Meet the NJ natives playing for USA in Women's World Cup and the man who helped train them

When the U.S. Women's National Team (USWNT) opens play in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on July 21, fans throughout the country will certainly recognize the likes of Megan Rapinoe.

In Somerset County, followers of the sport should also recognize two others on the U.S. roster: Casey Murphy of Bridgewater and Alana Cook of Far Hills. Another Somerset County product is Casey Phair of Warren. She is playing for the South Korean National Team.

Murphy, a graduate of Bridgewater-Raritan High School, went on to star at Rutgers University. A goalkeeper, she played there from 2014-17, twice making first team in the Big Ten Conference.

Cook attended The Pennington School before going off to play at Stanford. A defender, she played on teams that won four Pac-12 Conference championships. In 2018 she was Pac-12 Defender of the Year.

Phair, a Pingry School student, has not attended college. After all, she just turned 16 last month.

Aside from their Jersey roots, Murphy and Phair trained for a few years at the Advanced Physical and Technical Training (AP2T) facility in Metuchen.

They are among several elite players from the area who have worked out in AP2T athletic performance and soccer programs: Daniel Edelman of Warren; Serge Ngoma of North Plainfield; Brian White of Flemington; Kristen Edmonds of Metuchen; Melina Rebimbas of Warren; and R.J. Allen of Old Bridge.

Others have played internationally for Australia, Ireland, Jamaica and Costa Rica.

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Murphy, 27, also played club soccer at the Players Development Academy (PDA) in Somerset, playing for the Slammers in the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL). She was on a team that won the U-17 national championship. She played professionally in France in 2018, and since 2019 has played professionally for a North Carolina team.

Phair, who also trained with PDA, played for the U-17 team before being called up to the women’s team for the World Cup. She helped the U-17 team qualify for next year’s Women’s Asian Cup, scoring five goals in two games.

Cook, 26, began representing the U.S. on youth national teams as a teenager. Out of college she played three years in France.

Mike Olim, who grew up in South Plainfield, is the founder and director of AP2T. A graduate of Wardlaw-Hartridge in Edison, he played soccer and ran track for the Rams before going to the University of Maryland. Inspired by longtime Wardlaw coach Mike Romeo, Olim came to love coaching.

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That passion eventually led him to providing a service that as far as he knew existed only on the collegiate and professional settings.

“I really didn’t know there was a private sector,” the 37-year-old said about training facilities. “I decided to bring everything that a high-level athletic performance gym would have inside – outside.”

Initially he took his idea on the road. He bought a Ford F-150 pickup truck and a big trailer, slapped on AP2T decals and drove around to different New Jersey locations. Putting equipment like sleds and medicine balls in the trailer, he would set up sessions in various towns on playing fields and even parking lots. Early on he worked mostly with club teams members.

“Lot of late nights,” he cracked. “When you’re young, there’s a lot of 12-hour days, seven days a week.”

After several years holding workouts in the outside elements and an ever-increasing load of athletes, he began to look indoors. Eight years ago, a 22,000-square-foot facility opened. Many of the athletes have gone on not only to play in World Cups, but also in the Olympics and professionally.

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Olim also found time to be an assistant soccer coach at Rutgers for two years, working with women’s head coach Mike O’Neill.

"He (Olim) shares the same philosophy we do,” O’Neill said. “They're (AP2T) very good at what they do from a technical aspect of the game. People come to them to work, to get better. What he does, he fits into our coaching group. We all share the idea of hard work and fun, and make sure the players understand that they're coming there to get better, but also having that balance of enjoying what they do, and he's part of the family. He's very good at what he does, so we put our trust in him as he puts his trust in us. Our players go there, and they get better. He's done a really good job of building a very good reputation for all the right reasons."

Workouts at the Metuchen facility now include players in lacrosse and basketball, including the Seton Hall University women’s basketball team.

The company also runs the PDA.

His business partners are Director of Training R.J. Allen, Technical Director Nat Nigro and Director of Strength and Conditioning Zach Rauch. Allen and Nigro played soccer professionally.

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For Olim, who continues to coach with PDA teams, continues to love his job – one that’s a long way from running the 400m in high school.

“I like seeing the physical and mental growth of the athletes. I like seeing their ability to take on new challenges and overcoming obstacles that once seemed impossible. We do athletic performance testing as well,” Olim said. “What we do is a little different than training. It’s kind of biomechanical testing to pick up on strengths and potential weaknesses.”

He has also coached alongside Jeff Josell for the Metuchen Rover Juniors (boys) and the Scotch Plains-Fanwood United (girls). The Rovers have won a national championship and the girls a State Cup.

“The growth of the sport has been unbelievable,” he said. “It’s warranted, given the level of commitment from youth players and their families. Also, people of all ages follow women’s soccer and the national team now, and they see it on TV.” 

This summer, that includes three players from Central Jersey.

Paul Franklin is a freelance reporter for MyCentralJersey.com.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Women's World Cup 2023 features NJ soccer players on USWNT