Knightly News

The roar of the crowd. The jubilation on the field as a team scores a last-minute goal. Fans proudly displaying their country’s colors. There’s nothing quite like the FIFA World Cup. There’s also nothing quite like competing at such an elite level.

From Gaelic Football to Soccer Standout

International competitor and Episcopal girls soccer coach Lynn Bradley excelled on the pitch with a natural talent and unbreakable determination. At only 18, she became the goalkeeper for the Irish Women’s National Team. She was named the 2009 Football Association of Ireland U19 International Player of the Year, won five national titles with Raheny United and has 39 Caps for her country. In a nation where fans are passionate about sports, especially soccer, it is hard to put into words what such success means. Coach Bradley says it was surreal. She remembers being recognized around her hometown of Dublin by enthusiastic fans saying, “There’s the Irish goalkeeper!”

As the Irish goalkeeper, Bradley gave everything she had to soccer. There were black eyes, swollen cheeks, broken fingers and concussions, but that didn’t stop her. “I never wanted to come off the field,” she says. That passion drove her to greatness in a position that she says requires a special personality. Bradley describes a goalkeeper as brave, protective and willing to risk injury for “a bit of leather with some air in it.”

For Bradley, soccer has always been more than a leather ball filled with air. She grew up playing the sport for fun in her neighborhood. She and her friends knew it was time to head home when the streetlights began to blaze. Looking back, she says they were simply doing what they loved and didn’t realize that kicking the ball through the streets was making them better.

Before she played soccer, Bradley played Gaelic football, a cross between rugby and soccer that is considered Ireland’s most popular sport. She played with the boys team at the age of eight and earned the role of goalkeeper. Eventually, she picked up competitive soccer at 13 and was selected for the national team a year later. By the age of 17, scheduling conflicts forced her to narrow her focus to soccer.

“I love the sport,” says Bradley. “I made friends. I learned life lessons.” She says playing soccer made her a better person and instilled discipline on and off the field. She also learned to work with a variety of people, and it was always important to her not to disappoint them. “I don’t want to let my teammates down,” she says. Battered, bruised and eager to start each game, Bradley certainly didn’t do that. She played all over the world and was a key contributor to success.

At 21 years old, Bradley’s life changed dramatically. Practicing for a game in Israel, her foot planted in one direction and her knee went the other, audibly tearing her ACL. The pain was excruciating, and for several days, she could only ice her knee and watch her teammates from the sidelines. Upon her return to Ireland, she underwent an MRI to confirm the injury. After several surgeries and physical therapy, she and her coaches realized that her knee would never be the same. The Irish goalkeeper’s playing career ended.

Down But Not Out

Tough, hardworking and determined, Coach Bradley was not to be counted out, and she found a way to stay involved with the sport she loves so much. Bradley accepted an opportunity to coach children for 10 weeks in California. She and her fellow Irish coaches learned 200+ games and activities to teach young Americans about a sport that was unknown to many of them. The hours were long, and the job duties included everything from security and field painting to inflating the balls. She also helped with night leagues in at-risk areas to offer young people something positive to do. Seeing the children take to the sport made an impression. “You see what it’s giving to people,” says Bradley. “It’s an outlet.” Bradley helped at school clinics and mini-leagues. She took coaching courses and earned FAI Level 1, 2 and C Licenses, as well as certificates in Futsal Intro, Match Analysis, Intro to Goalkeeping and an Advanced National Goalkeeping Diploma. Eventually, she took a 10-month coaching assignment in New Orleans. Now, 10 ½ years later, she’s still helping south Louisiana athletes, including the Episcopal Knights.

Recently, the Baton Rouge Soccer Club received approval for Louisiana athletes to compete in the national soccer youth development program, Girls Academy. There are six Louisiana Girls Academy teams made up of the highest-performing elite soccer athletes in the state. Of those six teams, Bradley and fellow Episcopal soccer coach Kiran Booluck coach one each. Bradley coaches the U15 team. All six teams travel throughout the southern U.S. to compete at an intense level. In addition, Bradley provides private goalkeeping lessons to local goalkeepers and enjoys sharing her knowledge with this specialized group of athletes. "‘I love the fact that more goalkeepers are reaching out because goalkeeping is a specialized position in itself and in order to be the best you can possibly be, team practices just aren’t enough for a goalkeeper," says Bradley. "They need specific goalkeeping coaching on a regular basis in order to further their knowledge in the position and help contribute as best they can for their team. For years I would go meet my Goalkeeper Coaches for practices when I could. Sometimes It would only be a 30 minute walk away, sometimes it was two train rides on a Thursday evening straight after school that could take up to 90 minutes to get there and I would not return home until 10 pm that night, but I loved training and knew it was making me better and more prepared going into my games."

As Coach Bradley teaches goalkeepers to lead with their gloves or instructs the Knights on how to hit one in, she is also teaching them tremendous life lessons. She says when today’s young athletes apply for tomorrow’s career opportunities, they will have an advantage. “It will help you for the rest of your life,” she says. She points out that being a team player, working with a variety of people and having the discipline to compete translates well in the workplace and in life. It’s a great example of how Episcopal educators and coaches prepare students for purposeful and meaningful lives.

The Knights are fortunate to have someone with Coach Bradley’s talent and expertise leading the girls soccer team. Under her leadership, the team has celebrated exciting victories and playoff runs. “Coach Bradley has been a great fit for our athletic department here at Episcopal; in addition to her vast knowledge and love for the sport of soccer, she understands and values the role of an education-based coach,” says Athletic Director Randy Richard. “I can already see that the high standards to which she holds her teams are having lasting effects in instilling pride and the desire to be the best they can be, for the team.  I look forward to Coach Bradley being a legacy coach that our student athletes cherish here at Episcopal for years to come!”

Join us in wishing Coach Bradley and the Knights well this soccer season. Share a message in the comments section below.

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