Head coach George Van Linder looked for a former player who was both a leader on and off the field during their career, and he found that in Marsha Harper.
Harper was named as the team’s assistant coach at the start of preseason camp before the 2014 season, and immediately went to work.
“We are excited to have Marsha as part of our staff. She came to us highly recommended from the South Florida staff. After speaking with her, we realized she was exactly what we needed to help our program continue to grow,” said Van Linder.
The Denver, Colo., native was a student-athlete at the University of Florida before she transferred to South Florida in 2011 to finish her soccer career and earn her degree.
While at USF, she was named as the team’s captain from 2011-13, and also served as a member of the Bull’s student-athlete advisory committee. Listed as a forward and defender, Harper tallied two goals and four assists in 47 games with South Florida.
Harper was able to earn both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees as a student-athlete in Tampa, Fla. She earned her bachelor’s in applied science and her master’s in exercise science.
“To have a coach who as a player has been to three NCAA tournaments is impressive,” said Van Linder. “The fact that she has her master’s degree in exercise science and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America national diploma is also a testament to her work to become a strong coach.”
When Harper was at Florida, she earned the Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports-Scholar Award and the Southeastern Conference Community Service Award. She was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll from 2008-10.
After her playing career was over, she volunteered as an assistant coach in the spring and assisted with phases of the USF program with a focus on fundraising. During the spring, she also served as a staff coach for the Future 50 Soccer Camp where she helped coach girls in their development and tactical soccer skills. In the summer following, she helped the FC Tampa Rangers Soccer Club as the developmental director for the U13 club and an assistant coach for the U14 and U9 clubs.
Harper also has two stints in personal training. The first was in the summer of 2011 when she was a personal training intern at Fitness Solutions Tampa and the second in the summer of 2013 as a strength and conditioning intern at USF. As an intern with the Bulls, she worked with football, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, track, cross country and volleyball.
