News

Frisco, Texas (Aug. 13, 2024) – US Youth Soccer, the largest youth sport organization in the country, today announced its Board of Directors for 2024-25 following elections at its Annual General Meeting.

Atop the new leadership team is Tina Rincon, who was elected chair in a vote of USYS’ 54 State Association and affiliate members and board of directors. She follows Todd Lockhart, who served as chair since January after nearly four years as vice chair.

“As someone who has been involved with US Youth Soccer for more than 30 years, as a player, coach, soccer mom, and board member, I am deeply honored to be elected as chair of our board to lead USYS to get more kids on the pitch and give them lasting memories,” said Rincon.  “I am looking forward to working with the State Associations, USYS staff, my board and U.S. Soccer to grow the game and serve our 2.5 million players and leverage the excitement that the 2026 World Cup and other events will generate for soccer across our country.”

Rincon vacates the treasurer role, a position she held from 2022 until the election. The board is expected to appoint an interim treasurer this fall, who will serve until 2025 board elections.

Rincon, a Dallas-area CPA, began playing in the USYS system at age 8 before moving on to a standout career as a student-athlete at Texas Tech University. During the last four years, in addition to her time as treasurer, Rincon has sat on the DEI and Appeals committees. She currently plays on an adult women’s team and coaches her son’s USYS team — part of Richardson Soccer Association and North Texas State Soccer Association, and is an assistant coach at a Dallas-area high school.  

Dr. Bill Taylor is the incoming vice chair. Dr. Taylor, who served in the same role on the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors until this past spring, has coached competitive soccer for more than 20 years, while claiming 14 Idaho state championships with club teams, as well as a high school state championship (2018 6A Championship, Rocky Mountain High School Varsity Boys). Dr. Taylor’s soccer resume also includes a lengthy stint as the president of Idaho Youth Soccer (2009-2020) and assisting in developing two current US Deaf National Team players. Additionally, he holds USSF A and National Goalkeepers coaching licenses.

Since 2004, Dr. Taylor has been a full partner in private practice in Boise, Idaho.  He is a graduate of New York Medical College and completed Residency and Fellowship at Duke University in Neuroradiology.

Jeff Sommer was elected secretary. He became president of the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association in 2019 having previously served for many years as vice president, secretary and district commissioner. Sommer was selected as EPYSA’s Travel Coach of the Year and was a USSF referee for 25 years. Jeff also served as his club Southern Chester County Soccer as a coach in their intramural, travel and top soccer programs as well as registrar and Club President. 

Sommer is a senior judge on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Court of Common Pleas and previously was a trial judge serving the 15^th Judicial District – Chester County. He was first elected a judge in 2013.

David “DK” Kaweski-Mukooza joins as an independent director. He began playing as a youth on the U.S. east coast before selection onto various USYS ODP national teams, and then moving on to start every game as a soccer student-athlete at Wake Forest University. Beyond soccer fields, Kaweski-Mukooza’s accomplishments include 24 years as an active-duty Naval intelligence officer with nine combat deployments. He is currently a director with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy Information Warfare and Enterprise in Washington D.C. and is pursuing an MBA at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

“On behalf of the entire US Youth Soccer staff – here at our Frisco headquarters and throughout the nation, we congratulate Tina, Bill, Jeff, and DK,” said USYS CEO Skip Gilbert. “They assume a critical role as we wind down our 50^th anniversary year and begin focusing on the 2026 World Cup returning to U.S. soil. We have every expectation that USYS will maximize opportunities ahead and further deliver on our vision to bring communities together through the power of soccer making lifelong fans of the game.”

Three board members retained their posts. Danielle Valente, USYS’ first-ever athlete member on the board since 2022, won reelection. Dan Popp was reelected as the West Region representative, a role he has held since 2020. Jim McCarthy was reelected as the Midwest Region representative, retaining a seat he first won in 2022.

The board is advisory, and each member is elected to two-year terms. Below is the full 2024-25 USYS Board of Directors along with each’s respective tenure. Newcomers and those in new roles are in bold.

• Tina Rincon, Chair (First elected treasurer in 2022)
• Todd Lockhart, Past Chair (2021)
• Bill Taylor, Vice Chair
• Jeff Sommer, Secretary
• (Vacant), Treasurer
• Jim Kuntz, East Region Representative (2019)
• Jim McCarthy, Midwest Region Representative (2022)
• Dale T. Burke, South Region Representative (2021)
• Dan Popp, West Region Representative (2020)
• Louis Mateus, Member-at-Large (2021)
• Sarah Jennings, Independent Director (2021)
• David Kawesi-Mukooza, Independent Director
• Danielle Valente, Athlete Member (2022)

Rincon becomes the third female to lead the USYS Board of Directors, following Marty Mankamyer and Mavis L. Derflinger.

US Youth Soccer Past Presidents/Chairs

• Don Greer (1974-1985)                  
• Marty Mankamyer (1985-1986)                 
• Mavis L. Derflinger (1986-1990)                     
• Dr. S. Robert Contiguglia (1990-1996)                    
• Virgil Lewis (1996-2000)                   
• David Messersmith (2000-2006)                  
• Larry Monaco (2006-2010)                   
• John Sutter (2010-2016)                 
• Jesse Harrell (2016-2018)              
• Dr. Pete Zopfi (2018-2024)             
• Todd Lockhart (2024-2024)      

(Note: Originally, the leader of the USYS Board of Directors was the president before being retitled chair.)

About US Youth Soccer

US Youth Soccer, the largest youth sport organization in the country, is on a mission to provide world-class support, resources, and leadership, helping every member fulfill their goals on and off the field of play. US Youth Soccer registers nearly 2.5 million players annually. Through its programming, resources and leadership, US Youth Soccer is advancing the game for its 54 Member State Associations, 10,000 clubs and leagues and one million administrators, coaches, and volunteers. US Youth Soccer connects families and communities to the power of sports and its shared love of soccer. US Youth Soccer provides a path for every player, coach and referee offering programs that provide a fun, safe and healthy environment at every level of the game.

–USYS–