Cairo-durham student creating opportunities
Esslie founded and runs day-to-day operations for developmental team at 17
At 17 years old, Hannah Esslie is the owner of a United Women’s Soccer team.
Esslie, a student at Cairo-durham High School, noticed other UWS teams coming to the area, like the Albany Rush, and wanted players in the Hudson Valley to have those opportunities too.
“I’ve always wanted to see soccer at a higher level, especially in my area where there aren’t a lot of opportunities,” Esslie said.
She approached her parents, who have always encouraged their children to come up with independent business ventures, according to father Mike Esslie.
“I thought it was a great idea,” he said.
The family decided it was feasible and by the end of January, Esslie was the owner of the Hudson Valley Crusaders, who are based in Saugerties.
UWS is a national league that covers the U.S. and Canada and aims to fill the gap in women’s soccer between the college and professional ranks. The Crusaders are in UWS League 2, which is a developmental pathway for players. Esslie hopes to launch a UWS first team in the future.
As the owner, Esslie is responsible
for things 17-year-olds don’t normally handle, like insurance applications.
“It’s certainly not easy,” she said. “A lot of new things I’ve never done before. … The field rentals, player registration, the social media, the website, preparations for the game.”
Last week, the team’s usual field was rained out on Friday, but the game Saturday couldn’t be canceled. Esslie sprang into action, finding a turf field, lining it up for the game and arranging for insurance.
“She’s been dealing with people that are twice or three times her age on many occasions,” Mike Esslie said. “She deals with the coaches, the reps, the league administrator, the regional coordinator.”
He added, “She’s taken over. I’m really glad to see her thriving with it.”
The start-up costs, including a fee to join the league, uniforms and field rentals, totaled about $9-10,000, Mike Esslie said. Some of that was offset by sponsors.
Esslie stressed that his daughter is the one who’s responsible for the team’s success.
“She’s running it,” he said. “She’s a full-on independent woman; she owns 100 percent of the company.”
For the team’s head coach, Hannah Esslie approached Curtis Smith because he had coached her previously. Smith was eager to come on board.
“I was excited because I always really respected Hannah as a player
and I thought it was really exciting what she was doing at such a young age,” Smith said. “I just think stepping into the soccer world at such a young age and being part of putting a team together ... she’s done a really good job.”
In the U.K., where Smith is from, the end of college is usually the start of one’s soccer career. Not so in the U.S., where there aren’t many opportunities, especially for women, after college.
“I thought it was a great idea to bring a next level of soccer to the Hudson Valley area,” he said.
The season started in June, as Esslie was wrapping up her junior year.
“It’s certainly a challenge, but I was able to make it work,” Esslie said. She puts in a few hours on the team every day, giving up free time and social opportunities to do so.
“My friends would go hang out and I would have work to do,” she said.
Esslie, who also plays on the team, said she’s enjoyed getting to see the other side of the sport. As a player, she takes games seriously. As an owner, “organizing games and things like that makes it seem a little less ... nerve-wracking.”
Smith said there hasn’t been any friction on the field, even though he’s also coaching the team’s owner. He and Esslie spoke before the season, he said, and she wanted to be treated like any other player.
The Crusaders are 0-4-0 in their first season, which ends Saturday. As soon as it’s over, Esslie will already be working to pull together sponsors for next season.