Coach living the dream Stateside

A former St Ambrose High pupil has traded in Coatbridge for South Carolina to become a top football coach and live his American dream.

Ciaran Traquair, 33, left his hometown in 2003 as a 17-year-old after finishing up with his sixth year of school.

While living in Monklands he said he would follow Celtic and “had a lot of admiration for Martin O’Neil as a manager” and “loved hearing him speak after games” as he saw his first glimpse of management.

Having been involved in football at amateur club level for the majority of his youth career, as well as being the Senior Shield runners-up with St Ambrose High two years running, he pursued a football glory as he joined the youth academy at Morton.

Despite playing alongside the likes of AndyKean Andy Kean and Stevie StevieFrail Frail in i Greenock, G he decided decid to continue his passion Stateside as part of a FirstPoint young athletes scholarships.

Now, he has become the head of the Citadel Bulldogs women’s soccer programme at The Military College of South Carolina and last year was awarded US citizenship.

Ciaran says that his “desire to chase something different” led to his big move as well as lessons learned during his playing days.

He told the Advertiser: “Playing was a big part of it, I wanted better coaching, more resources, and a chance to continue to develop my game with better players.

“I also wanted to put myself out there to experience something different, and have the opportunity to test myself as a person in a different culture. Dealing with homesickness, pressure to manage a degree and to take on an influential role on the team were great challenges that I needed in my life.”

While currently heading up the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) One women’s program at the Charleston- based college the Scot admits his coaching roots were formed in his home country.

He went on: “I have been fortunate to have head coaching positions in NCAA Three, Two and One at this early stage of my career and really feel at home at The Citadel.

“It is a pleasure to represent an institution that has such rich history and traditions.

“The location, people and the challenges make this a fantastic place to coach.

“I started doing coaching in the community work with the SFA at 16-years-old and knew that coaching was a potential career pathway after playing and getting a degree.

“My first real start was a graduate assistant at Shorter University. In that role I was able to coach and getting a master’s degree in business.

“From there I was lucky to work with some great people who helped me advance in the coaching pathway and assisted in getting me my licences.”

Now going into his fourth year with the Citadel side he says he has hopes of one day lifting silverware with the club.

However, he ultimately wants to see the talented youngsters make their livelihood in football.

“I came here with the ambition to take the program to greater heights than it has even reached,” he continued.

“We would like to compete for conference championships and one day take the program to the NCAA tournament.

“We are still very much a developing program so our immediate goals are always based on gradual improvement year to year.

“I am hopeful that 2020 will be a big year and one that we can finish higher up in the conference than in the previous 20 years.

“Personally, I just want to challenge myself and continue to adapt to the new challenges that we are presented with on and off the park.

“I would like to one day become the winningest coach in program history and help our players receive individual recognition at a level not seen before here. If we can move players onto the professional level, that would be the icing on the cake.”

The coach admits it was “a special moment to become a citizen of the USA” – and joking that we won’t see him back as Albion Rovers gaffer any time soon.

He added: “I have a wife and two children here and expect this great journey to continue for the foreseeable future.

“I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I do for a living and hope I can continue to help others follow in the same path.”