Temple University Athletics
Claire Scanlan: A Remarkable Resume
10.1.20 | Women's Soccer
Temple University women's soccer assistant coach Claire Scanlan has had an amazing career with two degrees, several prestigious coaching gigs, multiple professional contracts and representing her home country of Ireland. These are just some of Coach Scanlan's accomplishments.
To coach in any capacity at the NCAA Division I level, an individual has to hold elite qualifications and it is safe to say that Scanlan surpasses that standard. Scanlan's student-athletes agree, "she has so much different experience and that brings a unique perspective that shows us many different ways to play the game" said Owls senior captain Julia Dolan.
Scanlan played at Mercyhurst University (PA) where she obtained a Bachelor's degree in business. In 1995, Scanlan was named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year. She was later inducted into the school athletics Hall of Fame in 2015.
After graduating from Mercyhurst, Scanlan earned a professional contract in the Japanese L League, with the Oki FC Winds. She went on to play with several different professional and semi-professional teams in the coming years.
Scanlan began her coaching career when she accepted a graduate assistant position at Troy University in Alabama. "I wanted to take the chance to get my masters, so I returned to Troy and also began my coaching career there," said Scanlan.
The beginning of Scanlan's coaching career did not signify the end of her playing career. "While I was at the Fulton Academy coaching the younger team, I had the chance to play for the senior team" she explained, "I think coaching and playing simultaneously offered me a unique opportunity to become more coachable and a better coach at the same time."
In addition to coaching at the club level, Scanlan had the opportunity to coach the Irish U23 and U17 teams leading them to World Cup qualifications. "I was representing Ireland, which was the highest honor I could have, to represent my country in any way" she said.
Temple head coach Nick Bochette shares his student-athletes' view of Scanlan, "Claire is a top-class coach who has both played and coached at the very highest levels of our game. She's not only a fantastic coach and educator, but she also has an intuitive sense for where players may lack a bit of understanding or competency."
While Scanlan's qualifications should speak for themselves, she stated "being a great player does not always make for a great coach, the ability to educate yourself and your athletes is hugely important."
Scanlan explained one of the difficulties in bridging the gap between player and coach in saying "at first I had this specific idea of the type of player I wanted to recruit, but as a coach I had to adapt that vision."
Scanlan feels as if she has found a home on North Broad Street. "I love working for Temple, there is so much pride, no matter where you go" said Scanlan, "When I am in the Dallas Airport wearing Temple gear, and I hear someone yell 'Go Owls', there is something special about that."
At a university with a great deal of international student athletes, Scanlan's journey is just the experience her own athletes can lean on. "For their part, student-athletes know that Claire has been in their shoes and succeeded beyond that level" explained Bochette, "for that reason and many others, she's an ideal role model for our ladies."
Scanlan sees an opportunity in diversity in players, "by bringing in players from around the world, they bring a different perspective that we can all learn from" she said.
It is often advised to keep a resume to one page and to take off less meaningful experiences, however for Scanlan, that is not an option. Her international experience brings different coaching insights and support for foreign athletes. Her in depth coaching experience provides years of valuable insights. Her playing experience puts her in the position to relate to the athletes that look up to her on a daily basis.Â
Scanlan emulates the fact that diversity in experience provides the most possible value to any situation.
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