Since 2015, Girls Unite has been creating a positive and rigorous environment to help shape young girls on and off the pitch. We see each of our players through a holistic lens and value their ability to learn and grow. We aim to build soccer skills, character, and community.
Are you ready?
Change Lives
We are currently seeking enthusiastic new and experienced coaches that can mentor young girls build soccer skills, confidence and community
Our Story
Our Founder
Lindsay Kauffman has been coaching girls (ages 5 thru 18) in the Bay Area for over 20 years. She is committed to helping girls fall in love with the game of soccer; encouraging them to be strong, healthy and confident. In the 2021-2022 season, Coach Lindsay received the Positive Coaching Alliance award, helped lead Urban High School Varsity into Playoffs. She holds a USSF D license, and specializes in Tovo Methodology having completed the Tovo Institute V1 Methodology Course.
Meet Our Coaches
Our women coaches serve as strong role models for our players. Positive modeling is also exemplified in our Junior Coaches program which enables us to develop the next generation of women coaches starting with high school
Lindsay Kauffman has been coaching girls (ages 5 thru 18) in the Bay Area for over 20 years. She has a background in elementary school education as well as cultural and social anthropology with graduate research focused on women’s and girls empowerment and human rights. Coach Lindsay was the assistant coach for the Gold Medal winning of the 2013 USA Maccabi Women’s Team, and has been head coach for Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep HS, Lowell HS, Bay HS, and Vikings Club. In 2014, Lindsay was awarded the San Francisco Unified School District Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year in 2014. Most recently she earned the Positive Coaching Alliance 2022 Double-Goal Coach Award, helped lead the Urban High School Varsity team to playoffs, and earned division championships for two of her Girls Unite competitive teams. Coach Lindsay holds a USSF D license, and specializes in TOVO Methodology having completed multiple TOVO Institute courses and applying them to her coaching. She is committed to helping girls fall in love with the game of soccer; encouraging them to be strong, healthy and confident.
Val Henderson is a Bay Area native and long time sport and soccer lover. She is passionate about empowering players and coaches of all ages through sport. Val has served as an ambassador to the US State Department in Chile, Paraguay, Singapore, and Mexico, uniting communities through soccer, and teaching and empowering coaches and players. Val was an All-American, Academic-All American, and captain for the UCLA women's soccer program. She competed in the 2004 U20 Women's World Cup in Russia and played professional soccer for the LA Sol, Philadelphia Independence, and KIF Örebro in Sweden. Val has a degree in English and Spanish from UCLA as well as a teaching credential from CSUEB. Val has coached players of all ages and levels from U8 to college and post-collegiate. Val holds her USSF 'B' License and serves as an assistant coach with the US Youth National Teams.
We are thrilled to have Shalom Kimble as our Professional Goalkeeper Trainer for the Girls Unite Competitive Travel program. Coach Shalom played goalkeeper for San Francisco State University Women's varsity program. She has coached and trained youth and high school goalkeepers for the past 20 years, and has won numerous awards including the 2021 Positive Coaching Alliance Double-Goal Coach Award. She has a B.A. in Psychology and Criminal Justice, decades of experience working with youth ages 3-18, and currently is also a teacher at A.P Giannini Middle School. She holds USSF E coaching license.
Coach Erin grew up playing competitive soccer in Pleasanton, CA and has continued to play soccer for the past 20 years in San Francisco. She has been coaching girls competitive soccer for the past six years. She is a D licensed coach and holds two special topics diplomas for Speed of Play and Maximizing Player Performance using Technology and Science. She has three children and her two daughters play on competitive Girls Unite teams.
Angelique Gosse has been playing soccer for the majority of her life. She grew up playing club soccer in the East Bay, then heading North to play in college for the Humboldt State Women’s Soccer team, continuing her soccer career post-college briefly playing for the WPSL and now plays recreationally in San Francisco. Angelique has her degree in Business with a minor in Economics and when she’s not coaching or playing soccer, she works as a full-time data analyst.
