Sharon Swallen may be varsity girls’ soccer coach at Mounds View High School, but her players know her better as a “mentor, friend, big sister,” and sometimes, even a “mom.”
Blonde and youthful, Swallen is in touch with the fickle psyche of teenagers. She gently nurses a cup of coffee and explains how she manages four kids under the age of seven and an entire gaggle of girls.
“I am highly organized,” Swallen said, “and I really believe in communication. I’m straightforward, honest, and approachable. I work extremely hard and really take pride in our team on and off the field…I couldn’t ask anything of the players I wouldn’t do myself.”
Dressed down in Mounds View soccer warm-ups, Swallen has a direct gaze and speaks with openness and honesty. Currently in her eighth year as head coach at Mounds View, Swallen has been coaching for 14 years.
“I love working with high school girls,” she said. “It’s fun to watch them come in as freshmen and leave as seniors – changed, mature, and more confident. It’s good to have them a part of the program.”
While Swallen radiates the intensity and single-mindedness she hopes to nurture in her players on the field, off the field, her warmth and compassion is evident in the loyalty and trust of the team.
“We anticipate adversity; there are going to be ups and downs every season. There’s going to be a focus on working hard for a common vision for our team, understanding differences, and trying to get everyone to come together,” Swallen said.
Honesty key to coach’s effectiveness
Bergen Butala, a senior captain who has known Swallen since she was her nanny and elementary school teacher, said one of Swallen’s best qualities is her honesty on and off the field.
“I can really be honest with Sharon,” Butala said. “A lot of coaches aren’t as honest, but Sharon doesn’t keep people in the dark. If someone has an issue about playing time, she’ll be honest about why. That way there’s no backstabbing or drama, and it’s a really open team. I’ve never been on a team where I’ve been more caring and honest and everyone was welcoming.”
According to Swallen, these individual relationships she has with her players contribute to their success on the team and their dependability in tough games.
“I think every player makes a difference,” she said. “If you neglect a player, you’re not going to be as successful. I try to treat them all equally, but the ones who live, breathe, and work for the team are going to be the ones I trust more in pressuring situations.”
Swallen excelled as a player
It is this ‘team’ mentality that John Blin, who was Swallen’s coach when she played for the Mounds View, believed would make Swallen a coach one day.
“[Sharon’s] very clear in the direction she wants the team to go, on and off the field,” Blin said. “She’s very caring about her players and has a real competitiveness as a player and as a coach- but in the right ways. Sharon’s into teambuilding activities and stresses that the whole is greater than the individual parts.”
According to Blin, when Swallen was in high school, she was a “leader, captain,” and “above-average player.” When Blin stepped down as head coach after 23 seasons, he was confident in leaving the reins to Swallen.
“Sharon has taken the program to a new level,” he said.
Players become part of the family
Swallen has even adopted her players into what she calls “the extended Swallen family.” With four small children to take care of, Swallen maintains a busy schedule but is able to balance her coaching and personal life. She hires a babysitter six days a week in addition to hosting team get-togethers in her family’s Blaine home.
“[Coaching] takes away from family time, but adds to it, too. I don’t look at it as a sacrifice,” Swallen said. “It’s important to stick with the girls, even when they make good and bad decisions. We talk about dating, too; they listen and respect that they have a place to confide. One of the greatest rewards I get is to have the girls who graduated come back and stay at our house for more than ten minutes.”
At the end of the season this year, also Butala’s senior and final year in the soccer program, Butala said she was “very upset.” As a result, Swallen invited Butala over to her home to talk. Butala says Swallen wanted her to reach her “full potential” and gave her scholarship information.
“She’s the easiest person to talk to,” said Butala.
Swallen is married to a former professional soccer player. [Coaching] is something my husband and I enjoy having in our lives,” said Swallen, whose husband is John Swallen, a former professional soccer player for the Minnesota Thunder. In 2002, he was inducted into the Thunder’s hall of fame and is currently Swallen’s assistant coach. Swallen says the two of them work together to coach the Mounds View girls.
So far, she’s been able to manage her roles as wife, mother, mentor, friend and coach.
“I think I’m a good coach,” Swallen said. “I don’t think I would coach if I didn’t think I was doing a good job. Coaches have such a huge impact. Every year I ask myself ‘Am I doing a good job for the kids?’ If the answer is yes, then I come back. I’m not just part of the season for two or three months.”
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