Gabarra’s even married to a soccer coach. Carin Gabarra was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2000, and is the highly successful head coach of the women’s team at the Naval Academy.
So when the Gabarras and their three children gather around the dinner table of their Arnold home, what do they talk about? Do they sit around discussing corner kick strategy? The answer is: hardly.
"People would be surprised how little it really overlaps,’’ Jim Gabarra said about the couple’s professional lives. "We don’t talk much about soccer. We have the kids’ lives and other things going on.’’
Jim Gabarra has served as head coach of the Washington Freedom since 2000, leading the franchise to a WUSA championships in 2003. However, the Women’s United Soccer Association suspended operations that September. Since then, the club has competed in the USL W-League, a club system of amateur teams under the direction of Gabarra and one of his assistant coaches, Clyde Watson.
Last month, the formation of a new professional league, Women’s Professional Soccer, was announced. The WPS will begin play next April. Initial teams will be based in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis, and Washington.
Gabarra said he’s hopeful that a better business plan will enable the league to survive and prosper. He also senses an unprecedented level of grass-roots support in a growing soccer community, one that’s ready to invest in a new professional franchise for the long haul.
"This time the plan is completely different; it’s more realistic, with revised expectations and a lot more stricter costs,’’ Gabbara said.
According to Gabbara, the Freedom will share some infrastructure with D.C. United of the MLS, including some doubleheaders at RFK Stadium.
Even after the WUSA folded, Gabbara never stopped preparing for his next professional game. In addition to working to grow the game locally, he’s spent the last five years recruiting and scouting potential professional players.
Last month, the WPS announced it was allocating several players to the Freedom, including one of the premier players in the world, forward Abby Wambach. Once a draft pick of the WUSA version of the Freedom, Wambach will make a return to Washington. She is still rehabbing a broken leg that forced her to miss the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but is expected to be ready for the start of the season.
"Abby is a prototype kind of player that you want to start a franchise with,’’ Gabbara said. "On the field, she’s a player who will score big goals, important goals, and she’s not afraid to do the dirty work. Off the field, she’s one of the more marketable athletes the women’s game has right now.’’
In addition to Wambach, former Freedom W-League player Ali Kreeger, a Virginia native, and veteran defender Cat Whitehill were allocated to the Washington roster.
Born in Key West, Fla., Gabarra was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1986-89, and played for the U.S. Olympic team at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Gabarra played indoor and outdoor soccer professionally from 1982-94, and was the U.S. National Indoor Team captain from 1986-1996.
"The game has given me everything,’’ Gabarra said. "It gave me an awful lot as a player and now as a coach. To still be involved in the game is most rewarding. I’ve tried to give back as much as the sport has given me.’’
Carin Gabarra is in her 16th season as Navy’s head coach. As a collegiate player at UC-Santa Barbara, the former Carin Jennings was a four-time All-American, and her 102 goals and 60 assists made her the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer until 1993 when fellow Olympian Mia Hamm broke the record for North Carolina. She was a member of the 1996 Olympic gold-medal winning U.S. National Team.
Gabarra said her husband is a player’s coach who expects a lot of his players.
"He sees a lot from a player’s perspective,’’ Carin Gabarra said. "He was a player that worked as hard as he possibly could every time he stepped on the field. He wants a player who will train extremely hard and give everything they have and that’s the kind of players and the chemistry he wants on his team.
"He puts together a good squad of players and works them until he gets the best out of them.’’
Soccer has been a huge part of Jim Gabarra’s life, first as a player, and currently as coach of the Washington Freedom of the new Women’s Professional Soccer league.
