NJ Youth Soccer and Women and Girls in Soccer (WAGS) recently hosted the in-person week for an All-Female National C License Course, which consisted of two full days and two half-days of small group activities and individual field work. Coach candidates from 11 different states across the country are participating in this year’s course.
This National C License Course continues a strong collaboration between NJ Youth Soccer and WAGS in our goal to increase female participation in soccer throughout the State of New Jersey and beyond. The partnership further strengthens the impact of the NJYS Growing the Girls Game (G3) Initiative, which focuses on empowering females both on and off the field, and at all ages and stages of the soccer experience.
See below to learn more about the coach candidates who are participating in this All-Female C Course!
Click the coach candidate name below to read their bio:
Additional Coach Candidates:
- Leslie Adams
- Kim Baker
- Mary Casson
- Kristi Cordier
- Tara Heatley
- Christi Johnson
- Lisa Joyce
- Beth Lebel
- Lindsey Lee
- Marisol Martinez
- Christine Moorehead
- Rachel Stahl
- Sarah Stilwell
- Allison Tucker
Brianne Casey is an assistant coach at the University at Buffalo, a Division 1 program in the Mid-American Conference. She contributed to the team’s 2022 MAC Regular Season Championship, MAC Tournament Championship and NCAA tournament appearance. In addition to directing UB Summer Soccer Camps, she has coached with the Western New York Flash youth club for five years and is currently the head coach of the 2010 Girls ECNL RL Team.
Prior to working at UB, Casey was an assistant coach at Division 2 school Southern Connecticut State University from 2017 to 2019. She also coached club soccer at Connecticut Football Club and was a staff coach with Connecticut ODP, also serving as Operations Director for Star Goalkeeper Academy Summer Camps.
A Connecticut native, Casey played collegiately and earned a Bachelor’s Degree at Central Connecticut State University. While at Central, she helped win a Northeast Conference Championship in 2014 and made an NCAA tournament appearance. She then earned a Master’s Degree from Southern Connecticut State University in 2019. Casey currently resides in Buffalo, NY.
Victoria Colotti entered her sixth year as a member of the Buffalo State Women’s Soccer coaching staff in 2023. After concluding her four-year playing career at Buffalo State, Colotti joined the women’s soccer staff as a volunteer assistant in 2018. Following a successful first season as a volunteer, she was officially named Assistant Women’s Soccer coach in Spring 2019, a position she has held since.
During her playing career, the midfielder was a four-time All-SUNYAC selection, finishing her career with 15 goals and 32 points in 76 career games. She was an integral member of the Bengals’ SUNYAC Championship in 2016 and is the only player in school history to score a goal in the NCAA Tournament.
Colotti competes in the United Women’s Soccer (UWS) league as a player and assistant coach for FC Berlin. A native of New Windsor, New York, Colotti holds multiple Bachelor’s Degrees from Buffalo State, completing her undergraduate studies in Computer Information Systems and Health and Wellness in 2018. Colotti also holds a Master’s Degree in Sport Management from SUNY Cortland in 2022.
Active in the Buffalo youth soccer community, Colotti coaches U15G and U17G teams for Kenmore Soccer Club. She currently resides in Buffalo with her fiancée, Julie, and their two dogs, Moose and Scout.
Kerry Deckert has spent a lifetime advocating for women and girls who want to play the beautiful game. While in high school, she petitioned the school board at High Point Regional High School to start a girls soccer program. She then went on to play a year at Virginia Tech on their newly formed women’s soccer team before transferring to Northern Arizona to play for the Lumberjacks.
Deckert received her first New Jersey F Coaching License back in 1993 and has been coaching and refereeing ever since. She currently serves on the board at Kittatinny Soccer Club in Sussex County, New Jersey. She is also a coach for PDA-SCP based out of Sparta, New Jersey, currently coaching their U10 and U11 girls while assisting with their U14 and U16 girls teams as well.
Deckert is married with four children and lives in beautiful Sandyston Township, New Jersey. In addition to her commitments in soccer, she is also a physical education and health teacher for her local elementary school.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from other women in the game. I feel that women bring a unique and important perspective on a male dominated profession. I love that we are finally beginning to have a seat at the table. I’m so grateful that WAGS and NJ Youth Soccer are supporting the Growth of the Girls Game. I wouldn’t be half the person I am today without the years I’ve spent on the soccer field. I love seeing the next generation of girls and women with so many incredible opportunities in their sports.”
