The Orlando Pride are a Destination Club

Change may be a constant, but that doesn’t mean the change is always for the good. Several years ago, players were looking to leave the Orlando Pride at an uncomfortable rate. Now, the club has changed into an organization that players want to be a part of. The transformation from toxic to the top of the table only took two years. Let’s take a look at the why and the how.

The Wilf family purchased Orlando City and the Orlando Pride in July of 2021. Right from the start, the new owners spoke about making the Pride a success in the NWSL. A few months later, Amanda Cromwell was announced as the new head coach for the women’s side. At the time, it was a big hire that was largely praised given Cromwell’s experience. There was one little positive detail that ended up being anything but little in the long run — Seb Hines was the only coach retained from the previous staff.

I’m not going to get into the entire saga surrounding Cromwell, other than to say that it certainly had a lot to do with various players wanting to leave the club and with other players not wanting to come to play in Orlando. That was a problem. Into that morass stepped Hines. He was given the interim coach position and made the most of it. The change in the locker room was practically instantaneous, as were the results on the pitch. Of course, it wasn’t sustainable to end the 2022 season, but he did enough to get the permanent gig in November 2021. We also saw the departure of former Pride general manager Ian Fleming.

Then, in January of 2023, the Pride hired Haley Carter as vice president of soccer operations and general manager. Hines had won the locker room, and now it was time for Carter to complete the turnaround. The two went to work cultivating a club culture that players want to be a part of as the team improves on and off the field. That also means not bringing in some players that don’t fit either positionally or from a chemistry standpoint.

It’s never easy when a new general manager is brought on after a head coach, but that is exactly what happened with Carter and Hines. The two forged a good working relationship that saw the Pride barely miss out on the playoffs last season when many picked them to finish at or near the bottom of the standings. Following the exciting but unexpected undefeated run through the entirety of 2024 to date, the Pride gave Hines a new, well-deserved contract.

Hines has his players completely bought into what he and Carter are building with the club. This is a team with players who not only hold each other accountable, but celebrate the victories — be they collective or individual — and pick each other up when things are tough. That attitude comes straight from the top.

The loss of Grace Chanda down the final stretch of the season is frustrating and disappointing. That frustration and disappointment is evident in Carter’s post. This is the tweet of a person who is invested in the well-being of her players on every level. Don’t think for an instant that players outside the Pride aren’t paying attention. They see the level of commitment from Carter, Hines, and every other coach and the players within the organization. They see something like that and very often want to be a part of it.

No matter how the remainder of the Pride’s season goes, Hines and Carter have built something special in Orlando. I’m certain that both would say the build isn’t done, and perhaps that the build is never done. That doesn’t mean we can’t take a moment to appreciate the progress of the Pride from pariah to powerhouse in such a short time frame. I’m excited about where the Pride will go from here, and I think you should be as well.