What does your job entail?
As a head soccer coach, you oversee all aspects of the program. I equate it to being a small business owner. You manage staff and players, budget, travel, equipment, scheduling games and practice, game operations, health and safety (ever-changing during the pandemic), training programs, academics, leadership training, social media, alumni relations, recruiting, etc. There are a lot of details that need to be consistently monitored in order to run a successful team.
Where did you work before CC and what were you doing?
I started my coaching career as an assistant soccer coach at the University of Oregon. Next, I became the head coach and associate PE professor at Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps colleges. My next position was as an assistant coach at the University of Texas at Austin. And, lastly, I just came from being a head women’s soccer coach and assistant professor at Illinois Wesleyan University. All of my previous positions have been in soccer coaching so duties were similar to what I am doing now at CC.
Tell us a little about your background.
I was born here in Colorado and moved at the age of 8 to San Jose, California. I attended undergrad at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where I was a two-sport athlete in soccer and track and field. I won four National Championships in soccer at UNC. I was a part of the U.S. Women’s National Team Pool for several years. And I was fortunate enough to play professional soccer in the first two leagues in the United States – Women’s United soccer Associan and Women’s Professional Soccer. I received my master’s degree from the University of Oregon.
What do you like to do when not working?
I still love to play sports of all kinds and I love to be outside. I still play ice hockey and soccer when I can. I have added pickleball as a new sport this past fall. I like to hike and bike and take my dog for walks. And now that I live closer to family, I enjoy spending time with them.
Wild card: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor or a professional athlete — at that time hockey or football.