Marieke Blazeski is a San Francisco native. She has been playing soccer for 25 years and has been coaching for 15 (ages 3 thru 18) with a F, E, and E/D coaching license. In addition to coaching for Girls Unite, she is also currently the Head Coach for the boys soccer team at Galileo High School (4+ years). Growing up in San Francisco she played recreational soccer in the Vikings and PAL league, club soccer with the San Francisco Vikings, semi professionally with the San Francisco Night Hawks, and 4 years in college at San Francisco State University. She has experience personal training (soccer and fitness) and studied Creative Writing with a bachelors in English. She is very passionate about soccer, teaching, and competition.
Coach Stefani is originally from the midwest and has been playing soccer for over twenty five years. She played goalkeeper at the University of Wisconsin (go Badgers!) from 2003-2006. She was voted team captain her senior year and helped lead the Badgers to two NCAA tournament appearances. Stefani holds a USSF “D” Coaching license and was a goalkeeper coach in the Chicago area from 2008-2011. Stefani has lived in the Bay Area for nearly ten years now and is looking forward to coaching for Girls Unite. By day, Stefani works to help make buildings more energy efficient. Stefani continues to play soccer recreationally in the Golden Gate Women's Soccer League . Stefani has recently also transitioned her skills to flag football and is playing on the Bay Area Fire, competing this summer in the inaugural WFFN national women’s flag football league. Fun fact: Stefani has been to four soccer World Cups: two men’s- USA (1994) and Germany (2006), and two women’s- Canada (2015) and France (2019).
Coach Olivia comes from Saint Paul, Minnesota, and earned her BA in creative writing from DePaul University in Chicago. Since graduating college, Coach Olivia has been traveling and teaching English abroad. She currently works as a carpenter for Habitat for Humanity, specializing in tiny houses for underserved communities.
She started playing soccer when she was 5 and played competitively up until college. The coaching director of Coach Olivia's youth club was trained in Brazil, so Coach Olivia grew up playing futsal, small sided games and juggling tennis balls! Coach Olivia encourages players to take opponents on, think creatively with their feet, and work in tight spaces.
Originally hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, Coach Lexy specializes in developing attacking plays from the outside third. Through her certification in life coaching, she was driven toward coaching youth soccer when she moved to Hawaii in 2021. Since then, Coach Lexy has been working closely with players polishing their technical skill sets in camps and clinics in Hawaii, New Mexico, Washington and SoCal with UK international soccer.
Coach Lexy shows her true passion for developing players as athletes, through facilitating a safe, inclusive and fun environment where everyone can feel like they can grow and not be afraid to make mistakes! Her mission is to positively impact communities, and strive to give back as much as possible.
Coach Lexy recognizes that working with youth is not a one-way street: as she teaches, she is also being taught by young players and embraces the opportunities to become her best self. By striving to lead through example, Coach Lexy is a valuable asset to Girls Unite and the greater soccer community!
Continuing her seasons of coaching with Girls Unite, soccer for Coach Delmy has always been a family passion. Her dad was her first coach, and imparted the playing passion and discipline that would stay with her throughout her playing career. Coach Delmy played at Skyline College representing Bay Area home grown skill, and still attend Earthquakes games as often as possible! She loves teaching soccer team play with a defensive emphasis, building the foundation from the back, and how to move forward as a unit. Last season, her 2011 Warriors were crowned division champions in the local league, and graduated to travel competition! She can't wait to continue working with her players this upcoming season and help her teams grow and learn together.
Danielle Leone has been playing soccer recreationally for 30 years and coaching kids for five. Before that, she was a nanny for fifteen years, and she's always been a writer and a touring musician. She has three books of fiction and six albums of songs, and also works with kids on writing and music.
