Our Amazing Team

Coach Lindsay founded Girls Unite with a commitment to increase opportunities, visibility, and leadership of women in soccer. She has been coaching youth for the past 2 decades, was the assistant coach of the Gold Medal winning 2013 USA Maccabi Team, won the 2014 SFUSD Soccer Coach of the Year, and won the 2022 Double-Goal Coach Award for the Positive Coaching Alliance. Most recently she was Head Coach of Washington HS Varsity Soccer Team and Head Coach of the 2023 USA Maccabi U16 Team.

Coach Lindsay is certified in TOVO methodology and has her USSF National D License.

Tafa is a former Brazilian national team player and current Head Coach of the US Futsal National Team. She holds a U.S. Soccer “B” Coaching License, and has extensive international playing and coaching experience in both soccer and futsal.

Márcia Tafarel is a native of Bento Goncalves, Brazil where she spent her youth playing soccer and futsal in the streets. At age 13 she was allowed to join a competitive division, by 16 years old she was selected to represent her state in a tournament, and at 18 years old she moved to Sao Paulo to pursue her education and soccer career. At 20 years old she was selected to the Brazilian Soccer National Team. She was a member of the Brazilian Soccer National Team for 8 years and represented Brazil in the 1991 and 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cups and the 1996 Summer Olympics. Soccer brought her to the United States in 2004 to play for WPSL California Storm. She later also played for Las Positas College where she was nominated MVP of the Coast Conference, Midfielder of the Conference, and All America First Team in 2006.
Coach Tafa has a passion for youth player development and in the past decade has helped many young players reach their full potential. She has been involved in soccer coaching education, developing and implementing coaching programs for youth soccer organizations. She has successfully coached multiple teams to winning titles. In 2003 she was selected the “Best Coach” by Paulista Futsal Federation. She is former Director of COPA Kids futsal programs. Most recently she was Academy Director at Walnut Creek Surf.

As Girls Unite DOC/Technical Director, Coach Tafa oversees all aspects of the club’s soccer development, including coaching education, coach mentorship, player development, and team strategy. She works closely with our coaching staff to ensure that Girls Unite Soccer Club continues to provide the best possible training and development opportunities for our players.

Girls Unite is thrilled to welcome Kierra Scalercio as Director of U8-U10 Competitive Travel Program!

Coach Kierra joins the Girls Unite coaching staff with the primary focus of developing our U8-U10 girls in the technical, athletic, and mental skillset needed to become competitive soccer players. Adding Kierra to our competitive developmental program speaks to Girls Unite’s commitment to center female players and support them with strong mentors, highest quality coaching, community and tools to reach their potential.

Coach Kierra has USSF C and USSF D licenses, and brings a lot of experience with her, including:
* Dominican University Women’s team Assistant Coach
* Mill Valley Soccer Club Competitive Head Coach
* College of Marin Women’s team, Assistant Coach
* Sacred Heart Cathedral HS, JV Coach
* Lowell High School, Varsity Assistant Coach
* Convent Varsity, Assistant Coach
* Branson High School, Assistant Coach

Kierra Scalercio continues to play professionally with CaliBeach Soccer Club (a beach soccer lover!) and recently with the San Francisco NightHawks of the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL). She has also been working with a nonprofit organization called SoccerFours for over a decade. Her true passion lies in connecting with and developing motivated young female athletes as they find their confidence and skill on the field, and we are thrilled that she is bringing her incredible experience, skillset, and passion to Girls Unite’s youngest competitive players!

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.

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.

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.

Coach Mahelly's bio coming soon!

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 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.

Coach Alicia start playing soccer in 3rd grade - ever since she got hit in the stomach with the ball and had the wind knocked out of her - she was hooked! Growing up in SoCal, and there were lots of youth leagues and Coach Alicia played AYSO then moved to a competitive travel team (Wildcats) in the Coast Soccer League. As a freshman in high school, she and several teammates from the Wildcats attempted to try out for the boy's soccer team as there was no girl's team (but the boy's coach would not allow them to try out). However, because of Title IX passing shortly after, Coach Alicia was able to join her high school's first girls varsity soccer team and played for all four years. Coach Alicia hasn't stopped playing since, staying active in the Golden Gate Women's Soccer League - also as volunteer VP of New Players for the GGWSL Board - and constantly seeking out ways to keep players of all ages playing. Coach Alicia believes in sports as a tool for female empowerment, and strives to provide a strong example to her young charges. Coach Alicia loves getting to know her players, embracing the challenge of a new season, and helping them realize their potential! Coach Alicia has been coaching for 15+ years, currently holds an E license and is actively pursuing her USSF D.

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.

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.

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 Aletheia comes to Girls Unite from the East Coast, where she specialized in child psychology and development and is now looking to continue her career as a teacher. Coach Aletheia brings holistic perspective to the field, and with her diverse background working with children from all different areas, Girls Unite is thrilled to build with Coach Aletheia in her inaugural season.

Coach Imani embodies the joy of the game through her teaching! As a current grad student, Coach Imani loves to break down the (fun)damentals for players with a defensive focus.

Coach Xitali comes to Girls Unite in her second season of coaching. Coach Xitali loves looking for the commonalities across team members, and bringing players together through collaboration and collective effort. As a current college student, Coach Xitali understands how to juggle pressure and expectations, and she actively seeks out opportunities to show young aspiring players how to find rhythm in the on-field chaos. Girls Unite is so lucky to have Coach Xitali's calm demeanor on the sideline!

Coach Sasha is new to the bay area and in her first season of coaching with Girls Unite! Coach Sasha always brings a laugh to the field, and makes sure that all players feel welcome.

Coach Lexi grew up playing competitive and high school soccer in Louisville, Kentucky. In high school, she was an all-state player and held a state record for most goals scored in a career. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s in psychological science from Western Kentucky University where she was also captain of the soccer team. For the past three years, Lexi has worked as a research assistant and played soccer at the University of Southampton in England, studying multi-sensory perception. Playing soccer in a new culture helped Lexi realize that soccer has the ability to transcend language and cultural barriers: the love of the game can bring anyone together.

Lexi is new to the Bay Area and cannot wait to utilize her coaching role to mentor and inspire players. On the field, her team goals include focusing on improving individual skill while emphasizing the importance of team harmony. Off the field, she hopes to motivate young women to be the best versions of themselves!

Coach Zoey has been playing soccer since she was four years old. As a San Francisco native, Zoey grew up playing recreational soccer with the SF Vikings, played in middle school at San Francisco Day School, for a club team out of San Francisco, and for four years on Lick-Wilmerding High School’s varsity team. After graduating from high school, Zoey attended the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. where she majored in Sociology and Philosophy and minored in History. Zoey then attended the University of California College of Law, San Francisco and is now working as an attorney. Zoey became a coach to continue her involvement in the soccer community in San Francisco, and after having so many influential and amazing coaches, to pay it forward to teach and have a positive impact on the development of young soccer players.