At a young age, Coppell girls soccer assistant coach Wendy Flaherty was influenced by her grandfather and father’s athleticism and interest in sports. This led her to becoming a coach later on in her career.
“I just loved the atmosphere and the athletics brought to the camaraderie, the individualism, everything that you need to take into,” Flaherty said.
Flaherty, in her mind, wanted to ensure everyone got to experience the various aspects of what sports can offer.
Three years ago during a home match at Coppell Middle School West, Coppell girls soccer coach Craig Able was the assistant coach and told Flaherty he wanted to apply as head coach.
Flaherty encouraged him to apply and offered to take his position.
“‘If you apply, I would love the opportunity to be your assistant,” Flaherty said. “I will stay. I want these girls to build a program that they love and have coaches who want to pour into them.”
She could see the challenges the team endured with the change in head coaches.
“Each year I was watching a new head coach and that hurt my heart for the girls,” Flaherty said. “It is a really hard journey.”
Able got the job and she started as his assistant, culminating in the program winning the 2025 Class 6A girls state championship. She keeps track of what motivates and pushes each individual player further.
“Figuring out what motivates them, what their coaching style is and using that to mold the team together because everybody is so different,” Flaherty said.
Flaherty takes the time to observe and talk to each player, getting to know who they really are inside and outside of the team.
Cowgirls assistant coach Brandi Cantrell notices Flaherty’s initiative to get to know the players personally.
“Expressing that love for the players, not just on the soccer field, but also expressing that love for them and the activities they do outside of school,” Cantrell said.
Her players noticed her inspiring effort and took account of the impact she has on the team. Senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Porter has been coached by Flaherty since freshman year.
“She is really special, not only is she a good coach, she also tries to get to know us as individuals,” Porter said.
Porter finds her positive attitude influencing and learned valuable leadership skills from Flaherty.
”I think her positive attitude really transfers over to us too. It helps us keep pushing and trying because we see her do it consistently,” Porter said. “It inspires me to look at what she’s doing and take it in for myself and try to exemplify that.”
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