Dawn Scott (born 19 June 1972)[1] is an English association football performance coach and sports scientist who works as director of performance for the Washington Spirit, a professional football club competing in the United States top-division National Women's Soccer League.[2]

Scott is best known for her work with the United States women's national soccer team, where her tenure as the team's high-performance coach included two FIFA Women's World Cup victories and an Olympic gold medal. Scott was credited by player Christie Rampone as the team's "secret to everything",[3] and by United States women's team general manager Kate Markgraf as instrumental to the team's 2012 Olympic gold medal victory. Scott has also previously worked for the England women's national football team and England's Football Association,[4] and as performance director for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF.[5]

Early life

Scott was born in South Shields of Tyne and Wear county, England,[6][7] and raised in the town of Washington. As a teenager, Scott played football for Whitley Bay Ladies.[6] She initially studied physics with a goal of becoming a teacher, then played university football and studied accountancy at Sheffield Hallam before taking up sports science at Manchester Metropolitan University,[7] where she graduated with a bachelor's of science degree in sport and exercise science. She also earned a master's degree in sports nutrition from the University of Aberdeen in 1997.[1]

Sports science career

Worcester University, 1997–2001

Scott was a sports science lecturer and program leader on sports training, match analysis, and sports nutrition at Worcester University from 1997 to 2001.[1]

The Football Association (FA), 2001–2010

Scott was head of women's teams exercise science, later referred to as sports science, at The Football Association from 2001 to 2010, initially working with England women's national football team manager Hope Powell.[1][8] In lieu of players having access to high-quality exercise facilities, Scott would accompany women's players to better-equipped local prisons to train.[7]

Scott was part of the Great Britain women's football staff at the 2007 and 2009 World University Games, winning a bronze medal in the latter. She also served on the staff of England's teams in the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship, UEFA Women's Euro 2005, 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, and UEFA Women's Euro 2009.[1]

United States national team, 2010–2019

Scott joined the United States women's national soccer team in January 2010 as part of head coach Pia Sundhage's staff, and remained with the federation after the hiring of Sundhage's successors Tom Sermanni and Jill Ellis. She was part of the team's staff through the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, and the 2011, 2015, and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cups.[1][9]

Players, coaches, and United States Soccer Federation staff credited Scott's meticulous and detailed approach to physical fitness, recovery, injury prevention and nutrition as significant contributions to the United States's championships in the 2015 and 2019 World Cups and 2012 Olympics gold medal campaign.[3][10] She championed intense measurement of player metrics toward marginal gains in performance and conditioning, the use of multi-stage fitness tests and Yo-Yo intermittent tests in elite fitness measurement,[4][11] and menstruation-aware player management.

In 2016, after being prompted during a sports science conference, Scott began researching the effects of menstruation on elite athletes and worked with researcher Georgie Bruinvels.[12] This included observations that athletes on their period suffered reduced performance, fatigue, and more severe muscular soreness.[13] She introduced educational workshops, period tracking, reinforced by Scott with posters of phase-specific menstrual treatment strategies,[14] was also credited as a directly contributing factor toward the United States's 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup championship as the team's second finals goal was scored by tournament Bronze Ball-winner Rose Lavelle the day after starting her period.[15] Scott also called for increased research on potential connections between menstruation and serious injuries[4][12][7] and advocated for more research specific to injuries among women athletes at all levels of play.[16]

In 2017, the Journal of Sports Sciences and published Scott's first scientific research as a lead author, in a report on football training methods.[17]

In her work with U.S. Soccer, Scott also advocated for standardized fitness testing and data collection for players in the United States top-division professional women's club league, the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), and also added menstruation-aware educational workshops for club staff in 2019.[4] The workshops included a focus on breaking cultural taboos around discussing menstruation, which had led to male staff sometimes leaving workshops in discomfort about the subject.[12]

In November 2020, the Science and Medicine in Football journal published Scott's second report as a primary author, covering a two-year study of NWSL players performed in 2016 and 2017 that assessed differences in player performance between international- and domestic-level players.[18]

Scott resigned from U.S. Soccer in November 2019 to rejoin The Football Association of her native England.[4][9] Scott said she left to seek a role with more influence across youth and senior levels, which did not appear to be forthcoming in the United States.[19]

FIFA (2015–)

Scott has served as a technical consultant to FIFA since 2015 and provided the organization with analysis of physical performances in the 2015 and 2019 Women's World Cups.[5][20] As of 2019, Scott was pursuing a PhD at Western Sydney University,[1] and by September 2021 FIFA sponsored a PhD scholarship study at Western Sydney into monitoring the effects of menstrual cycles in women's football.[21]

The Football Association (2019–2020)

The FA re-hired Scott in November 2019 as its senior women's physical performance manager, with a stated goal of having her assist the England women's national football team, managed at the time by Phil Neville, in its preparations for the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 tournament. The FA also tasked her with managing interactions between national team players and their Women's Super League clubs.[22][23]

