Carmen Skrine was announced as the Head Coach of Medgar Evers' women's soccer program on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Skrine boasts a wealth of experience in soccer as a coach and brings a unique passion for the game with him to the position.
"We are excited to announce the appointment of Carmen as our women's soccer coach," Director of Athletics Chetara Murphy said. "Mr. Skrine brings over 20 years of coaching experience with him to our institution. He has a diverse resume and is incredibly passionate about the sport. He has embraced the challenge of turning our women's soccer program around, and we're optimistic about the trajectory of women's soccer with Carmen on board."
Most recently, Mr. Skrine served as a coach at EXACT sports, an organization that was founded to provide a comprehensive understanding of the athlete so that all stakeholders in the player's development — the athlete, coach, and parent — are armed with tools to improve development. At EXACT sports, Mr. Skrine constructed recruiting write-ups for athletes aged 15-19, detailing their credentials for Division I schools. His work centered around evaluating athletes' physical and mental skills, documenting reports on the student-athletes, and sending the information to a database for college recruiters and coaches to use.
Additional duties at EXACT sports for Skrine included him holding training sessions with the goal of helping the athletes obtain the practical skills they needed to be successful. The activities were geared towards assisting the athletes in improving their skill level instantaneously. Mr. Skrine spent three and a half years working at EXACT sports (March 2020-August 2023).
Prior to his tenure at EXACT sports, Mr. Skrine spent two seasons as the Assistant Coach of Medgar Evers' men's soccer team. He assisted current Head Coach Jack Thelusma during the 2018 and 2019 campaigns. During that chapter of his coaching career, Skrine gained valuable insight into coaching at Medgar Evers College.
"My goal while serving as an assistant coach at Medgar Evers College was to tap into the emotional intelligence of the student-athletes while they were on the pitch," Skrine said. "I wanted the student-athletes to respond to me not only as a coach, but also to each other, with the goal of helping them develop a bond with one another. Team chemistry is extremely vital to the success of any team at any level, so that is something I emphasized on a daily basis during my first stint at MEC. In addition to helping the student-athletes improve on the field, my goal was to have them utilize the skills that they learned on the soccer field in their lives outside the college."
Mr. Skrine is a retired Physical Education Teacher at James Monroe High School in the Bronx, a position he held for 23 years. There, he was an integral member of the school, designing and implementing health and physical education curriculum campus-wide to promote body awareness and physical conditioning. He facilitated health and fitness training materials for students to foster collaboration and cooperation.
As the Head Soccer Coach of the James Monroe High School Boys varsity soccer team, Skrine instituted a rigorous training program for student-athletes, leading the 2015-2016 team to the Public School Athletic League "B" Division Championship. Now as a Head Coach at Medgar Evers College, his goal is to change the culture of the women's soccer program.
"As has been the common theme throughout my life as a coach, my goal as the Head Coach of Medgar Evers' women's soccer program will be to not only help these young women improve on the soccer field, but also to help them use the skills that I institute to assist them in their life ventures off the pitch. Mindset is a very crucial part of the student-athlete, and sometimes, it boils down to altering the mindset of a young athlete. I'm looking forward to helping these young ladies develop chemistry with one another, while also helping them gain the skills they need in order to eventually be a formidable competitor in the CUNY Athletic Conference. I'm very eager to get started."
Mr. Skrine received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Health and Physical Education/Fitness in 1980 from Queens College, before going on to obtain a Master of Science Degree in Therapeutic Recreation in 1982 from Long Island University.
