Innovative Lives: Dawn Scott

This program was recorded live on June 13, 2024, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Meet Dawn Scott, Vice President of Performance, Medical and Innovation with the Washington Spirit and learn about her individualized, innovative approach to performance training within the National women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and women's soccer.
Training female athletes involves considerations that differ from training male athletes due to physiological, hormonal, nutritional, and sometimes social differences. Tailoring athletic training programs to account for biomechanical differences between males and females can help optimize performance, and Scott’s work recognizing and addressing these differences ensures that female athletes receive training that is appropriate for their specific needs, maximizing their potential for success and lowering their risk for injuries.

Originally from Newcastle, England, Scott has over two decades of experience training women athletes to maximize their performance at the highest level. In addition to her role at the Spirit, she provides High Performance Support across Olympique Lyon and London City Lionesses, as part of Michele Kang’s multi-club ownership. Dawn is passionate about changing how female players are trained and closing the research gap on sport science research on female athletes.

Scott was previously Performance Director for Inter Miami CF in the MLS. Prior to that role she worked as Head of Performance for the USWNT for ten years, supporting the team at three FIFA Womenʼs World Cup final tournaments (2011, 2015 and 2019) and two Olympic Games (2012, 2016). She was the Head of Exercise Science for the England women’s national team for over ten years, in two separate spells, supporting the team at two European Championships (2005, 2009), one FIFA Womenʼs World Cup (2007) and one edition of the Olympic Games (2020).

This conversation is moderated by Monica M. Smith, chief of informal learning and engagement, Library of Congress.