As an avid fan of the modern Women’s Soccer game, Coach Marina can’t wait to share strategy and methodical approach with her teams. She partially takes her inspiration from experience, as well as her favorite professional team - the Orlando Pride, and brings big ideas and passion to the Girls Unite coaching staff. Her favorite experiences as a soccer player includes embracing responsibility and meeting high expectations from teammates. Coach Marina also believes that putting young players in a position to succeed and share their voice develops leadership skills that last their entire lives. She can’t wait to meet and start working with her teams this upcoming season!
Coach Elise grew up playing competitive soccer in Oregon. She played Division I soccer at San Diego State as a goalkeeper for two years before transferring to Oregon State University to earn her B.S. in Environmental Engineering. Coach Elise is new to the Bay Area and new to coaching, but she is excited and ready to share her love and knowledge of the game with players.
Team friendship and a sense of camaraderie has kept Coach Brianna involved in soccer from the time she could walk through high school varsity in El Paso. Coach Brianna focuses on building unity within the team, finding common ground, and emphasizes fun through her coaching style. The highlight of any season for her is getting to know the players and helping them find their individual style on and off the field! As a software engineer, Coach Brianna approaches every problem with discipline, and loves finding solutions through careful analysis. However, Coach Brianna believes firmly the most important aspect of any season is the bond one creates with their teammates and she can't wait to share that with her players.
Coach Hayley has spent majority of her life on the soccer field. From the young age of 4, she fell in love with the game and continued playing through her adult life. From competitive travel teams, to junior college collegiate teams, Coach Hayley always worked to juggle being a student-athlete. Coach Hayley now enjoys her time with her dogs, family, and friends.
Coach Alli fell for soccer back in elementary school, when her dad coached her rec teams in Columbus, Indiana. As an adult, Coach Alli has found soccer to be an amazing way to quickly meet great people wherever she goes, whether moving across the country to San Francisco, visiting family back in Michigan, or traveling internationally. When not playing soccer, Coach Alli is likely playing tennis or Ultimate Frisbee, biking, or lying in a park reading. She loves connecting with others through play and movement, and she is thrilled to be out on the pitch with girls, families, and coaches who share this passion or are just checking out soccer for the first time!
Coach Jessica truly can't wait to get out on the field and coach this year! She played soccer for eight years recreationally, competitively, and in high school. Coach Jessica embraced the coaching path because she believes that soccer is a brilliant sport, and motivates kids to have fun and get creative. She hopes to impart players some of her passion for the sport, and guide them into lifelong involvement.
Coach Lindsay can't remember a time when she wasn't playing the beautiful game, continuing to play through college, and even today on an 11v11 team in the GGWSL premier division. She's a new coach, but has wanted to coach for a long time to share her love and passion for the game with young players, and foster a safe and fun environment. Coach Lindsay strives to help players find their joy on the field, and follow her steps in making soccer a life-long passion!
Tori is an outgoing, semi-recent college student who cannot give up her love of soccer. When she isn't coaching or doing her day job, you can find her watching Netflix, reading, blogging, or painting! She loves to show kids what it's like to play soccer and have fun doing it. After all, she has learned some great life lessons through her 14 years of playing. The goal for this season is simply that- have fun with friends and learn something valuable!
Coach Jackie is a San Francisco native and has played soccer in the Bay Area for over 10 years. She graduated from the University of San Francisco with a B.A. in Environmental Studies, and is passionate about social and environmental justice. Coach Jackie brings patience and optimism to every team she works with, and finds a way to meet players at the level they need! She looks forward to working with teams and promoting the confidence of young female players both on and off the soccer field.
Are you Ready?
Change Lives
We are currently seeking enthusiastic new and experienced coaches that can mentor young girls build soccer skills, confidence and community
Apply to CoachJunior Coaches Program
Calling All Youth Mentors
Our Junior Coaches program exemplifies youth leadership and professional modeling. The program is open to experienced high school soccer players. Junior Coaches are hired based on their capability, enthusiasm, level of responsibility, and availability. Selected Junior Coaches will assist the head coaches with player training, demonstrations and other fun assignments. Junior Coaches receive a stipend or can use their coaching hours toward community service.
Apply for Junior Coaches ProgramConsulting
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