Lindsay Kauffman has been coaching girls (ages 5­ thru 18) in the Bay Area for over 15 years. She 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. She is committed to helping girls fall in love with the game of soccer; encouraging them to be strong, healthy and confident. Lindsay studied elementary school education as well as cultural and social anthropology focusing her work and research on women’s and girls empowerment and human rights.

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.

Adjoa Matthews is originally from Chicago, IL and recently arrived in San Francisco to attend courses at the Academy of Art University in pursuit of a Masters in Advertising & Branded Media Technology. Adjoja received a BA in Advertising from North Park University in Chicago, IL. In the world of sports, she has played organized soccer and basketball for over 10 years. She is eager to share her skills and experience with our players. Her favorite color is orange

NATIONAL F COACHING LICENSE

Emi has been playing soccer since she was 5 years old. She got her BFA in Fashion Merchandising at the Academy of Art University, where she played Division 2 Soccer on the university’s first team. She has played multiple positions including, sweeper, stopper, left wing, and striker. In addition to coaching soccer, Emi is a Visual Manager.

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.

Sarah Huber is a new coach with Girls Unite. She is currently a student in her last year studying at San Francisco State University. This Spring she will receive a Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art. Sarah has a long history associated with soccer starting in her early childhood and playing competitively throughout her high school career. She wants to contribute to a safe, exciting, and proactive environment for young girls pursuing soccer!

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 Unie, 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.

Melissa Castillo was born and raised in San Francisco and played on teams called the Trolley Roses & Brazilian Orchids in the Viking’s league. With the help of her coach of 10 years, Melissa fell in love with soccer at the tender age of 5 years old. She grew up in San Francisco playing soccer competitively and then went to New England to continue her soccer education. At SFSU, Melissa immersed herself in Child Adolescent Family Studies while teaching soccer to girls at Jamestown Community Center. Throughout her family service career she has taught soccer for women, teenagers, elementary school children, and toddlers. She is excited to be a part of an organization that checks all of her values and skills as a coach and girl advocate. She is passionate about ameliorating SF underserved communities & conditions with one soccer ball at a time. When she’s not teaching or coaching, you can catch her running and playing with her 2 year old Noa and 7 year old Kai Mateo.

Zoey Surdis 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, Hastings College of the Law, where she graduated in May of 2018. 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.

Sandra Marquez is a San Francisco native who gained her passion for soccer when she used to watch her older brother play. She fell in love with it even more when she actually started playing in kindergarten. Soccer has been one of the most important parts of her life and continues to be. Sandra began as an Assistant Coach with Girls Unite in 2016 and has learned a lot along the way. She has advanced to Head Coach and is looking to make a positive impact on our soccer players by creating a positive, competitive, experimental, safe, and fun environment. Sandra is also an intern at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in the Athletic Performance program. She is excited to be finishing her last year of undergrad schooling at University of San Francisco as a Kinesiology Major and Health Studies Minor.

Janessa Staab is a new Girls Unite coach who has been playing soccer her entire life. Originally from Folsom, she currently plays at San Francisco State University as a center back. Janessa is studying kinesiology and plans to coach soccer for many years. She is excited to share her passion for soccer with young girls and teach them to be leaders and teammates on and off the field.

Shalom Kimble is a high-level youth developer with over 20 years experience working with youth from age 3 – 18, including youth with special needs. Shalom played Varsity Soccer at San Francisco State University (SFSU) where she earned a B.A. in Psychology and Criminal Justice.

Natalie Josef is originally from Richmond, Virginia and has been living in the Bay Area since 2005. She has played soccer her whole life as a goalkeeper and was also a referee for many years. Having personally experienced how soccer instills confidence, teamwork, and a solid work ethic, she hopes to bring her passion to Girls Unite to inspire future generations. Natalie also works as a teacher, writer, and website developer. She is a loyal supporter of Tottenham Hotspur in England and the USWNT. In her free time, she enjoys reading, sushi, and her kitties.

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.

Dana Hans grew up in Minnesota where she started playing soccer as soon as she could walk to try and keep up with her two older sisters who both played. She played on a regional team throughout high school where she was lucky enough to get to travel around to play at tournaments around the country. Dana then went to a D3 private school in Saint Paul, University of St. Thomas, where she played for two years before transferring to the University of Minnesota. She has played a number of positions from right defense, outside right mid, center mid, to forward. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in architecture and moved to San Francisco almost four years ago, where she now practices architecture at a firm in downtown SF. Outside of work, Dana plays on an intramural soccer team, practices yoga, paints, and absolutely loves to go backpacking/camping in the National and State Parks.