Being a trailblazer as a coach wasn’t the first or only pioneering done by Sloan Green. She was the first African-American to make the United States national field hockey team and also the first African-American woman to make the U.S. national women’s lacrosse team.
“I had no idea I would be playing on the international level,” Sloan Green said. “I commuted to school my first year. I was just having fun.”
She was still touring when she was coaching at Lincoln University, a historically black college outside Philadelphia. She coached cheerleading and basketball and started a women’s lacrosse team at Lincoln. When Lincoln president Marvin Wachman moved on to Temple and the Temple coaching positions opened, Sloan Green saw an opportunity. Coming to Temple brought the challenges on a larger level.
“Irregardless of all the stuff that happened, I had a support system that helped me tremendously,” said Sloan Green. “I also had a support system inside the university, but more importantly, I had one outside the university. I had established a lot of contacts with groups like the NAACP and all these groups in the community, churches. If there was anything detrimental to me or my mission — it wouldn’t be easy — and they’d back me up.”
She was also in her hometown, where her family still lived and where she and her husband would settle. They were there to support her when times were tough.
“It’s obvious that there is institutional racism all over the place,” Sloan Green said. “When we would travel, people would make assumptions that this other person is the coach. I’m a Philly girl. My parents didn’t go to college. I’m dark skinned. I talk like a Philly girl. I felt comfortable with myself. Fortunately, I grew up in an environment where my parents gave me a sense of values, and in the church. I felt good about me, who I was, and that carried me through.”
Sloan Green ran into hurdles in recruiting. Even with scholarships available to come play for her, she represented something different.
“Looking at some of the students that I recruited, some of their parents had never been involved with a black coach or black people,” Sloan Green said. “Coming to Temple was an experience for them. I was realistic about what I could do and what I couldn’t do. I always hired a coaching team that could relate to them. I always had a white staff to assist me. I have a quiet, soft spoken personality. I hired someone with a different personality, who liked defense. I’m not a defensive player. I liked the offense. I did a team approach to coaching and the same thing with administration.”
Sloan Green was intentional with her recruiting patterns. She brought in players from a wide range of backgrounds, but they were competitive.
“Some people don’t want to talk about diversity or difference,” she said. “If you’re going to be successful, you have to deal with it. Not everybody is going to like each other, but as long as you respect each other and you find somewhere that you fit in, you can do it. We had one of the most diverse teams in the country.”