Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Where Are They Now? - Denise Brolly
6/14/2020 5:59:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Long before Denise Brolly starred on the FAU Soccer Stadium pitch, she honed her skills on Scottish streets.
Even then soccer wasn't a sport to Brolly. "It was my identity," she says.
At eight years old, Brolly joined her first organized club. And the one she chose foreshadowed her challenge-seeking career. Brolly became the first girl on West Ham's boy's club, which she says was "pretty controversial" at the time.
Brolly's play for West Ham turned out to be as eye-catching as her presence on the team.
"They were just kind of amazed at the passion I had and how talented I was," Brolly said.
That passion led Brolly to the international stage. Brolly played her way onto the U-20 Scottish National Team by age 15, debuting against Wales. She eventually made 22 caps for the squad.
Realizing she achieved almost all her athletic goals in Scotland, Brolly decided to play collegiately in the U.S. She thought its competition level most resembled professional soccer and wanted the challenge. Â
In 2002 Brolly began her college journey in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. And her international experience immediately translated to the American game.
Brolly made the NAIA honorable mention list as a freshman, leading Embry-Riddle in virtually every statistical category: points (35), goals (13), assists (9) and game-winning goals (5). The Brolly-powered Eagles earned a bid to the NAIA National Tournament, won a regional championship and captured the Florida Sun Conference regular season title.
"It was awesome," Brolly said. "I was a pretty confident player, pretty confident person, so I wasn't surprised by the success I had."Â
But success didn't fulfill Brolly's desire to continuously challenge herself. Brolly says competing in the NAIA was "quite easy," so she sought to play at a higher level. Her former Scottish teammate, Rhonda Jones, played at Division I Florida Atlantic University and suggested they reunite there under then-coach Brian Dooley. Â
Brolly heeded Jones' suggestion and transferred to FAU ahead of the 2003 season, bringing her winning aura along. That year FAU captured the regular-season ASUN Championship and Brolly earned Second Team postseason All-Conference honors.
In 2005 Brolly led FAU to its second ASUN Conference regular season title in three years. The Owls also made an NCAA Regional postseason appearance and won a Conference Tournament Title that season, both of which were program firsts and the dual feat has yet to be repeated.
"Everything just clicked together [in 2005]," said Brolly, an '05 Conference All-Tournament selection. "And in all honesty, we deserved all the success that we got."
Brolly leapt atop FAU's all-time career records despite playing only three years with the squad. She is still to this day fourth in points (64), sixth in goals (24), tied for third in assists (16) and fourth in game-winning goals (seven). In 2004, Brolly produced the third-highest single-season point total (36) in program history.
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FAU fell to Florida State in the 2005 NCAA Regionals, Brolly's final college game, but her performance drew the attention of Seminoles coach Mark Krikorian. And that led to Brolly's international return.
"He was so impressed by the way Florida Atlantic played, by the way I played, he called up my national coach and got me back on the Scottish National Team," Brolly said. "So, it was really neat how it all came full-circle."
After two years with the Scottish National Team, an experience she describes as "fulfilling," Brolly decided to end her playing career and pursue coaching full-time.
Brolly returned to South Florida and began coaching youth soccer. Then, with Dooley's help, she landed a graduate assistant position at Barry University. Brolly worked her way into a full-time assistant role upon completing her master's education.
In 2013, after six years at Barry, Brolly got her big break. Then-coach Fred Jungemann left after six sub-.500 seasons, and the university named Brolly his replacement.
Brolly adapted to head coaching as fast as American soccer. She won Sunshine State Coach of the Year her first three years, her squad collecting three consecutive regular-season championships after a nine-year drought.
"I had a great relationship with the players, so they not only played for themselves," said Brolly, who earned two NSCAA DII South Region Coach of the Year awards at Barry. "They played for me, their coach."
After nearly a decade at Barry, Brolly felt "it was time to move on and test myself at other places." So, in 2016, she became the head coach at Division II Queens University of Charlotte.
Brolly's new job came with equally new challenges. Barry, the program she left, was historically championship-quality. Queens, on the other hand, struggled before her arrival. Â Â Â
"It was a job in itself just to talk about being competitive," Brolly said, "so that was tough for me."
It wasn't too tough for Brolly, as she helped Queens clear 10 wins in each of her four seasons at the helm. In 2017 the Royals registered a program-record .800-win percentage, made the NCAA Championships and won their first ever postseason tournament game.
Brolly left Queens after the 2019 season, one in which she helped the team win 13 games. Part of the decision, Brolly says, is because the university "never fully embraced the competitive spirit of the game."
Now, Brolly works for the National Scouting Report, helping connect Charlotte-area high school athletes with college programs. Brolly helps recruits find universities fitting their skills along with their educational and social preferences, a process she finds "extremely rewarding."
"I love coaching, just coming back, helping other people," Brolly said. "And it's the same with scouting."
Brolly left FAU over a decade ago, but the lessons Coach Dooley gave her while there still resonate. She learned life is not all about soccer, but about the people and the players. That perception helped her grow as a coach and scout exponentially.
