Hey Tiger Fans! On the final edition of "Where are They Now Wednesday" redshirt senior
Candace Steadman helps fans reconnect with former Tiger,
Mary Clare Coghlan.
Coghlan competed for the Tigers from 2002-2004 and earned multiple accolades during her career.
In 2003 she was named Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Scholar Athlete of the Year, was a First Team All-CAA selection, the CAA Setter of the Year, and Towson's Female Athlete of the Year. In 2004, she was again named First Team All-CAA and was CAA Setter of the Year for the second straight season. Additionally, Coghlan was a member of the 2004 CAA Championship Team and was later selected to the CAA 25th Anniversary Team!
Coghlan was a standout both on and off the volleyball court. She studied biology during her undergraduate career and her efforts in the classroom did not go unnoticed. In addition to being named CAA Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2003, she also received CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree in 2003 and 2004.
When asked what helped her find success both athletically and academically she said "the resources both athletically and academically were great when I was there and are even better now. The support we had from academic advisors and tutors to fantastic athletic trainers and strength coaches have helped launch not just volleyball but all of Towson Athletics to a new level."
After a great career at Towson, Coghlan decided to continue her volleyball career overseas.
"It was the end of my junior year and I remember we had just finished spring volleyball and I was thinking like 'oh my gosh in a year what am I going to be doing?' So, I literally googled professional volleyball opportunities overseas."
After some research, Coghlan found a company that would assist her with recruiting and later participated in an exposure tour the January after graduation with Tiger teammate,
Liz Goubeaux.
"We went to four or five countries and played and the different teams would come and watch you," said Coghlan.
Her first opportunity to play overseas was in Southern Germany. She said there were two other Americans on her team in Germany, one of which had been in Germany for quite some time and was fluent in German. Coghlan's coach didn't speak any English so both her American teammate and tutor helped her pick up on the language.
After her experience in Germany, Coghlan went on to play in Madrid, Spain.
"I grew up in California so I was much better with Spanish," she said.
Coghlan said she was usually one of a few foreigners on the team so she would work out in the morning, go sightseeing during the day and then practice at night. She would even go on day trips with other teammates, mentioning "it was cool that volleyball was the common language among all of us."
Coghlan seemed to really enjoy the team aspect of the sport both at Towson and overseas. "The first thing that words cannot describe...what a family our (Towson) team was. We still keep in touch and the sisterhood that we had on the court and in college has grown into adulthood. When the Tigers get together for weddings or babies being born, it is like nothing has changed."
Once Coghlan's volleyball career came to an end, she continued to stay in touch with the sport! She became a naval Officer and coached at the Naval Academy for some time.
"I really enjoyed the coaching and the mentoring side of the sport," she said.
Coghlan said that student-athletes are really unique in the skills they learn through their sport. One of the biggest points she made was the ability athletes have to overcome adversity.
"I think as student-athletes you don't even realize how much adversity you deal with sometimes," said Coghlan. "Whether with teammates, coaches, or in the classroom, athletes have the ability to "shelf" whatever is going on and compete."
As a setter, Coghlan said she had to learn how to balance being a leader of the team and of herself.
"If I'm not playing well I wanted to make sure that if you were watching in the crowd you would maybe be able to see it in my stats, but not in my attitude," said Coghlan.
With so much volleyball experience all over the world, I asked Mary Clare what student-athletes today can do to mimic the success she had in her career.
"Work ethic needs to be the same on the court, in the weight room and in the classroom," said Coghlan. "Working hard in school translated into volleyball and vice versa. We all did better when we were going from practice, to dinner, to studying, to being on road trips. When we had more going on, we did better. We would be in season from early August with three practices a day, being zombies but having such a great time...there are a few games where I remember the exact moments but my fondest memories are road trips, being in the locker room together and being there for each other after the tough matches. Time goes by so fast and not having regrets as a teammate and a student-athlete are important!"
Now as a Tiger Alum, Coghlan says she loves seeing the Tigers come into the new era.
"For the team to be able to play higher level teams and to see such a representation of so many states on the team," said Coghlan. "The players are just so talented! It is amazing how fast you feel like an old alumni! Coach Metil has done a great job of creating a top level program at Towson and we are excited for the continued growth of the team."
Coghlan is now working as a recruiter for a financial company and coaches a youth club volleyball team in Annapolis, MD. As a recruiter she mentioned three things student-athletes can bring to the work force from their athletic experience.
- Having great time management
- Competitive spirit
- Dealing with adversity and different personalities
I hope you all enjoyed this final edition of "Where are They Now Wednesday" just as much as I did. Mary Clare Coghlan had great insight and experiences that I think many student-athletes could benefit from, including me. I would like to thank everyone for allowing me this opportunity to take this journey with you and reconnect with former Towson Tigers! Thank you all for reading and Go Tigers!