Kay Erickson was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, and she grew up playing club soccer and high school soccer in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. She helped the Vestavia Hills High School Girls Soccer Team win their first state championship and was a three-year captain of the team. She went on to play college soccer at The University of Southern Mississippi (2005), where she was a four-year starter and named a C-USA All-Conference player. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Communication.
After college, Erickson first continued her playing career in Vancouver, Canada, and then with the San Diego Sealions in the WPSL. She also began her coaching career in San Diego, where she coached several U12-U19 club soccer teams in Carlsbad, California. She also served as a high school varsity girls head coach at Tri-City Christian School (Vista, CA) and an assistant coach at Santa Fe Christian School (Solana Beach, CA).
In 2006, Erickson helped start an international nonprofit that used soccer to help teach women and children around the world leadership and life skills. Through the foundation, she had the opportunity to travel to Northern Ireland, Thailand, Myanmar, Paraguay, Brazil and Nicaragua. These trips afforded her the experience of connecting with and playing against the national teams of most of these countries. Although the nonprofit no longer exists today, she remains passionate about teaching and developing female leaders through the game of soccer.
In addition to her soccer experiences, Erickson was a military spouse. Before her husband finished his active-duty commitment with the Air Force, they lived in Japan while he was stationed there, and she taught English classes for three years. She has also served in several board leadership roles for the Officer Spouses’ Club and as a Key Spouse during their time with the military.
Erickson has coached the last two years with Vestavia Hills Soccer Club at the U9-U11 age groups. She completed her USSF D License in 2023 and is currently working on her USSF C License. She is also a Certified Personal Trainer through the American Council on Exercise and holds a Master’s Degree in Non-Profit Leadership and Management from the University of San Diego (2010).
Erickson currently lives in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, with her husband, Brad, and their two daughters, along with an Australian Shepherd, Annie.
“This is my second All-Female Course. I also completed an All-Female D Course. I really appreciate the opportunity to participate in an All-Female Course. Having grown up playing and coaching in the male-dominated soccer world, it is refreshing and encouraging to collaborate, connect, and learn from women leaders and coaches in the game. It has helped me to build camaraderie with other female coaches, and it has motivated me to stay in the game being able to connect with other females around the country. It has also been valuable as a mom. It’s not an easy schedule to be a mom and a coach. It has been helpful to connect and share best practices with other women and moms who are coaches. The sponsored course is important because it’s truly keeping me in the game and growing as a person, leader, coach, and mom. Without the opportunity, I’m not sure I could have done this. It’s an amazing resource to develop women coaches, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be a candidate in a sponsored All-Female C Course!”
Kelly Frasca began playing soccer in her hometown of Voorhees, New Jersey, where she still lives with her husband and three children. She was a four-year varsity soccer player at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in Pennsauken, New Jersey, and was a member of the school’s first girls soccer state championship team in 2002. She then went on to play in college, starting her freshman year at Philadelphia University (now Jefferson University) before transferring and playing at La Salle University in Philadelphia. She graduated in 2008 with an Elementary/Special Education Degree, and she received her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership Management and Policy in 2012 at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.
After graduating from La Salle University, Frasca found her love of teaching and coaching. She worked as a middle school special education teacher for eight years and coached the girls’ soccer team before taking time off to raise her children. Her coaching career has spanned over 18 years. During this time, she has coached and trained for multiple clubs in the South Jersey area. She continues to play in a summer adult women’s league, and she is currently helping train a U13 girls’ team for the Voorhees Soccer Association (VSA).
Frasca says she is excited to be back coaching and training youth soccer as she feels this is where the love of the game begins and grows. She has dedicated the majority of her life to soccer, and she loves seeing the excitement and drive in young players as they learn the game.
“The WAGS All-Female C-License Course caught my attention at just the right time. I was at a crossroads in my coaching career, and the all-female course seemed to be pulling me in. I am so glad it did as I am enjoying getting to know other female coaches from across the country and hearing their experiences and philosophy on the game of soccer.”
Tracie Nall currently resides in Waldorf, Maryland, with her supportive husband and three children. Before relocating to Northern Virginia, she spent her childhood in Midlothian, Virginia. Her transition to Northern Virginia was marked by her love for track and soccer, which she pursued at McLean High School. Her passion for the sport continued through her college years at Hollins University and James Madison University, where she played soccer. Post-college, she explored coaching U12 and U16 soccer in Herndon, Virginia, and joined the Washington Area Women’s Soccer League (WAWSL) along with various Northern Virginia and co-ed leagues to further develop her skills.
