Soccer coach McGill finds work, home-life balance
Sheila (Hannon) McGill B’97 has coached women’s soccer for the University of St. Thomas for 17 years.
She’s also the mom of five.
The fact that she’s been able to do both roles, simultaneously and successfully, is a point of pride.
“Those combinations don’t happen,” she said. “The biggest thing is that longevity. I’m doing something not a lot of women who are mothers, especially with five children, are able to do and be successful in a predominantly male world. Glass ceilings are there for women, and they’re hard to get through. I’ve had the benefit of having supportive people in my life.”
McGill first credits her family, including her husband, who, she admits with a laugh, has become a really good cook during her fall season. She also credits her children, who have been not only forgiving, but also supportive.
“There have been times during the season that I’ve felt like I was letting my family down, but my kids actually lift me up,” she said.
“Be forgiving of yourself,” she said. “Know that no one is superhuman. You can’t always balance it all. You’re going to have to prioritize. My family is my priority, and to me that’s the right priority, but also — it was able to be done. It comes down to your support system. And that also has to do with your business. Do you have the support there too?”
For example, McGill said her youngest “happy surprise” child was born a week before the start of that soccer season, back before maternity leave.
Nervously, she went to the athletic director and said, “I need to have a talk with you.” “(After I told him), he leaned back and said, ‘Oh thank God, I thought you were quitting!’ It was the best response he could have given me.”
Yet again, she said, with the help of her support team, she navigated taking care of a newborn while coaching. Her husband diligently brought the baby back and forth to practices so she could nurse on schedule.
“Having that support is key,” she said. “It’s about getting more people on board to support women in trying to be a mother and a successful woman in their fields.”
McGill knows that in addition to teaching her athletes competitive skills, she’s also teaching them leadership skills they’ll need throughout their future.
“They’re all going to be successful career women outside of soccer,” she said. “I try to show them how to have a difficult conversation with someone without getting too emotional or working backwards. How can we be problem solvers moving forward? Some of my former players, now working at Drake Medical and Medtronic, for example, have reached back and said things like, ‘You really helped me successfully navigate this world.’ ”
There are challenges, McGill admits, to being a woman in leadership who works with women.
“They want you to be their best friend, their confidant, a little bit their mom too, as well as a professional making difficult decisions,” she said. “You have to have a thick skin, and you have to be able to let things roll off your back. Keep the picture you are trying to achieve in front of you. And try to be a positive person who keeps things moving in the same direction with that target in mind. I love surrounding myself with other strong women who are collaborative with me, women who have the same values and vision.”
McGill used these skills as she transitioned from Division III to Division I in 2021. “I think it’s about keeping a positive mentality. If you act or seem scared, a team can feel that coming off of a coach,” she said. “We had team meetings and talked about Division III upperclassmen working with Division I underclassmen. We talked about the type of people they wanted to be and the legacy they would want to leave. They already had the knowledge they needed. They knew how to play college soccer.”
For example, she says proudly, “Our last season before we left Division III, we were one penalty kick shootout away from the Final 4.”
Beyond this exciting season, McGill has acquired a number of accolades during her career. She coached her 300th game at St. Thomas early this season, which was her 25th in college soccer as a player, assistant or head coach. She has the longest tenure at her school of the nine Summit League women’s soccer head coaches.
A former MIAC soccer player at Saint Mary’s from 1993-97, McGill was an assistant coach at St. Catherine University from 2003-06. She also coached at Cretin-Derham Hall High School, White Bear Lake’s youth soccer program, and for U.S. Youth Soccer National League Region II and the State of Minnesota in the Olympic Development Program. She’s been named MIAC Coach of the Year in 2008, 2018, and 2019.
She tells young women hoping to coach at a Division I level, “Get your license and be the one who is qualified, get experience, find yourself a good mentor. Get that experience, even if it means volunteering at first, and don’t be afraid of feedback. We all get feedback and the claws come out, and then you retract the claws, and take a deep breath, and see if you can find something useful in that feedback, something that can make you a better coach.
“It’s also about self reflection,” she said. “Every time we have successes and failures, we reflect on the ‘whys’. We do a collaborative reflection after every practice and every game. Did we make the right decisions? There are times when the answers are ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ ”
McGill agrees women are often toughest on themselves, and the proof is in the applications she sees. “When I’ve been searching for an assistant coach, I’ve seen men who are completely unqualified but take a chance and apply. But every woman who applies is qualified. They have everything I need on their résumés.”