Scott worked with Team Great Britain, which Neville also managed, at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[4][5] Great Britain finished atop its group but failed to advance past the quarter-finals.[24] At the FA, Scott also continued her work toward improving athlete awareness and fitness through menstruation-aware programs, anti-inflammatory diet, tracking, and performance analysis.[12] England and Manchester City W.F.C. fullback Lucy Bronze credited Scott's work with improving her diet and recovery methods throughout her menstrual cycles.[25]

Scott left The FA again in September 2020 to work with FIFA on women's physical performance strategies.[8]

Inter Miami CF (2021–2022)

On 11 November 2021, Inter Miami CF of the United States top-division men's professional football league Major League Soccer announced that it had hired Scott as the club's performance director. Scott was charged with oversight of all levels within the club. The job reunited Scott with Phil Neville, who was now manager of Inter Miami.[5][26] Scott left the role just shy of a year later.[2]

Washington Spirit (2022–)

On 1 November 2022, National Women's Soccer League club Washington Spirit announced that it had hired Scott as its first director and vice president of performance, medical, and innovation. The club tasked Scott with developing and staffing the club's new performance department in time for the 2023 NWSL season.[2][27][28]

Influence in women's sport

Players she coached on fitness suggested Scott had guided them to their highest fitness levels of their careers, including Casey Stoney,[29] Sue Smith,[19] Jill Scott,[30] and Heather O'Reilly.[31]

United States forward Tobin Heath credited Scott with improving the United States national team's culture,[32] and while accepting the 2019 The Best FIFA Women's Player award, United States forward Megan Rapinoe thanked Scott in her acceptance speech and said she "wouldn't have received this award without them".[33] On the August 2021 announcement of Scott's second departure from The FA, England forward Nikita Parris predicted that should England win the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 tournament, Scott's influence would be a key reason for the victory;[34] England would go on to win the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 final 11 months later.[35]

In her initial tenure with The FA, Scott introduced many of her players to weight training.[19] Scott helped to popularize the use of advanced bra-embedded GPS trackers, at the time used primarily by individual athletes and NBA and NFL teams,[36] and other wearable activity trackers in women's football to capture and analyze match data and manage player load.[31][37]

While the United States women's soccer team was not the first elite sports team to implement period tracking and tailor training around menstrual cycles,[38] the United States's success at the 2019 Women's World Cup and corresponding coverage of Scott's menstruation-aware regimens inspired more women's sports teams to adopt the practice. Chelsea F.C. Women implemented menstruation-aware training schedules beginning in August 2019, with the club using technology developed by Georgie Bruinvels, Scott's collaborator with the United States national team.[39] UEFA Women's Champions League winners Olympique Lyonnais Féminin followed suit, extending the practice into their youth system.[40] AFL Women's Australian rules football team Brisbane Lions implemented menstrual cycle tracking toward managing diet and training in February 2020, citing the United States's association football success.[41]

Personal life

Scott was a season ticket holder for hometown club Newcastle United. As of 2015, her mother and sisters continued to live in Washington, Tyne and Wear.[6] Her father passed away in 2012.[7]

In 2016, Scott trained Vogue fashion journalist and editor Hamish Bowles as a footballer for a feature story.[42]