Since childhood, Nall has been instilled with values of commitment, responsibility, and respect by her parents. Her mother’s mantra of “nothing ventured, nothing gained” continues to guide her daily life, both on and off the field.
A memorable moment for Nall as a parent was when her daughter expressed interest in playing soccer. Eager to support her daughter’s passion, she exposed her to the game, and three seasons later, her daughter continues to follow in her footsteps.
Nall remains dedicated and passionate to soccer, currently serving as a coach for the Southern Maryland Youth Organization and FC Charles 1658, where she mentors and develops many young female players.
“From the very first call, I knew I belonged in this course. It’s so inspiring to be surrounded by so many great coaches and women who are invested in not only their success, but the success of all candidates in the course. I feel heard and seen by the instructions and valued as a coach, no matter what I bring to the table. It’s a very safe environment where I feel free to ask questions and feel supported by instructors and other coaches. My “why” is to support young female athletes in their soccer journey. My soccer journey included all male coaches who were inspiring, but I could not relate to them as a woman. I am amazed and blessed to be amongst females who love the sport and want to coach. I am hopeful that WAGS will be an option for my daughter if she chooses to pursue coaching as well.”
Brittney Packard is a D License coach who is coaching high school JV girls soccer in Alexandria, Virginia. She established a love for the game early in her childhood when her mother helped establish the first all-girls soccer club, Carolina Girls Soccer Club, located in Charleston, South Carolina.
Packard took her passion to the next level, by competing for the South Carolina State ODP team, then onto college at The Citadel, Military College of South Carolina where she played on its first women’s Division 1 soccer team. She played the outside half position and led the team in assists all four years. As a cadet-athlete, she was the second highest-ranked female and the 37th woman to graduate from The Citadel in 2005.
Packard is a military spouse who works full-time at Capital One as a data engineer and has two children. Her husband is stationed at the Pentagon, and they live in the Fort Hunt area of Alexandria, Virginia.
Haleigh Svede is a DIII women’s soccer assistant coach, a youth soccer coach, and an advocate and supporter for girls and women in sports.
She recently joined the Stevens Institute of Technology Women’s Soccer Staff after a two-year stint at Seton Hall University as the Director of Women’s Soccer Operations. Before Seton Hall, Svede was on the coaching staff at Felician University.
Svede was named to the United Soccer Coaches’ 30 Under 30 Class of 2021-22. She has spent time coaching at Manhattan Soccer Club, STA, and New York Girls ODP, and she is currently on the Cedar Stars Bergen coaching staff. Svede spends her summers as a master coach at Berkshire Soccer Academy in Otis, Massachusetts.
As a player, Svede was a four-year member of the Mercer University DI Women’s Soccer Program, appeared in over 3,500 minutes for the Bears across 63 games.
Svede currently resides in Jersey City with her fiancé, turtle and two cats. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media Studies from Mercer University in 2017. Her love for soccer blossomed on the fields in Orangeburg, New York, while playing for World Class FC. She expresses an immense amount of gratitude towards her parents, Joe and Regina, her two sisters, Lizzie and Nicki, and fiancé Casey for the never-ending support throughout her playing and coaching journey.
Kaylyn Toyama is in her fourth season as assistant coach for Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She brings over nine years of coaching experience to her role, including club and high school, where she won a conference championship in 2023. At ART U, she acts as the program’s recruiting coordinator, assisting with team travel and player development. She cares deeply about the health and well-being of students and ensures they reach their athletic goals on the field. She enjoys fostering a supportive environment so players can see their full potential and inspire them to work hard toward their goals.
While Toyama has been at Academy of Art, 61 Urban Knights have been named to the Academic All-PacWest Team. She has also coached at Peninsula Youth Soccer Club, where she serves as a college recruitment advisor and head coach for multiple premier teams.
Prior to becoming a coach, Toyama played at San Francisco State and Cosumnes River College. After graduating from SF State in 2015 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Information Systems, she played in the WPSL for Tottenham Hotspurs.
“So far, I’ve enjoyed the All-Female C Course. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from knowledgeable colleagues from all backgrounds. Getting to meet new people out of my immediate environment and getting to see their different coaching perspectives has been a unique experience that I probably would not have gotten without WAGS sponsoring this course. I look forward to continuing to build connections through this course and pursing my coaching education.”
