Photo By Lance Cpl. Anya Poteet | Haley Carter, former Marine and current sporting director, and vice president of...... read more read more
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CHICAGO – Haley Carter stood at the podium 30 minutes before she was set to speak at the Coaches of Women’s Soccer Breakfast during the United Soccer Coaches Convention. Working on just a few hours of sleep, something the Marine had become accustomed to through her time in the Corps, she carefully thought through every meticulous detail of the morning’s event. Her message, unproportionate to the size of the small stage, resounded largely with each person in the room. These words were made important in representing not only Haley Carter, but also all that has shaped her.
Carter, a Friendswood, Texas native, served eight years as an active-duty Marine Corps logistics officer with multiple combat deployments during Operation Iraqi Freedom. She also played as the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. All-Armed Forces Women’s Soccer team and took part in multiple competitions, including Conseil International du Sport Militaire, Women’s Military World Soccer Championships in Ede, Netherlands and Cherbourg, France as well as against the 7th and 12th Iraqi Army Division Men’s Soccer teams between the years of 2007 and 2009.
“Every experience that I had as a young adult and transitioning into my current role has shaped who I am as a leader,” said Carter, the sporting director and vice president of soccer operations for Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League, following her keynote address on January 11, 2025. “Accountability, humility, teamwork, and resilience are values that I think resound pretty consistently across both the Marine Corps and athletics.”
Carter has taken an unconventional route to the top of the sport. She was the starting goalkeeper for the Friendswood High School soccer team. After graduating in 2002, she attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where she played soccer for four years. Following graduation, she was commissioned as a Marine.
“She has done so much. She served her country both in and out of uniform and continues to serve,” said Greg Gilliam, National Partnerships Program and Community Engagement Officer with Marine Corps Recruiting Command. “Her example is something others should seek to emulate.”
After the Marine Corps, Carter played for the Houston Dash in the National Women’s Soccer League as a reserve goalkeeper. While in Houston, she gained her coaching experience through assistant coaching at both Huston-Tillotson University and Sam Houston State University.
Carter continues the teachings and values instilled in her by the Marine Corps. Her global impact began in 2016 when the Marine found herself coaching the Afghanistan Women’s National Football Team.
“We made it our mission to empower those women,” Carter stated in a 2021 CNN Sport article. “We wanted to create a football team that could compete at the international level. But we all knew that this effort was something much, much bigger than football. We gave them the opportunity to use sport to get out of the house, to get an education.”
Following her time with the Afghanistan Women’s National Football Team, Carter was appointed chair of the United Soccer Coaches-Women Coaches Community in 2019. This eventually would lead to her current position and reconnection with the Marine Corps.
When speaking about the Marine Corps’ partnership with the United Soccer Coaches, Carter praised the Marine Corps’ perspective on leading and problem-solving to connect with coaches around the country.
“The Marine Corps helps educate young people on mental toughness and resilience, things I learned in the Marine Corps that I believe translate well into sports,” said Carter. “The Marine Corps’ partnership with coaches is a win-win.”
Through these partnerships, the Marine Corps intends to strengthen relationships with coaches and highlight the Corps’ purpose, values, and service opportunities.
| Date Taken: | 01.24.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.24.2025 13:24 |
| Story ID: | 489624 |
| Location: | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 110 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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