In 2020, Scott featured on the CBS science-focused television series Mission Unstoppable, where she demonstrated how the United States women's national soccer team trains.[7][43]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2019 U.S. Women's National Team Media Guide (PDF). United States Soccer Federation. 1 January 2019. p. 11. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Washington Spirit Names Dawn Scott Senior Director of Performance, Medical and Innovation" (Press release). Washington Spirit. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 Kassouf, Jeff (19 June 2015). "The Secret to Everything". NBC Sports World. NBC Sports. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kassouf, Jeff (5 December 2019). "Dawn Scott bids emotional farewell after decade with USWNT: 'For me, it's all about opportunity'". The Equalizer. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Inter Miami hire ex-USWNT high performance manager Dawn Scott" (Press release). Major League Soccer. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Graham, Hannah (2 July 2019). "The Geordie who is hoping to knock England out of the Women's World Cup". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wrack, Suzanne (3 March 2020). "Dawn Scott: England's 'secret' weapon in push to be the world's best". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  8. 1 2 Hruby, Emma (10 August 2021). "Dawn Scott leaving role as the FA Women's physical performance manager". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  9. 1 2 "DAWN SCOTT STEPS DOWN AS U.S. WNT HIGH PERFORMANCE COACH TO TAKE SIMILAR POSITION WITH ENGLAND FA" (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  10. ↑ Caroline Barker (2 October 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: Why Dawn Scott is The Lioness' 'secret weapon'". YouTube (Podcast). Sky Sports. Event occurs at 10:34. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  11. ↑ Scott, Dawn (22 September 2015). "Interview with USWNT Fitness Coach Dawn Scott". FitForFutbol (Interview). Interviewed by Mike Young. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Whyatt, Katie (4 December 2020). "Dawn Scott aims to minimise adverse impact of menstrual cycle on Lionesses". The Athletic. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  13. ↑ Whyatt, Katie (11 November 2020). "Women's football: playing on your period". The Athletic. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  14. ↑ Kindelan, Katie (15 July 2019). "USWNT used innovative period tracking to help player performance at World Cup". Good Morning America. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  15. ↑ Pender, Kieran (13 July 2019). "Ending period 'taboo' gave USA marginal gain at World Cup". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  16. ↑ Yanchulis, Kate (23 November 2022). "Ex-USWNT trainer rings alarms around growing ACL problem". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  17. ↑ Scott, Dawn; Lovell, Ric (3 November 2017). "Individualisation of speed thresholds does not enhance the dose-response determination in football training". Journal of Sports Sciences. Informa UK Limited. 36 (13): 1523–1532. doi:10.1080/02640414.2017.1398894. ISSN 0264-0414. PMID 29099673. S2CID 4488809.
  18. ↑ Scott, Dawn; Haigh, Julian; Lovell, Ric (21 March 2020). "Physical characteristics and match performances in women's international versus domestic-level football players: a 2-year, league-wide study". Science and Medicine in Football. Informa UK Limited. 4 (3): 211–215. doi:10.1080/24733938.2020.1745265. ISSN 2473-3938. S2CID 216337595.
  19. 1 2 3 Caroline Barker (2 October 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: Why Dawn Scott is The Lioness' 'secret weapon'". YouTube (Podcast). Sky Sports. Event occurs at 1:08. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  20. ↑ Bradley, Paul; Scott, Dawn (2019). Physical Analysis of the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 (PDF) (Report). FIFA.
  21. ↑ "FIFA joins forces on ground-breaking female player health and performance study" (Press release). FIFA. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  22. ↑ "England Women poach US Soccer fitness coach Dawn Scott". Sky Sports. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  23. ↑ Caroline Barker (2 October 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: Why Dawn Scott is The Lioness' 'secret weapon'". YouTube (Podcast). Sky Sports. Event occurs at 17:12. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  24. ↑ "Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Football Women Results". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  25. ↑ Gardner, Jamie (18 March 2021). "Lucy Bronze: Better understanding of menstrual cycles could give 'extra inch' in women's football". Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  26. ↑ "Single Tickets For Inter Miami CF's Upcoming Season Go On Sale In Time For Christmas". CBS Miami. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  27. ↑ Lauletta, Dan (1 November 2022). "Dawn Scott joins Spirit". The Equalizer. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  28. ↑ "Dawn Scott on the Spirit's New Performance, Medical and Innovation Department" (Press release). Washington Spirit. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  29. ↑ Caroline Barker (2 October 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: Why Dawn Scott is The Lioness' 'secret weapon'". YouTube (Podcast). Sky Sports. Event occurs at 2:59. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  30. ↑ Caroline Barker (2 October 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: Why Dawn Scott is The Lioness' 'secret weapon'". YouTube (Podcast). Sky Sports. Event occurs at 17:55. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  31. 1 2 Theivam, Kieran (19 November 2019). "From banning treats to tailoring training to players' menstrual cycles – what the Lionesses can expect from physical performance coach Dawn Scott". The Athletic. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  32. ↑ Caroline Barker (2 October 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: Why Dawn Scott is The Lioness' 'secret weapon'". YouTube (Podcast). Sky Sports. Event occurs at 7:54. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  33. ↑ "THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS 2019 - U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM QUOTE SHEET". United States Soccer Federation. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  34. ↑ Garry, Tom (10 August 2021). "England Women fitness guru Dawn Scott makes shock exit in big blow to Euros hopes". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  35. ↑ Garry, Tom; Tyers, Alan (31 July 2022). "Chloe Kelly sends nation into raptures with extra-time Euros final winner for England". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  36. ↑ Cockrell, Will (8 August 2016) [July/August 2016]. "Satellite Super-Tracking Raises Women's Soccer Performance And Recovery In The Olympics". Popular Science. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  37. ↑ Logan, Megan (22 June 2015). "The Wearable Prepping the US Women's Soccer Team for Battle". Wired. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  38. ↑ Saner, Emine (10 July 2019). "How period tracking can give all female athletes an edge". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2023. The England women's hockey team have been tracking their periods since before the 2012 Olympics, the team's former captain Kate Richardson-Walsh has said. Their strength and conditioning coach found a pattern with soft-tissue injuries: "We would send a text on day one of our cycle, so he could mark it on our training calendar. He tried to monitor – as much as you can with a squad of 28 women – our training loads depending on our menstrual cycle."
  39. ↑ Rowan, Kate (13 February 2020). "Exclusive: Chelsea become first club to tailor training to menstrual cycles". Telegraph Sport. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  40. ↑ Capinielli, Antoine (16 March 2023). "Olympique Lyonnais's Antoine Capinielli: "First of all the aim is to develop as a person"". FIFA Training Centre (Press release). FIFA. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  41. ↑ Kleyn, Brittney (18 February 2020). "Menstruation cycles mapped by app helps coaches boost team performance". ABC News. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  42. ↑ Bowles, Hamish (April 2016). "Kick Off". Vogue (published 31 March 2016). pp. 254–259. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  43. ↑ Training with the U.S. Women's Soccer Team. Mission Unstoppable. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
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