Whitman College Women's Cross Country

Shields, the winningest coach in the history of its women's soccer program, to take command of its men's and women's cross country program in August 2010. "We were fortunate to have someone already on staff who had helped coach our distance runners in the past, and who was excited about refocusing his considerable coaching expertise and energy on that sport," reflects Whitman athletics director Dean Snider about Shields' move to the cross country program. "Early in his coaching tenure at Whitman, Scott was part of our track and field coaching staff for several years," Snider added. "Our track teams enjoyed good success in those years, in large part because of the cross country runners who ran distance events during the spring track season." Under Shields' direction the men's and women's cross country teams have produced four individual qualifiers for the NCAA Division III championship race, 10 NCAA All-West Region performers and numerous all-Northwest Conference runners.  A 1991 Whitman graduate, Shields was an NAIA All-American in soccer for the Missionaries. He came to Whitman from Richland (Wash.) High School, where he ran cross country and was a multi-sport track and field athlete. Shields, who has a master's degree in education, returned to Whitman in the fall of 1994 as its women's soccer coach. That next spring, he served his first season as an assistant track coach. By the time Whitman changed its track program from varsity to club sport status following the 2002 spring season Shields had logged six years as an assistant coach and two as head coach. "The opportunity to coach cross country at Whitman was tremendously exciting for me," Shields says. "Everyone who knows me understands how I feel about distance running. I spent most of my youth going to summer camps for track and field. "Both running and soccer have been my life-long passions," he said. "It wasn't easy to leave Whitman soccer but I also couldn't wait to get started with our cross country athletes." "We want to recruit a strong core group of runners in every class. The plan is to have a high quality program that sustains itself on a year-to-to basis. The goal every season is to challenge for the conference title." Shields receives coaching help from his spouse Marqui, who ran cross country at Linfield College and helped coach the track teams at Whitman for two years. She is a physical education instructor at Walla Walla High School. "Marqui was excited about my change from soccer to cross country," he notes. "This brings her back to a sport she understands. She's excited about helping with cross country, especially the women's team." In addition to his coaching duties, Shields is a senior lecturer and the NCAA compliance officer in the Whitman athletics department. He and his spouse have two sons, Kamron and Kooper. Shields, a third-generation Whitman graduate, followed in the footsteps of his late grandfather (Frederick Shields, Sr., '32) and his father (Fred Shields, Jr., '56). His grandmother, Hazel Meiners Shields, also attended Whitman for a few years. Other family members with Whitman degrees are older brother Keith Shields '89 and aunt Mary Lynn Shields Potter '62. Whitman College turned to  Scott Shields , the winningest coach in the history of its women's soccer program, to take command of its men's and women's cross country program in August 2010.