Schram setting goals in upstate New York
While at Canon-McMillan, Taylor Schram scored 145 goals and was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year for Pennsylvania. She also led the Big Macs to their first PIAA playoff appearance in 2009.
Taylor Schram doesn’t hesitate to mention the height, or lack of it, in her family’s gene pool.
It’s why, she guesses, she never pursued basketball or volleyball. Not that it matters because something about soccer always felt right.
And, these days, the former Canon-McMillan High School standout is making a career of the sport she loves.
“I get up and go to work in shorts and a T-shirt,” Schram said. “Honestly, I feel like I’m robbing the world.”
At 24, Schram is climbing the coaching ranks as quickly as she climbed the WPIAL’s career scoring list. She’s in her first year as top assistant for the Binghamton (N.Y.) University women’s soccer team.
It’s rare for someone Schram’s age to hold such a position for a Division I program, but she’s jumped into her responsibilities with relish.
“My primary responsibility is dealing with the attacking players,” Schram said. “My whole playing career revolved around attacking, so I help set and create our attack. I help with some recruiting and scouting other teams.”
Under first-year head coach Neel Bhattacharjee, Binghamton – a member of the American East Conference – sports a 4-4-2 record. The win total already surpassed last year’s output.
The Bearcats’ attack is improving, as evidenced by a recent 3-1 victory against Temple, but Schram believes her greatest asset as a young coach is her experience.
Schram left Canon-McMillan in 2010 as the most decorated high school soccer player in Washington County history. She was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year (2008, ’09) for Pennsylvania, an ESPNRISE.com first-team All-American, a two-time selection to the National Soccer Coaches Association All-America team and a two-time all-state player. She scored 145 career goals, including 52 during her senior year, which ranked second nationally. Schram also helped the Big Macs reach the PIAA playoffs for the first time in 2009.
“She did have an impact on our program. She put us on the map,” longtime Canon-McMillan girls soccer coach Dave Derrico said. His Big Macs now regularly rank among the top teams in the state. “People starting paying attention to us because of Taylor Schram.”
Any wonder she was selected as the Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Year for the 2009-10 school year?
“She’s the best player I ever had a chance to coach,” Derrico added. “She’s driven. … She always had a desire to be the very best.”
Schram had her choice of college programs and went to national powerhouse Penn State, where she continued to enjoy success on the team and individual levels. With the Nittany Lions, Schram scored 24 goals, including six game-winners, with 24 assists. Schram was a member of the U.S. U-20 team, which won the 2012 FIFA World Cup, and she helped Penn State reach the 2012 NCAA championship match.
But a severe concussion, which kept her off the field for eight months, actually spurred Schram toward coaching. Before the injury, Schram had designs on a professional career and playing for the U.S. women’s national team.
“The doctors and coaching staff were concerned I wouldn’t play again, and when I came back, I had to adjust my game,” Schram said. “I always had an aerial presence, ever for my size, but I couldn’t do that anymore. I had anxiety I would get hit again and I realized I wasn’t who I used to be. I took on a leadership role and became a senior captain. I still played a lot of minutes but I began to see the game through a different lens.”
From Penn State, Schram went to another powerhouse, West Virginia, where she served as a graduate assistant for two years while earning a master’s degree in athletic coaching education, a path geared toward college coaching,
Binghamton needed assistants and, through soccer connections, Schram landed there, and she’s happy to relay her experiences to the Bearcats.
“I’ve been the last man on the roster when I was with U-20. I’ve been the best player. I’ve been injured, and I’ve been in the middle ground, Being all those things, I think, helps me relate to the players,” Schram said. “I want to be able to be a resource and an outlet for the players, just be someone they can lean on. Sometimes, you’re not always comfortable going to the head coach. That’s why I’m here.”
Mike Kovak is assistant night editor at Observer-Reporter. His email address is mkovak@observer-reporter.com.