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The Man Watching: A Biography of Anson Dorrance, the Unlikely Architect of the Greatest College Sports Dynasty Ever

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Rated 5.0/5
Manufacturer: Sports Media Group
By Tim Crothers

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Life and Success Lessons from the Soccer Pitch Many sports fans may have heard of John Wooden of UCLA or Bobby Knight in terms of sports dynasties. Fewer have ever heard of Anson Dorrance. This book offers revealing insights into what makes Dorrance tick as the architect of the UNC women's soccer program, arguably the most successful dynasty in American college athletics. To say the man is driven is an understatement. To say that he has made sacrifices in his personal life is also evident. Is it worth it, on balance? For Dorrance the answer is clear but to other mere mortals, the tradeoffs may not appear so worthy. Whether you are into soccer or not, this profile is a useful and inspiring peek at a master motivator who somehow succeeds year after year. He has a formula along with an openness to new ideas and experimentation. Some may criticize the book that it gives a superficial treatment of the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Dorrance by two former players. Each reader will have to decide whether this is any way tarnishes the Dorrance legacy. To the author of this book the answer is obvious. After reading excerpts from a few of Dorrance's motivational speeches, I was ready to run through a wall and score a goal!!! Your mileage may vary...

I first had the honour of meeting Anson Dorrance, the head coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels' women's soccer team in February, 1999 in San Francisco. I was there as Italy's interpreter during the FIFA draw for USA'99, the third Women's World Cup, and the US-FIFA All-Star match held on February 14th in San Jose'. I actually got to take my picture with Anson during the presentation of the two teams at the Fairmont Hotel (and he was nice to have taken a picture of me with the great Michel Platini). I was extremely excited when I saw the likes of Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Tisha Venturini and national team captain Carla Overbeck, just some of the fantastic players he had coached at UNC. Anson also coached one of the greatest players at Chapel Hill, April Heinrichs, who would go on to be the only woman so far to have won both a World Cup title as a player (China 1991) and then a gold medal (Athens 2004) as America's head coach. I already knew something about Anson as I became friends of Bill and Stephanie Hamm, Mia's parents, while Bill and I both worked at the U.S. Embassy in Rome (in the early 1990s. The Hamms lived a total of eight years in Italy). It was pretty well Anson who discovered a young Mia one day, took her under his wing and then to China in 1991 for the first-ever FIFA's Women's World Cup (which he won with Mia and Co.) and who would one day also go on to become her legal guardian when Mia's folks moved back to Italy. And speaking of China, Bill would once-a-week knock on my office door at the embassy, plop himself in front of my desk with his briefcase and say, "Hey, Mia's taking part in the first-ever Women's World Cup in China"! I'd look at him and say, "Great"! Then after a few days he'd come in again and say, "Hey, Mia's just beaten so-and-so"! This would go on until one day he came in and said with a big grin on his face, "Hey, Mia's just won that World Cup title"! (his wife Stephanie was in China for the occasion). One can say that from roughly 1990 until the day Mia retired I followed her incredible soccer career, thanks in part to her wonderful folks. Back in the U.S. again for the 1999 World Cup in June as Italy's interpreter, thanks also to Aaron Heifetz, the U.S. women's long-time press officer, and to Bill Hamm, I got a free ticket to the Rose Bowl for the famous U.S.- China showdown final (once Italy was eliminated from that event in Boston I made my way back to Los Angeles via Florida and got to stay with one of Mia's sisters. The Hamms then flew out from Texas for the final and we all hooked up at the Rose Bowl, including Mia's grandmother). I was very privileged sitting under the VIP section, with Bill Clinton sitting over my head next to Mia's first husband. Down below me I could see the "architect" of what was about to unfold before the eyes of 90,185 people and 40 million Americans and 100 million Chinese in front of their tv sets: Anson Dorrance. It was another great honour for me that after the final, which was won by the U.S., I not only got to tag along with the Hamms to the private party for the entire national team at the Ritz-Carlton but I also go to go right after the party with Stephanie, Bill and Anson back to the hotel where Mia was staying (she didn't attend the party because she had been completely dehydrated after more than 120 minutes of play. The heat that day in the Rose Bowl was truly unbelievable!). Anson wanted to go say hi to his most cherished "pupil", without a doubt back then THE world's most famous women's soccer player. I was also aware of Anson's great work at UNC as I also bought his training videos and one of his first books, "Training Soccer Champions" (I also have "The Vision of a Champion"). Anson was also nice to have personally sent me many years ago a training video he had done through Coca-Cola. So what can be said of his new book, "The Man Watching. A Biography of Anson Dorrance the Unlikely Architect of the Greatest College Sports Dynasty Ever"? Well, if you're a women's soccer coach (like me) and above-all a women's soccer aficionado (like me), it's simply great and very entertaining, all 352 pages of it! The book is written by Tim Crothers, a former senior writer at the world's most famous sports magazine, Sports Illustrated. Personally, I quantify the book as one that a) you don't want to put down and b) you wish that it were 1,352 pages long instead of just 352 pages long (I've already asked Anson via e-mail if one day "The Man Watching Part II" will come out. I shall be right in front of the bookstore doors, like the kids with the Harry Potter series!). The book is sprinkled with Anson's own thoughts on life in general (some episodes are even tragic) and coaching women (his court battle with a former player is also very detailed) as well as a loads of personal observations from his many present and former great players. Anson is also blessed with something else which not all people in his position may have: an extremely supportive wife, M'Liss, and three wonderful kids (as he himself states: "I was never part of my daughters' lives when they were kids, which might explain why they're so successful"). He could have gone on to become a great lawyer but chose instead what perhaps many of us would love to do for a living--coach soccer. And if you also want a good laugh, this is a great book on where to find it (at one point, someone who's never heard of Anson thinks that he's Tasmanian by the sound of his name. Crothers instead informs us that Anson can from time-to-time also wear his soccer shorts on backwards and that he has more papers on his cluttered and disorganized than probably both the Pope AND the president of the United States put together!). This for a man who has posted in the program's first twenty-seven seasons a record of 602-27-18 with a winning percentage of .944, who has outscored his opponents a whopping 2,725-303 times and who has also won eighteen of the twenty-five national championships ever contested (at one point, a coach, seeing the disarray of Anson's team during a pre-flight boarding, stated the following: "How do these idiots manage to win"?)! For me, the book was also uplifting as just recently I lost my mother to Alzheimer's disease. Anson comes across as an exceptionally positive and empowering person, not just as an extremely qualified soccer coach, but also as a great life coach. He's also extremely erudite and well-read (he has a personal library of more than 1,000 books on a variety of different subjects, including female psychology and feminism). "The Man Watching": a must for not only female soccer coaches out there but for any coach of any sport out there! Mario Rimati Italy

I have been a student manager for the UNC women's soccer team for the past three years, so I approached this book from a different perspective than most. It is very well written and a fascinating study of not only Anson but the history of the program. This is a must read for anyone who is interested in collegiate women's soccer. There are many funny/poignant/interesting anecdotes from Anson, many current and former players and others who are not necessarily related to the program. It was also very interesting to read about Anson's history and the influences of his life. As far as I could tell Crothers hit the nail on the head with this book.