Emma Hayes was named the inaugural head coach and director of soccer operations for the Chicago Red Stars on May 15, 2008.
Since 2006, Hayes has served as first team assistant coach and academy director at the FA’s Women’s Premier League’s top-ranked Arsenal Ladies Football Club in London, England. Hayes helped guide the Lady Gunners to an
undefeated League record and won every competition England has to offer. Previously,
she spent six years coaching in the United States, from the grass roots level all the way through the W-league and Division 1 college level.
Hayes also brings significant broadcast experience to Chicago WPS, most notably
as the lead analyst for Eurosport during the 2007 Women’s World Cup in China delivering televised color commentary on the matches.
She has been selected as a
featured clinician at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) national convention the last two years, and has extensive youth experience working as a senior staff member of the Region 1 Olympic Development Program (ODP) since 2004.
As first team assistant at Arsenal Ladies, Hayes’
responsibilities included planning, organizing, conducting and evaluating all aspects of professional women’s soccer team including coaching games, running training sessions, recruiting players and scheduling.
During her tenure at Arsenal, Hayes helped guide the Lady Gunners to the following honors:
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2007 UEFA Women’s Cup Winners
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2007
FA Women’s Premiere League Cup Winners
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2007-2008 London County FA Women’s Cup Winners
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2006-2007-2008 FA Women’s Premier League Champions
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2006-2007-2008
FA Women’s Cup Winners
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2006 FA Women’s Community Shield Winners
As academy director, Hayes oversaw Arsenal’s elite 16 to 19-year-old residential program. She directed and developed all soccer training and
hired and supervised assistants. She also championed the Arsenal Ladies Cup, England’s first and only all-girls international football tournament to be held in London.
Prior to joining Arsenal, Hayes served as
head women’s soccer coach at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY. There she was responsible for delivering all aspects of the NCAA Division 1 soccer program including team training, tactics, video analysis, nutrition, fitness, health and wellness. She hired and supervised assistants, recruited elite college-bound athletes from throughout the United States, maintained the team’s budget, directed and organized youth tournaments, raised funds, managed media-relations, organized team travel and ordered equipment.
Hayes’ honors at Iona included the 2004 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year and the 2004-2005 MAAC Conference Championships.
Hayes also served as head coach domestically from 2001-2003 in the W-League with the Long Island Lady Riders. There she
identified, recruited, developed, managed and retained the best female soccer athletes in the region for the first and reserve teams, worked with college coaches across the country, developed individual player programs, dealt with sponsors, managed media relations and organized travel.
This London Camden Borough native was recognized for her efforts with the Lady Riders as the 2002 National Coach of the Year
as the youngest female head coach in W-League history.
The bilingual (Spanish and English) Hayes is a 1999 graduate of the University of Liverpool with a BA in European Studies, Sociology and Spanish.
Denise Reddy, Assistant Coach
Reddy, whose extensive coaching and playing resume includes club, collegiate, professional domestic and international experience, will assist Hayes in all technical aspects of team management, including opposition scouting, player identification, building the roster, and working with a strength and conditioning coach.
“Denise brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Chicago Red Stars,” said Hayes. “Her vast experience in professional ranks, as a coach and as a player, both at home and abroad, and her familiarity with the international and domestic player pool are going to be invaluable to our organization. She is a winner and just what we are looking to bring here."
Reddy joins the Chicago Red Stars from Jersey Sky Blue, the W-League club she served as head coach (2008) and assistant coach (2007). Prior to her tenure with Jersey Sky Blue, Reddy was a player/coach for the New Jersey Wildcats of the W-League in 2006. Reddy returned to the United States following an 11 year professional career in Sweden, where she played for Umea (1994) and Malmo D.F.F. (1995-2005). Reddy was the team captain of Malmo D.F.F. from 1999-2005, coached in the Malmo academy system from 2002-2005, and worked in the front office of both the men’s and women’s teams. Collegiately, Reddy was a four-year starter at Rutgers University, where she was the team captain and co-MVP in 1990 and 1991.
“I am very excited to join Emma Hayes and the Chicago Red Stars,” said Reddy. “While it is with mixed emotions that I leave an organization that occupies a special place in my heart, the opportunity to play an integral role in shaping a new squad as well as to develop as a coach under Emma Hayes was one I couldn’t refuse.”
Nathan Kipp, Goalkeeper Coach
Kipp comes to the Red Stars from Duke University, where he has served as goalkeeper coach for the women’s soccer team since 2006. During his three-year tenure in Durham, NC, the Blue Devils advanced to the final 16 once and the Elite 8 twice. In coaching stints prior to joining Duke, Kipp was the goalkeeper coach at the University of North Carolina – Greensboro in 2005 and he served in the same capacity at Iona College in 2003 and 2004. Hayes was the head coach of Iona College at the time, so the Red Stars skipper knows the quality of the coach she is getting.
“Nathan's experience will be invaluable at the WPS level,” explained Hayes. “He is one of the very best and I'm delighted to be working with him again. His knowledge and modern ideas will be well appreciated by all at the Red Stars.”
Despite the success he was having with the Blue Devils, Kipp could not resist the lure of the new professional league and being reunited with his former colleague.
"I'm thrilled to be a part of the inaugural season in the WPS,” said Kipp. “I firmly believe our country needs a great professional league in order to develop the best women's soccer players, so I couldn't pass up the chance to be involved in the building of such a league.”
He added, “My two prior seasons working for Emma were fantastic, so when she asked if I'd be interested in joining her in Chicago, it was a no-brainer. I think she's one of the best young female coaches in the game, so I'm really looking forward to being a part of her Red Stars coaching staff.
Kipp is a native of Gambier, Ohio, and played for the Carolina Dynamo in 2001 and 2002. He went on to capture United Soccer League’s Goalkeeper of the Year honors after leading the league with a 0.87 goals against average in 2002