Aug. 22, 2003
Notre Dame women’s soccer coach Randy Waldrum has completed his 2003 coaching staff with the addition of former Baylor All-American and current WUSA goalkeeper Dawn Greathouse as an assistant coach and his son Ben Waldrum as a volunteer assistant.
Greathouse – a Texas native who played for Waldrum at Baylor in 1997 and ’98 (before he left for Notre Dame) – will provide valuable insight and instruction while working on a daily basis with Irish goalkeepers Erika Bohn and Nikki Westfall.
“Dawn is one of the best goalkeepers I’ve ever coached and her skills and knowledge are further legitimized by the fact that she has played in the WUSA,” said Waldrum.
“She brings a great level of experience but also knows what the expectations are on the pro level. Dawn can expose our players to what the inner workings of elite-level soccer are all about and that supports what our staff as a whole is trying to teach the players.”
Greathouse was the Washington Freedom’s second-round pick (15th overall) in the Women’s United Soccer Association’s 2001 supplemental draft, spending ’01 and part of the ’02 with the Freedom before playing with the San Jose CyberRays for the remainder of ’02. She also played for San Jose in ’03 and has made eight career starts in the WUSA while serving as the backup for U.S. National Teamers Siri Mullinix (Washington) and former Notre Dame star LaKeysia Beene (San Jose).
She logged 7,121 minutes (sixth in NCAA history) during her Baylor career while posting a 1.20 goals-against average, 384 saves, a .802 save percentage and 28 shutouts in 80 career games. A three-time all-Big 12 Conference performer, Greathouse posted a 1.38 GAA and 831 save pct. as a senior – with her honors including first team all-Big 12, NSCAA second team all-Central Region and Big 12 first team all-academic, following a junior season that included second team all-Big 12 honors (1.13 GAA) and another mention on the academic all-Big 12 team.
Her top season came as a sophomore in 1998, earning NSCAA second team All-America honors after ranking 12th in the nation with an 0.69 GAA. Greathouse started the first 18 games of ’98 while helping win Baylor’s first Big-12 title in any sport – before an ACL knee injury sidelined her for the postseason (including a second straight trip to the NCAAs). She also earned first team all-region, first team all-Big 12, first team Big 12 all-academic and Academic All-District VI honors during 1998.
Greathouse joined Waldrum’s Baylor program in ’97, stepping into the starting role (21) while posting a 1.18 GAA. She went on train with the U.S. Under-20 National Team in the summer of 1998.
“I always had been interested in coaching while still playing in the WUSA and this was a tremendous opportunity at this stage in my life,” said Greathouse. “When you combine the great tradition and talent level of the Notre Dame soccer program with having the chance to work with a coach like Randy Waldrum – it just was a great situation for me and I’m very excited to be a part of this program.”
An NSCAA and Parade All-American at Allen (Texas) High School, Greathouse helped the Texas Longhorns club team finish second at the national tournament and trained with the U.S. under-16 and u-17 national teams, the Region III Olympic Development Program and North Texas ODP. She was named the Dallas Morning News player of the year as a senior and was district MVP honors as a junior.
Born Feb. 10, 1979, in Rochester, NY., Greathouse graduated from Baylor in 2001 with a bachelor of science degree in health fitness.
The younger Waldrum played professionally in 2002-03 with the A League’s El Paso Patriots and the Dallas Sidekicks of the Major Indoor Soccer League. The 22-year-old also has played and trained with professional clubs in Europe, Brazil and Mexico, in addition to playing at West Texas A&M University in 1999 and 2000.
“Ben has some widespread experiences in various international and professional leagues and that will provide our staff with a unique perspective in a number of areas,” said the elder Waldrum. “He will be coordinating our daily on-field fitness training and in general will be a valuable resource for the players and the other members of the coaching staff.”
Ben Waldrum brings his widespread experiences in international and professional soccer to his father’s staff at Notre Dame, as a volunteer assistant coach.
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An all-state performer as a senior midfielder at Midway High School (in Hewitt, Texas), Waldrum totaled 39 goals and 21 assists in three all-district seasons. He made two trips to Germany during his prep career, training with the West Texas A&M varsity at Sports School Wedeu, under the direction of coach Fritz Bischoff (in ’97), before training in 1998 with the K.F.C. Uerdingen 05 second-division Bundesliga squad.
He then played two seasons at West Texas A&M, helping the 2000 team finish sixth in the national polls. The summer of 1999 saw Waldrum return to Europe for training in Denmark with the Superliga team FC Copenhagen, under coaches Kim Brink and Flemming Pederson. He also trained with FC Copenhagen in the summer of 2000, turning down a contract offer in order to return to West Texas A&M. Waldrum opened the summer of 2000 training in Pocos de Caldos, Brazil, at the Elzo Futbol Academy under noteworthy coach Elzo – with that two-month stint highlighted by a game in which he played versus the Brazilian Under-18 National Team.
His professional training continued during the summer of ’01, as an under-contract player with FC Copenhagen before returning four months later in June to rejoin Pederson with FC Copenhagen and then following him to Helsignor of the Denmark Serian League. Waldrum scored four goals with Helsignor as a left winger/left back, ultimately returning to the U.S. after the 9/11 crisis.
Waldrum’s 2001 stints in Denmark were split by a one-month June trial in Mexico City with the first-division Unam Pumas (he declined a contract offer in order to return to FC Copenhagen/Helsignor). He then competed four months later in Mexico City at another one-month trial, with first-division Atlante.
His youth-soccer experience included playing with the Fort Worth United ’81 squad that was a state cup semifinalist while helping lead the Hurricane Football Club 81s (based in Tulsa, Okla.) to four state cup titles and three appearances at the international Dallas Cup. He was a three-year member of the North Texas Olympic Development Program, including a spot in the 1997 regional camp.