For Doral’s pioneering soccer coach, ‘It’s about opening doors for the next generation’

Pamela McDonald didn’t sleep much the night after Doral Academy won its first state soccer title last month in DeLand.

So she got up at 7 a.m. and decided to unwind at the theme parks in nearby Orlando.

Then her phone started ringing.

McDonald made history just hours earlier when she became the first woman to coach a boys’ soccer team to a state title in the 44-year history of the FHSAA state playoffs.

She spent the next couple of weeks making appearances on global networks like NBC, Telemundo and BBC 360 Sports.

“It’s been amazing for me and my family,” said McDonald, 47. “My dad was interviewed by The Daily Record, the newspaper over there. They’ve been really proud of me.”

In a time when several women including Marlins general manager Kim Ng, Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller and NFL official Sarah Thomas, continue to break down long-standing barriers in male-dominated sports, McDonald’s team victory was a milestone in a 13-year journey of her own.

“I honestly don’t think of myself in that category, but I think for the younger generation it’s awesome,” McDonald said. “For a girl growing up in football, you always have doors slammed in your face. It teaches you to keep working hard and never give up. I got told there wasn’t a route for a woman in boys’ soccer. To continue proving people wrong is gratifying. But for me, it’s about opening doors for the younger generation and giving hope to girls in sports that they can accomplish their dreams.”

McDonald earned another accolade this week when she was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Association’s Boys’ Soccer Coach of the Year for the state of Florida.

McDonald became the fifth Miami-Dade County coach to win the award since its inception in 1993 joining American’s Jim Willenborg (1999), Sunset’s Jay Flipse (2005), Varela’s Matias Asorey (2007) and Columbus’ Michael Stewart (2014).

After graduating from St. Ambrose High in Glasgow, Scotland, McDonald played for the Scottish national team where she had five caps playing in World Cup qualifying matches. She also had 13 caps for the Scottish Under-21 squad.

McDonald was then offered a scholarship to Barry University where she played for four years and then moved permanently to Miami and began coaching. After spending four years as Doral’s girls’ soccer coach, her athletic director at the time offered her the chance to coach the boys.

McDonald recalls more than once having opposing coaches and referees not acknowledge her initially as the team’s coach because she was a woman.

Despite being overlooked early on, it didn’t take long for McDonald to earn respect as she gradually established the program into a soccer powerhouse.

McDonald just led Doral Academy to the Class 6A state championship after going 11-1-3 during the shortened season. In 13 years, she has led the Firebirds to four district titles and a previous state final appearance in 2017.

“You know how it is, I built a reputation over time and then people started knowing that I knew my stuff,” McDonald said in March. “You build that respect.”

Women coaching boys’ high school teams isn’t as rare anymore as when McDonald first started coaching the boys. In this year’s state tournament, 38-year-old Janessa Taddei, who attended FIU and graduated from USF, led Plant High in Tampa to a state runner-up finish in Class 7A.

“Winning a state championship was a dream we’d been trying to achieve for a long time,” McDonald said. “Everything that’s come with it has been overwhelming and gratifying so hopefully it teaches young girls to follow their dreams and never give up.”