CHARLESTON, S.C. – This summer The Citadel Athletic Department is highlighting a number of our coaches in a series titled Coach's Corner. The videos will post each Wednesday morning throughout the summer and are intended to help Bulldog fans and supporters get to know our coaches away from competition. Each Coach's Corner episode features the coach reflecting on his or her background, goals and experiences, in addition to their attraction to The Citadel and coaching our cadet-athletes. Links to previous Coach's Corner posts can be found at the bottom of this article. This week we feature Ciaran Traquair.
 
Rapid Fire
Last movie you saw in a theater: The Good Guys
Favorite professional team: Celtic
Last book you read: A coaching book about tactics and formations
Favorite pregame song: Braveheart theme song
Favorite meal: Sushi
Favorite musician: Oasis
 

 
1. Where did you grow up?
Coatbridge, Scotland. Just outside Glasgow which is a main city in Scotland.
 
2. What is your favorite childhood memory?
Probably when we'd go to Spain every summer for a two-week vacation so I think getting the opportunity to travel and see different things especially now that I am a father and a parent, being able to do that for my own kids is something I am looking forward to.
 
3. Who was your favorite athlete as a kid?
I think growing up it changed but there was a point where my favorite team, Celtics, had a guy from Sweden, Henrik Larson, and they kind of plucked him from obscurity in Holland and he became probably the most successful player in the club's history, which is over 100 years, and then he went on to Manchester United and Barcelona to finally finish his career. He was probably the one that I still look up to even though he is now retired as the player I would love my game to be based around or if I am showing kids what they would like to be, that would be someone I would say I have looked up to along the way.
 
4. What was your first car?
First car was an Oldsmobile, late 90s model, red velvet interior, no AC, I think I paid 1000 for it. We used to joke a lot between myself and my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, about how dangerous it was. It was really fast and really uncool but I miss it, I genuinely do.
 
5. What is your favorite movie?
Favorite movie, I like Braveheart which is probably a typical answer for most Scottish guys to say they like Braveheart. It is probably on TV once a week here so if it's on I like to flick over and try and catch 30 minutes of it, I could probably talk and say every sentence from start to finish.
 
6. What is something on your bucket list you haven't been able to check off yet?
I haven't taken my children home yet to Scotland that would be something. It wouldn't necessarily be a bucket list thing but something I am looking to do in the near future, to take my two American children back to Scotland and obviously introduce them to the ways of the world and how we're raised and the things that are different from the lifestyle here which obviously, growing up in Charleston for them is going to be very different but the lifestyle we had, not that we were poor or anything like that, but certainly just to see the differences. So that would probably be the next big achievement hopefully that I can do for myself and for my family.  
 
7. What would you consider your greatest athletic achievement?
I think coming to the States in general would be a big one. I came here as a full scholarship athlete and I wasn't too clued up on what that meant but certainly now when I am in a position to offer full scholarships to students I certainly know the benefit of going to school without having any debt coming out of college, being able to captain my college team and then eventually get to coach that same team, that would be the initial one for me because that has kind of kick-started where I am at today. 
 
8. How did you get into coaching?
I was actually about to go home after my senior year I tried to play professional here, had several tryouts. And then I was playing in a spring 7v7 tournament and we were playing against Young Harris College with my team and ended up arguing with a coach on the other team, who was from Scotland, and we had fists up, shouting at each other as you do and we ended up having a good conversation after the tournament. He said "what do you plan on doing", I said "I think I am going to end up going home because I have an opportunity" and he opened the door for me to help coach the women's team at Young Harris and that is how it kind of started. So it started off in junior college on the women's side and then moved back to the men and back to the women and then from there on out I've just kind of progressed up the ranks to the point where I am sitting here in front of you guys today.
 
9. What attracted you to The Citadel?
First and foremost, the opportunity to coach at the highest level and this is Division I soccer, this is where the best players are, the best coaches are and the best environment to grow as a coach. That was the biggest draw and then obviously location and the reputation of the program probably. I see this as an opportunity to grow the reputation and I've been very successful so far in my career at building programs that maybe have lacked some direction. I always feel that I can impact a program that needs some work and I am currently in year two of that process here and I think we are doing well so far with still a lot of room to grow. That is always something that attracts me, to be able to go in and put my stamp on a program, very, very quickly and really make it my own and make it successful. So that was a big attraction and then just the way I felt when I got on campus. I feel like I work for very good people, very professional and the only way is up.
 
10. Tell us about your most memorable experience so far at The Citadel:
I would say the win away at Wofford last year because it came off the back of a losing streak and a time in October where it just gets really tough for any program and certainly ours lacking depth, it was always going to be tough to get anything on the road and we ended up going there and showing belief that we hadn't shown in about six weeks and won 1-0, played fantastic. I had no idea up until the report was put up after the game that that was our first ever victory in Spartanburg so it kind of just put the icing on the cake even though we were already buzzing on the bus anyways. It took us into a game at Furman on Sunday where probably no one gave us a chance and we ended up losing but we were very much in that game as well so it ended up a good weekend for us but you could say that win at Wofford for us certainly gave us belief for the rest of the season, it gives me belief building for the future because I genuinely feel we can go beat teams on the road and can try and make it a habit for the program. But that was a big win for us for sure, any win on the road is big but that was probably the most memorable just because the time that it happened and what it meant to me and all the players.
 
11. What's the best part about coaching?
The best part about coaching is the opportunity to go and work with young people every day. I think when people get the chance to work with young people in any capacity I would say they are very fortunate. To be able to do that, outside, in a sport that you love, in a place like this and to really challenge people, that would be the biggest draw for me about coaching. To be able to keep doing that, at the highest level, to build a program around that is such a challenge for me that every day I wake up with the ambition to be better and be successful. But hopefully I'm fortunate enough to stay in coaching as long as I can.
 
Coach's Corner Schedule
May 31 - Jody Huddleston
June 7 - Sandra Worman
June 14 - Chuck Kriese
June 21- Jack Marchant
June 28 - Lori Bonacci
July 5 - William Smith 
July 12 - Craig Mosqueda
July 19 - Erin Leonard 
July 26 - Rob Hjerling 
Aug. 2 - Kris Kut 
Aug. 9 - Ciaran Traquair 
Aug. 16 - Stevi Robinson 
 
For more information on The Citadel Soccer, follow @CitadelWSoccer or visit CitadelSports.com.