VANCOUVER, British Columbia — As a young girl in Colorado, April Heinrichs stuffed copies of Reader’s Digest into her socks as shin guards and slept in her cleats.
“Why not?” Heinrichs said.
She became a fierce, pioneering player and has assumed as many vital roles as a coach and futurist as anyone in women’s soccer in the United States. Her current job, as technical director for the American women’s national teams, is to find the next Mia Hamm or Abby Wambach and keep the United States in its customary spot among the best teams in the world.