Louise Waxler to receive prestigious Honor Award from United Soccer Coaches

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – United Soccer Coaches announced Louise Waxler as the 84th recipient of its Honor Award, in recognition of a career of meritorious service to the association and outstanding contributions to soccer in multiple areas and levels of the game.

Presented annually since 1942, the Honor Award is the most prestigious accolade bestowed by the association to an individual. It will be presented at the annual Awards Banquet on January 12, 2024, in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Anaheim, Calif.

“To receive this award from the association that helped to guide me on my path throughout the years is the greatest honor of my career,” said Louise Waxler. “It is deeply humbling and a great privilege to join the elite group of recipients previously honored.”

A member of the association since 1990, Waxler served in a variety of roles, including Youth At-Large representative, Women’s Committee Chairperson, Executive Committee member, Youth Coach of the Year Chair, and Foundation committee member. In 2006, Waxler became the 58th President of the association (formerly NSCAA), the third female president in the association’s then 69-year history.

“Louise Waxler is a true professional, visionary and role model who has positively impacted thousands who have benefitted from her leadership,” said Dr. David Carr, United Soccer Coaches President. “She exemplifies the phrase: for the good of the game.”

A resident of Howard County, Maryland since 1984, Louise began her soccer career with the Soccer Association of Columbia (SAC) in 1986 as the Director of the Columbia Invitational Soccer Tournament and served in that capacity until joining the Maryland Soccer Foundation as Soccer Programs Director in 2006.

In her many years of running youth and professional sports and soccer events, she served as Director of Operations and Grassroots Outreach for the WUSA’s Washington Freedom at RFK Stadium, managing the game operations at RFK for the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup Tournament and as Director of the Discovery Cup Soccer Tournament for more than 10 years.

A career professional in amateur and professional soccer management, Waxler served as the General Manager for the Philadelphia Independence of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), National Coalition Chair for Maryland’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, and Executive Vice President of the Maryland State Youth Soccer Association Board of Directors.

Finding hope through sport, Louise created a women’s intercollegiate tournament in Howard County in 1997 to honor the memory of her friend, Claudia Mayer, who lost her battle to breast cancer. The four-team tournament then grew to include over 60 NCAA Division I colleges across the country, raising more than $900,000 from its inception to 2010. In 2011, Louise created her own foundation, Headers for Hope, combining her passion for sports and her passion for helping those win their fight against cancer.

Waxler currently holds the position of Executive Director for McLean Youth Soccer in Virginia, serving in that capacity since 2012. Through her years of dedicated service to the game, she has been a recipient of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Women’s Committee Award of Excellence (2010) and the United Soccer Coaches Youth Long-Term Service Award (2017), named for her dear friend Charlotte Moran. In addition, she has been inducted into the Howard County Maryland Recreation and Parks Sports Hall of Fame (2011) and the Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame (2018).

A native of Pittsburgh, Waxler and her husband Rich now reside in Columbia, Md. They have two daughters, Jamie and Lindsay and four grandchildren: Reid, Ryder, Lola, and Huxley.