Football Club is an American women's soccer team in the Women's Premier Soccer League. Sound FC play its home games at Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila, Washington, six miles south of downtown Seattle. The team was founded in 2000 as ...

in 2004, 2006–2009.

International

French was a member of the U-21 National Team from 1994 to 1999. She captained the team at the 1997, 1998 and 1999 Nordic Cup competitions which the U.S. won in 1997 and 1999. She was called up to the

and earned her first cap on May 11, 1997 against England.

Coaching

French holds a USSF National "A" coaching license and has several years coaching experience at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels. In 2012, it was announced that she had signed a two-year contract as head coach for the

. In February 2013, Michelle French joined

USSF USSF may refer to: * United States Servicemen's Fund, a support organization for soldier and sailor resistance to the Vietnam War and the U.S. military * United States Soccer Federation, governing body of soccer in the United States * United States ...

as a coach for

United States women's national under-20 soccer team The United States U-20 women's national soccer team is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the senior women's national team. The team most recentl ...

. She worked on all aspects of the United States under-20 women's national team program and also worked with under-18 and under-17 women's national teams. French prepared the under-20 team for the

2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was an international association football tournament and the world championship for women's national teams under the age of 20, presented by Grant Connell, organized by the sport's world governing body FIFA. I ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 8th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international Women's association football, women's youth association football, football championship contested by the under-20 national te ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, in which the team failed to win a medal. In February 2017, US Soccer reassigned her to be a full-time assistant coach for the senior women's national team. On December 15, 2017, the University of Portland, French's alma mater, announced she had been hired to replace Garret Smith as head coach of their women's soccer program, the Portland Pilots.

Honors

Michelle was awarded a Golden Scarf by the

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

on June 5, 2010.

References

External links

CNN Sports Illustrated: 2000 US Women's National Soccer Team

{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Michelle Living people American women's soccer players United States women's international soccer players Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in soccer Portland Pilots women's soccer players Washington Freedom (soccer) players San Jose CyberRays players 1977 births Soccer players from Pierce County, Washington Seattle Sounders Women players Women's association football midfielders Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics UCLA Bruins women's soccer coaches Portland Pilots women's soccer coaches American soccer coaches People from Fort Lewis, Washington Washington Huskies women's soccer coaches Seattle Sounders FC non-playing staff Women's United Soccer Association players United States women's national soccer team non-playing staff United States women's youth international soccer players 20th-century American sportswomen