Claud Allaire (Michigan '89) enters his 37th year of coaching football. His experience includes coaching at several colleges and high schools including ten years as a high school head coach. He has also served several leadership roles in the Minnesota Football Coaches Association including currently serving on the MFCA’s board of directors.
At the high school level, Allaire served as an assistant coach on state championship teams at Ann Arbor Pioneer in Michigan (1987) and Minnetonka (2004). He also served 10 years as a high school head coach including Minneapolis North, Osseo, and Simley high schools. At the collegiate level, he served as a graduate assistant coach for defending 1988 National Champion Ithaca College (N.Y.) and assistant coach at North Central College (Ill.), Normandale Community College, Hamline University, and Macalester College. Allaire received the 10 year service award from the University of Michigan Wolverine high school football camp in 1999.
Coach Allaire has also serves as a leader in the coaching community including directing Nike Coach of the Year clinics in Las Vegas and San Diego from 2015-2018. He is a co-founder and coordinator of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association state clinic since 2007 and served other leadership roles including serving on the original Mr. Football Selection Committee from 2004 to 2010 and received the MFCA’s distinguished service award in 2019. Coach Allaire has served as adjunct instructor for graduate coaching leadership courses at Concordia University and Southwest Minnesota State University. He has also presented on leadership at the Nike Coach of the Year clinics and the Georgia Coaches Association Leadership Summit.
Personal:
Allaire earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1989 where he also worked as a student assistant strength coach in the athletics department. He also earned a master’s degree in sport psychology from Ithaca College in New York and specialist licensures in educational leadership from the University of Minnesota and St. Mary’s University. Allaire is the founder and Superintendent of FIT Academy Charter School in Apple Valley. He and his wife Suzette have four children: Alexandra, Samuel, Josie and George.
