Author Sue Ryan is the Head Coach of the women’s soccer team at Stony Brook University and the 2012 recipient of the NSCAA Women’s Committee Award of Excellence. 

Patrick Muffley, Assistant AD at Stony Brook, had this to say about Sue: “Here at Stony Brook, our student-athletes and staff are all extremely fortunate to be able to work with Coach Ryan.  For nearly three decades Sue has coached and taught our student-athletes about soccer and life.  Sue's vast knowledge and experience of every level of soccer is astonishing, but it is her kindness and genuine spirit as a person and friend that makes Sue the exceptional person that she is."

Here, Sue shares with us a bit about how the NSCAA has impacted her journey as a coach:

I am indebted to the NSCAA for having a profound positive impact on my coaching career. As I reflect back on the years that I’ve been a part of the game, I’d like to take this opportunity to share some of my thoughts of my soccer journey with you, and to offer up some of the lessons that I’ve learned along the way:

I graduated from college and became a head coach at the college level one year later, at age 23. I was passionate, ambitious, and wanted to take on the world. I also thought that because I’d played college soccer for four years, coaching would come easily and I’d be fine …

… I soon realized I wasn't fine. I had been in too big of a rush to be a head coach and, in hindsight, should have instead chosen to be an assistant somewhere with a good mentor. However, given my situation was what it was, I sought help and by enrolling in my first NSCAA residential coaching course.

I was hooked after day one. I learned invaluable lessons from instructors and my fellow candidates alike. After the course concluded, I went on to enroll in every course and symposium the NSCAA offered over the next two years.

I knew I needed help and was not afraid to a) ask for it and b) invest in my future: I sacrificed every birthday and Christmas present for two years to pay my way at the courses.

After having such a positive experience with the NSCAA coaching schools, I felt the next most logical step for me was to attend the annual NSCAA Convention. It was an expensive venture, so my Athletic Director suggested I work on a committee that would help pay my way. Excited to be exposed to new ideas and to learn, I jumped at the chance to attend and agreed to help with the committee.

For the first two days at my first Convention, I was miserable. As a member of the committee, I was taking notes with paper and pen as the "secretary.” The meetings were filled with big time coaches and big time people in the game of soccer and I did not open my mouth in that room for the entire weekend (I know some of you have a hard time believing that now!).

However, when the meetings were over, I was able to attend the floor sessions, which made it all worthwhile. In the end, Convention was an energizing experience. Sharing time with so many soccer fanatics and learning and networking deepened my love for the game and solidified my decision to making coaching a profession.

Lesson: Saying “yes” when given an opportunity was important; I had to do some things that weren’t as exciting (being a secretary) to get involved in the better stuff (the floor sessions) later on.

After growing to the point of presenting at various NSCAA Conventions, I was asked to serve on the NSCAA Women's Committee and spend time meeting at Convention. I didn’t understand what the payoff for me would be: it seemed like a lot of time wasted sitting and talking while I could have been at field and classroom sessions learning.

But, I agreed to join in on the committee and the meetings, and it’s something for which I’ll always be thankful.  Some of my closest friends in the world are past and present members of the Women’s Committee, and I’ve had a first row seat as I’ve watched them positively affect the lives of hundreds of players and coaches.

Lesson: Surround yourself with good people who do things for all the right reasons and without the benefit of tangible reward. Even though you may not realize it at the time, when you give a little, you get twice as much back in return.

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