Coughlin’s coaching journey comes full circle

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

When your days playing a sport are over, one great way to stay connected to a sport is by coaching.
Clay alum Shannon Coughlin is doing just that after playing volleyball for two years in Europe – in France and Cyprus — and her journey has come full circle as she is returning to her alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, to work as an assistant coach for the Phoenix.
She was working as an assistant coach at Lawrence University, a Division III college located in Appleton, which is just 32 miles from Green Bay, when she heard about the job opening.
“It wasn’t like I was expecting it. What happened is Green Bay’s assistant coach left, and my head coach (at Lawrence), Jeff Van Lannen, mentioned it to me,” said Coughlin. “I’ve been at it for almost a month. I’m really grateful for the opportunity. Green Bay athletics and the community has given me so much, set me up to play professionally, and I’m just excited to give back to that program. I want (the players to) see the knowledge that I can bring from playing professionally.”
Coughlin is now working for her former coach, Abbey Sutherland.
“I was her first recruit when she got the job. Six years later, I’m going to be working with her,” said Coughlin. “It’s awesome the opportunities she has given to me. I hit the jackpot with Green Bay (because) the place has done nothing but provide me with opportunities — I got to play professionally for two seasons — and (it’s where) I got my bachelor’s (education) and master’s degrees (applied leadership).
In her six years as the coach of the Phoenix, Sutherland is 99-75 (.568) and 65-37 in the Horizon League.
She had this to stay about bringing Coughlin on board.
“Shannon is a learner. She models gratitude, she does things with her own flair, and she thrives in competitive settings,” Sutherland said. “It’s so evident that Shannon is dedicated to Green Bay Volleyball’s core values and purpose. Her passion for Green Bay Volleyball will motivate our team to level up on and off the court. She will relate to our players with empathy, but she will also know how to push them and help them grow. I am beyond excited to have her back in Green Bay.”
Coughlin talked about some of the challenges that come with learning to be a collegiate coach.
“I’ve been learning a lot; obviously, there are a lot of differences. You’re coaching because you love the sport and you want to develop athletes. I’ve been learning a lot, it’s definitely different, and there’s a lot of the behind-the-scenes work that you don’t think about as a player,” she said. “Recruiting is a different twist as well, it puts things into perspective. The biggest thing is being on the other side of recruiting and what goes on with the other side of being a coach. The offseason lasts until August, then it will be more hands-on. We haven’t really hit a lot of the coaching things. I just joined the staff, it’s weird timing with the season being right around the corner. We don’t have a lot of contact with the players because it’s the offseason. It’s been a total switch – as a coach, I’m thinking about all these different things. You don’t see all the things the coaches are doing. It’s made me grateful for the coaches I’ve had.
“There’s so much else that we’re doing — 60% of the job, you’re not on the court. A lot more goes into it than one might think. I definitely seen that perspective with the role I’m in now,” she said.
Green Bay is about a seven-hour drive from Oregon, but it does share similarities with Ohio.
“Wisconsin has the stereotypical things – cows, cheese, farmland – that’s a lot of what I’m surrounded by. There are similarities to Ohio. I like it enough to pack up from Ohio and leave. I love Ohio because my family is there. I think Wisconsin and Ohio are one and the same,” Coughlin said. “Sports are evident up here – the Packers, the Brewers in Milwaukee, the Bucks in Milwaukee. Sports are big in Wisconsin.”
Back in February, Coughlin returned home and held two volleyball camps for young girls in Oregon.
“They both went really well. I got to connect with some young players in the community,” she said. “Nicole Morrison and Sydney Watson are taking over Clay’s volleyball program, and I’m glad because those two are great coaches. It makes me excited for volleyball in Oregon.
“I hope the athletes and parents realize that because they’re great volleyball people,” she said. “Those were two great hires.”