The Wait is Over! Christy Holly Named as Head Coach for Sky Blue FC.

January 14, 2015 - On Wednesday, Sky Blue FC announced the promotion of Christy Holly as Head Coach going into the 2016 NWSL season. The Ireland native brings 16 years of experience to his new role with the club. Before being named an assistant under former Sky Blue head coach Jim Gabarra, Holly served as an assistant at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, N.J, and the Sky Blue FC Reserve Team. In a media conference call, Steve Temares, Co-owner of Sky Blue stated, “Christy’s character, leadership and experience with our team and the league, together with his inter-personal skills and training capabilities, make him the right coach for Sky Blue FC.”

Just two days before the 2016 NWSL College Draft, Holly officially took the reigns of a squad that has missed the playoffs in two consecutive seasons. Despite the club’s challenges, it’s been a quiet offseason. Sky Blue was impacted by the Orlando Pride expansions draft, losing defender Cami Levin (6th pick) and backup goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe (10th pick). However, there have been no other trades or signings in favor of the club. Holly has his hands full going into the draft on Friday, but Sky Blue fans won’t have to wait long to see what changes he intends to make. The club has the third overall pick, as of right now, behind two picks from the Portland Thorns. When asked about his vision for the team, the newly named coached expressed his desire to build a “more balanced squad”.

Looking Ahead

Discussing last season, Holly commented, “The roster that I’m looking to build would have a little bit more balance about it, from the first player to the last player within the roster, to allow us to have impactful subs coming off the bench, and will allow us to have impactful personnel coming on the field when we need them. Ultimately, it means that we’ll have more consistent performances from day one to the last game of the season.”

Holly pointed to injuries and the World Cup impacting the momentum of an otherwise “strong starting eleven”. Sky Blue lost Captain and veteran defender Christie Rampone and Kelley O’Hara (United States), Samantha Kerr and Caitlin Foord (Australia). Yet, this will likely be the same story for the upcoming season. In addition to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, Sky Blue has several players who entered 2016 recovering from injuries and surgery. All will likely have national commitments again, although there is much speculation surrounding Rampone. As of yet, she has not made any statements about her intentions to retire from the national team, and yesterday was listed, along with O’Hara, as US National Team players allocated to Sky Blue. However, Jill Ellis has named two new captains, Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash) and Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), perhaps suggesting that the National Team is shifting toward a future without Rampone, who underwent surgery in December. Both Kerr and Foord suffered injuries while playing abroad and Holly is not expecting to have them to be “fully fit” for preseason.

Why the Wait?

When asked about what he hopes to get out of the draft, Holly stated that Sky Blue has a number of players they are hopeful to acquire on Friday. Holly also hinted at trades and international signings, “There are players within the league and beyond that we feel … will come in and can make a very positive impact. Both in terms of their personality and their ability on and off the field that will allow us to continue to seek after the minimum requirement, which will be finishing in the top four this season.” Holly describes his style as an “exciting, progressive round of soccer” and expects to deepen Sky Blue with technical and tactical players, to overcome international commitments and injuries.

When asked about the speculation of other coaches turning down the position, as well as why it took some time to settle on Holly, Temares firmly stated, “we never offered the position to anybody else.” He attributed the delay to wanting to be thorough, “We explored former Head Coaches in the league, former assistants in the league, coaches who have coached overseas” said Temares, “ultimately when reviewing the candidates based on substance and merit, as opposed to appearance … Christy, without a doubt, was the correct choice for Sky Blue.”

With Holly being an insider, and Sky Blue making the announcement before the NWSL College Draft, Sky Blue fans can exhale with some relief, if not full adoration and praise. “We’ve been working hard” said Holly “to ensure that on the first game of the season we’re … ready to give the fans what they expect.” It would appear that Sky Blue is focused on bringing more fans to Yurcak Field for the 2016 season. The new VP of Business Development, Herm Sorcher promised fans an exciting year, even offering his e-mail and personal phone number urging fans to share their ideas. In his letter to fans and supporters, Sorcher states, “I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts, promotions and ideas. Ask me a question, give me your concerns, and let me get your feedback, both positive and negative.”

Commitment to Women’s Soccer

Temares openly acknowledged that the league has experienced, and continues to experience, its challenges. However, Sky Blue FC has been engaged in every Women’s Domestic League since 2009 because, “women should have the same opportunity as men to be able to play professional soccer in the United States.” This is a statement that many strongly believe should be true, however, Sky Blue, the NWSL and the U.S Soccer Federation must make huge strides to make manifest equality.

The summer showed an unparalleled television viewership in the World Cup Tournament, beating records on the men’s and women’s side. However, women played on turf for the major tournament, and the U.S Team continued to play on turf for the Victory Tour, despite a lawsuit filed by players before the World Cup. Things heated up in the NWSL as well, with players taking to Twitter and writing editorials to share the sacrifices they make to play the sport they love … as professionals. The Women’s Team of Australia and Trinidad and Tobago, just to name the ones in the news, publicly aired some of the outrageous conditions female athletes bear in the name of having the honor of representing their country. The Matildas went on strike, interrupting their two matches with the United States during the Victory Tour. Trinidad and Tobago was dangerously close to a strike as well, that is, until the U.S Federation reportedly stepped in offering loans to players in lieu of compensation from their country.

For all those following women’s soccer, and women’s sports, we should celebrate the overdue attention and media coverage female athletes received in 2015. However, without more coverage, without continued coverage, and without more sponsors, will we ever get to see confetti fall from the skies of New York City, unto the Canyon of Heroes, for female athletes again? Or better yet, without more support and protection of female athletes by domestic leagues and national federations, will there still be female athletes willing to endure subpar conditions for the love of the game and for the love of country?

Follow Erica Ayala on twitter @elindsay08