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Beat sounded perfect to Stone Colorado youth coach jumped at the chance to work in WUSA
By Dean Caparaz, Associate Editor, Soccer America It meant leaving Colorado, where he was turning into a local soccer icon, but Tom Stone couldn't pass up the chance to get in on the ground floor of the WUSA. He had been the director of coaching for the girls' side of the Colorado Rush and was a part of the seven youth national championships over the last nine years. He also did color commentary on local Colorado Rapids television broadcasts. Still, the day after U.S. Soccer sanctioned the WUSA as a Division I league, Stone e-mailed acting commissioner Tony DiCicco to offer his services. A Dallas native who won the 1986 NCAA championship with Duke, Stone played for the APSL's Foxes, with whom he won titles in 1991 and 1992, while launching his coaching career with the Rush. He knows that leaving for a fledgling league is risky. "A lot of people said, 'Don't you want to wait and see how it goes?'" he said. "I'm certainly willing to take that risk. When you sit down with the owners of these teams, see the competitive nature in their eyes and integrity to promote women's soccer, you see they're in it for the long term. "If you don't get in now, you might not get in. It's a good time to come in for me. The Rush knew I was leaving them in decent shape." NOT A MONEY MOVE. Stone has a two-year contract with the Beat but says his new salary, which he won't divulge, was not a factor in switching jobs. He made a good living in Colorado from several sources: his Rush position, soccer camp work, TV and radio stints with the Rapids, plus a few other outside jobs. He welcomed the chance to earn a living from just one job. Stone had previously thought about leaving Colorado in 1998 when he applied for the UCLA women's job. But not landing it proved a blessing in disguise - Stone has won five championships with the Rush since the summer of '98. "I would've been kicking myself if I would've missed that," he said. "That made me a better coach." Indeed, Stone was the Beat's first choice. "Now I guess he'll know that, because I never told him that," Atlanta general manager Lynn Morgan said. "We wanted someone who had a lot of success in coaching, which Tom had. "We wanted someone with success specifically in coaching women, because the game is different with women and men. He obviously had that as well. Having been a standout player both collegiately and professionally added to the whole package. And he has a tremendous understanding of the player pool and talent base that's out there."
MAKING A LIST. Stone has spent much of the past few months becoming even more familiar with the talent pool. Since taking over the Beat on Aug. 11, Stone has scouted college, W-League and WPSL players in anticipation of the December and February drafts. He put together a list of potential players well before the league gathered its own list for the December combine in Florida. Stone had a head start on W-League players, since he coached the W-League's Denver Diamonds for the past four seasons. This past summer he coached Japan international Homare Sawa in Denver and coached against Canada's Charmaine Hooper, who played for the Chicago Cobras. Atlanta then drafted both - the duo was the Beat's first choice among the eight pairs of players - in the WUSA's foreign player allocation draft. He spent much of September and October watching college games and attending combines in which W-League and WPSL players showcased themselves for WUSA scouts. In November, Stone attended parts of the Big 12 and ACC tournaments. He had contacts in the South and Far West watch SEC tournament and WCC games. Stone was already familiar with many former and current college players. Over the years, Stone's club teams have sent several players to upper-echelon college programs around the country. Among them were former Nebraska star Lindsay Eddleman, former Texas star Katie Baruth and UCLA freshman Sarah-Gayle Swanson. Finding out about former collegians has been challenging. "I've spent a lot of time calling on players, finding out if they've continued to play," Stone said. "You improve so much after college. That's not a knock on college. When you play soccer after college, you seem to really develop at a faster pace." Stone estimates he has a scouting report on 90 percent of the almost 200 players heading to the December combine. He won't say who's at the top of his list, but Atlanta needs help in the back - the Beat has two forwards (Cindy Parlow and Hooper), two midfielders (Sawa and Nikki Serlenga), a goalkeeper (Briana Scurry) and no defenders. "We're very excited to have Bri, but we don't want her to have to make a million saves," Stone said. "I don't think there are any secrets out there, but I think there are some sleepers."
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