Washington Spirit Names Dawn Scott Senior Director of Performance, Medical and Innovation
November 1, 2022 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Washington Spirit News Release
Washington, D.C. – The Washington Spirit continues to build a world-class organization by naming Dawn Scott as its first-ever Director of Performance, Medical and Innovation, the club announced today.
Scott’s renowned soccer experience includes roles with the U.S. Women’s National Team, England Women’s National Team, FIFA, UEFA and MLS. Scott arrives in DC after serving as the Performance Director at Inter Miami CF of MLS where she oversaw performance for the First Team, MLS Next Pro and Inter Miami CF Academy.
“From day one, we wanted Dawn to lead our new performance, medical and innovation department,” said Mark Krikorian, President of Soccer Operations. “Dawn’s experience helping players maximize their performance at the highest level is second to none. She is a pioneer in this field and we are excited to have her take the Spirit to the next level.”
Originally from Newcastle, England, Scott brings over two decades of performance experience at the international level to the Spirit. From 2001 to 2010, Scott was the Head of Sport Science for the England Women’s National Team before becoming the USWNT’s High Performance Manager in early 2010. Ten years, two World Cup titles and one Olympic gold medal later, Scott returned to the England WNT as the Senior Women’s Physical Performance Manager in late 2019. In addition to her roles with the women’s national teams, Scott has served as a Technical Consultant for FIFA since 2015 and recently presented on a coaches panel at the World Cup draw in New Zealand.
“It was an extremely hard decision to leave Inter Miami, but this was an opportunity that I could not pass by,” said Scott. “Michele’s vision to build an infrastructure in which all players and staff can thrive is an exciting opportunity. It is such an exciting time to be a part of women’s sport and I cannot wait to get started.”
Under Scott’s leadership, the new performance department will include sports science professionals, a strength and conditioning coach, a physical therapist, medical support, a mental well being specialist, a performance nutritionist/dietitian and more. Anticipated to be complete by the start of 2023 training camp, the revamped performance department will aim to better serve the health and fitness needs of all Washington Spirit players to ensure they stay at their best year-round.
Scott went on to say “It is important to empower, educate and develop women as women. Our goal is to develop the best high performance department possible to support our players so they can thrive. High performance has always been under-resourced in women’s sport and this impacts the medical status, performance and recovery of players. The fact that Michele is willing to invest and build in this area shows her commitment to making this the best club in the world.”
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