Before he coached Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach, before he won a league championship, before he commuted three hours for a coaching job in New Jersey, before he guided the Washington Spirit to the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs this season, Jim Gabarra was a Warthog.
It was 1993 and Gabarra’s wife, World Cup star Carin (Jennings) Gabarra, had just been hired as the Naval Academy’s first full-time women’s soccer coach. Jim’s long career as a pro indoor player was winding down, and after living with his in-laws while playing for Los Angeles United at the Forum, he joined Carin in Annapolis.