Laura Harvey extends contract with OL Reign through 2025
The winningest coach in the league stays in Seattle.
On the heels of a comeback draw against Racing Louisville on July 1, OL Reign announced that head coach Laura Harvey has extended her contract and will remain with the club through 2025.
“This club has been a big part of my life and means so much to me,” said Harvey in a team release. “I’ve had the privilege of experiencing firsthand the growth we’ve worked hard for as a club and the influence we’ve had in this league, in our community and in the sport. The culture, the players, and the loyal supporters make this club what it is today and I’m beyond grateful to be back for more. All aboard the Reign train!”
Harvey became the first coach in NWSL history to coach 200 regular season games and holds the league record for wins in the regular season (94). Her most recent win on the road in San Diego set the league record for most road wins by a head coach (36). She also has the most Coach of the Year selections in the league — winning the award in 2014, 2015, and again in 2021.
Under her leadership, in arguably the most competitive league from top to bottom, the Reign have also won three NWSL Shields, tied for most in the league.
“Laura is the most successful coach in league history and has accomplished so much for our club over the last decade,” said OL Reign CEO Vincent Berthillot. “Beyond her on-field achievements, she has built strong and trustworthy relationships with our players, giving them the ability to play with confidence while being themselves. We’re thrilled for Laura to accept this opportunity and continue to bring success here at OL Reign.”
Harvey, the Reign’s first head coach back in 2013, set the tone for the Reign’s inclusive culture from day one. Talk to virtually any player in the league who has been coached by Harvey, and they’ll tell you that Harvey’s best qualities are her football mind and her ability to treat players as people first and foremost.
She’s a big reason Lauren Barnes and Megan Rapinoe chose to re-sign with OL Reign when they became free agents this off-season. The fact that Harvey is extending her contract with the Reign at an uncertain time — when the club is up for sale — should say a lot about her faith and commitment to this club and region.
“Laura Harvey is synonymous with this club. I have had the privilege of watching her evolve as a coach during her time in the U.S. and I can tell you she is one of the best tacticians and managers of people in all of women’s football,” OL Reign general manager Lesle Gallimore said.
After five successful years with the Reign, Harvey departed the club in 2017 for what was rumored to be a job with U.S. Soccer. When that opportunity allegedly fell through at the last minute, she returned to the league as head coach of the Utah Royals, where she stayed for two seasons. Harvey then signed with U.S. Soccer as the Under-20 Women’s National Team head coach in January 2020 and led the U-20s through a seven-game unbeaten run to win the 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship.
While serving as an assistant coach during the 2020 Olympic Games, she got called back to the Reign. Harvey officially returned to OL Reign in August 2021 when the Olympics concluded, helping turn the season around — along with assistant coach Sam Laity — to earn a spot in the playoffs. One year later, the Reign closed out the 2022 regular season on a seven-game unbeaten streak and finished the season with a league-best 40 points. The Reign didn’t give up a set-piece goal and didn’t give up a single goal after the 75th minute all season long.
As the NWSL has only gotten more competitive, Harvey has shown a lot of growth as a coach in her second stint with OL Reign. Where she might have been criticized for always trying to play the same way back in 2016, even when things weren’t working, Harvey now is a coach who still has a very clear playing style but adjusts little things each match based on the opponent. That requires significant buy-in from your players, which Harvey clearly has.
“Obviously, throughout my career, I think I’ve done things that worked or I probably wouldn’t be sitting on this call now, but I think there are things that I wanted to get better at,” Harvey said on a press call to re-introduce herself as the Reign head coach in 2021. “I’ve invested time and effort to make sure that I am a different coach than I was when I left Utah. And I’m a different coach than I definitely was when I left the Reign.”
It was a point Harvey reiterated in the OL Reign press release announcing her return.
“I’m a different coach than I was when I left, for the better. I have spent a lot of time investing in myself to be better and everyone is going to see the best version of me.”
Harvey, originally from Bulkington — a village in Warwickshire, England — attended George Eliot School in Nuneaton and played soccer for Coventry City. She began her coaching career after tearing her ACL while playing for Birmingham City at 22 years old.
She took over as Arsenal’s head coach midway through the 2009-10 season and followed that up with a domestic treble in 2011, winning the inaugural FA WSL title, FA Cup and Continental Cup that year. In her last season there, Arsenal went undefeated (10-0-4) and finished with 34 points in 14 matches.