"Without Florida Atlantic, without Coach Dooley, without [assistant coach Jim Blankenship], I wouldn't be where I am today," Brolly said.
Â
Even then soccer wasn't a sport to Brolly. "It was my identity," she says.
At eight years old, Brolly joined her first organized club. And the one she chose foreshadowed her challenge-seeking career. Brolly became the first girl on West Ham's boy's club, which she says was "pretty controversial" at the time.
Brolly's play for West Ham turned out to be as eye-catching as her presence on the team.
"They were just kind of amazed at the passion I had and how talented I was," Brolly said.
That passion led Brolly to the international stage. Brolly played her way onto the U-20 Scottish National Team by age 15, debuting against Wales. She eventually made 22 caps for the squad.
Realizing she achieved almost all her athletic goals in Scotland, Brolly decided to play collegiately in the U.S. She thought its competition level most resembled professional soccer and wanted the challenge. Â
In 2002 Brolly began her college journey in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. And her international experience immediately translated to the American game.
Brolly made the NAIA honorable mention list as a freshman, leading Embry-Riddle in virtually every statistical category: points (35), goals (13), assists (9) and game-winning goals (5). The Brolly-powered Eagles earned a bid to the NAIA National Tournament, won a regional championship and captured the Florida Sun Conference regular season title.
"It was awesome," Brolly said. "I was a pretty confident player, pretty confident person, so I wasn't surprised by the success I had."Â
But success didn't fulfill Brolly's desire to continuously challenge herself. Brolly says competing in the NAIA was "quite easy," so she sought to play at a higher level. Her former Scottish teammate, Rhonda Jones, played at Division I Florida Atlantic University and suggested they reunite there under then-coach Brian Dooley. Â
Brolly heeded Jones' suggestion and transferred to FAU ahead of the 2003 season, bringing her winning aura along. That year FAU captured the regular-season ASUN Championship and Brolly earned Second Team postseason All-Conference honors.
In 2005 Brolly led FAU to its second ASUN Conference regular season title in three years. The Owls also made an NCAA Regional postseason appearance and won a Conference Tournament Title that season, both of which were program firsts and the dual feat has yet to be repeated.
"Everything just clicked together [in 2005]," said Brolly, an '05 Conference All-Tournament selection. "And in all honesty, we deserved all the success that we got."
Brolly leapt atop FAU's all-time career records despite playing only three years with the squad. She is still to this day fourth in points (64), sixth in goals (24), tied for third in assists (16) and fourth in game-winning goals (seven). In 2004, Brolly produced the third-highest single-season point total (36) in program history.
Â
FAU fell to Florida State in the 2005 NCAA Regionals, Brolly's final college game, but her performance drew the attention of Seminoles coach Mark Krikorian. And that led to Brolly's international return.
"He was so impressed by the way Florida Atlantic played, by the way I played, he called up my national coach and got me back on the Scottish National Team," Brolly said. "So, it was really neat how it all came full-circle."
After two years with the Scottish National Team, an experience she describes as "fulfilling," Brolly decided to end her playing career and pursue coaching full-time.
Brolly returned to South Florida and began coaching youth soccer. Then, with Dooley's help, she landed a graduate assistant position at Barry University. Brolly worked her way into a full-time assistant role upon completing her master's education.
In 2013, after six years at Barry, Brolly got her big break. Then-coach Fred Jungemann left after six sub-.500 seasons, and the university named Brolly his replacement.
Brolly adapted to head coaching as fast as American soccer. She won Sunshine State Coach of the Year her first three years, her squad collecting three consecutive regular-season championships after a nine-year drought.
"I had a great relationship with the players, so they not only played for themselves," said Brolly, who earned two NSCAA DII South Region Coach of the Year awards at Barry. "They played for me, their coach."
After nearly a decade at Barry, Brolly felt "it was time to move on and test myself at other places." So, in 2016, she became the head coach at Division II Queens University of Charlotte.
Brolly's new job came with equally new challenges. Barry, the program she left, was historically championship-quality. Queens, on the other hand, struggled before her arrival. Â Â Â
"It was a job in itself just to talk about being competitive," Brolly said, "so that was tough for me."
It wasn't too tough for Brolly, as she helped Queens clear 10 wins in each of her four seasons at the helm. In 2017 the Royals registered a program-record .800-win percentage, made the NCAA Championships and won their first ever postseason tournament game.
Brolly left Queens after the 2019 season, one in which she helped the team win 13 games. Part of the decision, Brolly says, is because the university "never fully embraced the competitive spirit of the game."
Now, Brolly works for the National Scouting Report, helping connect Charlotte-area high school athletes with college programs. Brolly helps recruits find universities fitting their skills along with their educational and social preferences, a process she finds "extremely rewarding."
"I love coaching, just coming back, helping other people," Brolly said. "And it's the same with scouting."
Brolly left FAU over a decade ago, but the lessons Coach Dooley gave her while there still resonate. She learned life is not all about soccer, but about the people and the players. That perception helped her grow as a coach and scout exponentially.
"Without Florida Atlantic, without Coach Dooley, without [assistant coach Jim Blankenship], I wouldn't be where I am today," Brolly said.
Â
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