MANFRED KAPPER, Director of Coaching

Coach Kapper seeks to grow the Gotham Girls FC travel and developmental academy programs and provide the best coaching and playing opportunities for girls in the Tri-State area.

A native of Austria, Kapper has vast experience and success as a player and coach in Europe and the United States. He was a member of the Austrian national team from 1977-81, while also playing professionally for FC Admira Wacker. In the US, where he has worked and raised a family for the past decade, Kapper has earned a United States Soccer Federation "A" license, served as Head Coach of New York State Olympic Developmental Program teams and sits on the ODP regional staff. Kapper has enjoyed building both girls and boys travel and training programs in communities and colleges across Long Island, including Albertson Soccer Club, CW Post, and the Merrick Police Activity League, where his U10 girls were one of the top teams in the area. He has a special interest in helping youth players gain selection to ODP and placement on college teams across the country. Gotham Girls FC welcomes Kapper’s leadership, vision and enthusiasm and looks forward to thriving with him at the helm. 

From Manfred Kapper:  "---Fun is pivotal; if it’s not ’fun,’ young people will not play a sport. Skill development is a very important aspect of fun; it is more important than winning even among the best athletes. The most rewarding challenges of sports in general are those that lead to self-knowledge. Intri

nsic rewards (self-knowledge that grows out of self-consciousness) are more important in creating lifetime athletes than are extrinsic rewards (v

ictory or attention from others). Coaches are first and foremost role models and teachers. Good coaching is not about producing winning teams; it’s about asking every day before practice or a game: ’Is what we’re planning to do today in the best interest of the kids?’ The best lesson a coach can teach is that playing fairly makes everyone a winner."