‘There’s no ceiling’: First-ever Dash GM Alex Singer on her vision for Houston

It’s another new dawn for the Houston Dash. This time, the ground being broken is the hiring of Alex Singer as the NWSL club’s first-ever dedicated general manager. Since the team's inception in 2014, the role had been absorbed by head coaches and sometimes divided up amongst assistants.

Confident and calm, Singer arrives in Houston determined to take a club that is already embarking on the best-ever season in its history to even greater heights. 

“I truly believe that there's no ceiling here,” Singer told the media on Tuesday afternoon. “Playoffs are just the start, I think we have very big goals for not only this season but for next season and for seasons to come. 

“I'm going to be working really closely with Jessica [O’Neill] with Juan [Carlos Amoros] and the rest of the staff to try and bring more world-class talent to Houston and to really show what a destination Houston is to get more world-class players here.” 

The addition of Singer, and revamping of the general manager position overall, is just the latest move by owner Ted Segal. After acquiring the Dash in June 2021, Segal has shown an unwavering commitment to revolutionizing the operations of the NWSL arm of Houston professional soccer. With significant intentional investment on and off the pitch, the Dash are finally getting what they deserve in terms of running a top-tier soccer club.

A 'dream come true'

In February 2022, Segal appointed Jessica O’Neill as the first-ever club president of the Dash. This seismic move in the Houston front office was followed by the club amassing its largest home attendance since 2015, a crowd of 7,722 attending the team's home opener in May 2022, and then breaking its record transfer fee in June 2022 to acquire forward Ebony Salmon for $175,000. 

The importance of what this moment for the club means is not lost on Singer, who described becoming the first general manager in Dash history as both a “dream come true” and an “honor.” 

Singer has spent the past five years at Octagon, a leading global agency in sports, entertainment, and culture. Prior to working in the sports executive world, Singer had a vast soccer career that saw her play in both the NWSL and the WPS American leagues, as well as the UEFA Champions League, Germany’s Frauen Bundesliga Australia’s W-League, Sweden’s Damllasvenskan and Norway’s Toppserien. 

O’Neill revealed on Tuesday that Octagon was in the process of putting more resources behind Singer and growing the agency around her when the Dash approached her. 

“Ultimately we said we really want her to be a part of this," O’Neill beamed on Tuesday. "And she chose us, she chose Houston, she chose the Dash, and we are absolutely going to be better for it. I have no doubt she'll be a difference maker." 

Today the NWSL is a very different place from when Singer left in 2015. The league's first-ever collective bargaining agreement came into effect in April, and with two more teams expected to join the league in 2024, expansion is flourishing. Singer admitted that the position and timing of the hire were too good to turn down.

"I live and breathe this game," said Singer. "I think I always saw myself back with the NWSL and left at a point when things were very different. So it's really refreshing to come back at this time with this club that has the vision that Jessica just laid out."

Communication and trust 

Singer explained that her running of the Houston front office intends to be shaped by her experiences in soccer. That means utilizing her expertise in understandings the global business of women's soccer as well as empathizing, on a more personal level, with the players from her first-hand experience as a former pro. 

“I want to bring everything possible to the players. This is a very player-oriented organization and vision,” said Singer. “I have walked into the locker room as a rookie with Briana Scurry and Abby Wambach and players that I looked up to. Each destination that I played at from there on out was a new challenge, a new environment, figuring out personalities, figuring out the organization's figuring out the staff.” 

Singer said that, in her experience as a player, communication was the most important thing between the front office and the roster. Trust will be essential between the playing roster and the general manager. She wants to be able to have "honest conversations" with her team.

"I am very in tune with each player, and staff member individually, from a dynamic standpoint, and an empathy standpoint, to be able to have conversations constructively and strategically."

In no uncertain terms, Singer's duty heading into 2023 will be to retain the Dash's best players and continue to make the club an attractive home for the world's best soccer players. Building a culture of excellence at the club is essential to the lofty aspirations held by O'Neill. 

The other two components of O'Neill's vision for the Dash to become one of the preeminent institutions in the global women's soccer landscape were winning and entertaining soccer on the pitch, while also engaging with and making an impact on the Houston community. With Singer in place as general manager, those targets could soon become a reality. 

Something Singer said that she has picked up on is the mutual "energy" around the city of Housing and the Dash organization. She wants to mirror the intensity and dedication that she sees from the players on the pitch and instill that across the Dash in every single position.

Singer remarked how impressed she was with Michelle Alozie's last-minute equalizer against the Washington Spirit in the Dash's previous match. That goal, and Amoros' team's frenetic style in general, epitomized the type of verve she wants to bring to Houston.

"I think it's all about about the energy that we bring. And that goes off the pitch as well. I think every single person that's in this organization, will bring that same energy, and it's all about elevation. So I think off the pitch, it's really valid for me, it's a lot of observation right now, and evaluation to be able to put a plan in place," said Singer. 

Rethinking youth pathways

One curious revolution about Singer's long-term vision for the Dash was how the club's youth academy could be retooled. 

"I think long term, of course, we want to set up a system where we ... have a feeder system and into the Dash," she noted. "I think, on the women's side, and it's not as common as the men's of course, but there's a tremendous pool of talent in Houston on the youth soccer side of things. So I'm really looking forward to putting a plan in place and trying to get our arms around that to create a new system." 

At this moment in time, the NWSL does not allow players under the age of 18 to feature in the league without special dispensation. Furthermore, there is no home-grown rule that allows clubs to sign players they develop in their academy programs. 

If a player entered the league from the Dash academy, that player would have to go through the discovery process first before Houston had the sole right to sign the player to a professional contact. Thus another NWSL team could hypothetically hold onto the player's rights and sign them if they were higher on the discovery list than the Dash. 

Although these hurdles won't change anytime soon, it was exciting to hear Singer think big picture about the youth soccer landscape in Houston. In the near future, the Dash could play a part in helping local players blossom. Singer could also bring landmark changes to some of these NWSL rules that do not incentivize developing local players.